Hanley Ramirez jogged to the top of the dugout steps, flashed a pearly white smile and tipped his cap to an adoring Fenway Park crowd that had called for him.
It’s a scene that may have seemed unfathomable a year ago, but Ramirez deserved every one of the cheers from the curtain call.
He capped off a torrid series against the New York Yankees with a two-homer, four-RBI performance that lifted the Red Sox past their arch-rivals 5-4. The win completed the first four-game sweep of the Yanks since 1990 and ensured the Red Sox’ lead in the AL East stayed at three games.
“The run that Hanley is on right now, you can probably attach any word you want to it, how impressive he is right now,” manager John Farrell said.
Jackie Bradley Jr. came up with a pretty good one. “It’s been electrifying,” Bradley said. “Every time he comes to the plate everybody’s paying attention. We feel like something big is going to happen.”
Yankees starter CC Sabathia cruised through his first four innings, but made a mistake that came back to haunt him while nursing a 4-0 lead in the fifth.
With two on and one out, Sabathia snared a liner hit right back at him. Xander Bogaerts was easily far enough off the bag at first an inning-ending double play, but Sabathia airmailed the throw to Billy Butler.
The runners wound up on second and third, and white-hot Ramirez stepped to the plate. “I just was listening (to the message) from the dugout,” Ramirez said. “’Make him pay, make him pay, make him pay.’”
Sabathia fell behind 3-1 in the count to Ramirez, and then the Red Sox designated hitter altered the tenor of the game with one swing of the bat. Sabathia left a slider out over the plate, and Ramirez roped it off a light tower at the top of the Green Monster for a three-run homer. The blast cut the Yankees lead to 4-3. It was Ramirez’ 11th homer in his last 21 games.
He wasn’t done. After Bradley singled in the tying run in the bottom of the sixth, Ramirez returned to the
batter’s box in the seventh to face Tyler Clippard. The Yankees reliever had a 0.47 ERA and had been particularly tough on right-handers, but it didn’t matter.
With a full count, Clippard tried to sneak a change-up by Ramirez. The slugger wasn’t fooled, and sent the offering over everything in left field for the game-deciding home run.
“He’s locked in,” Farrell said. “He’s very dangerous right now.”
The comeback helped to erase another disappointing outing for Drew Pomeranz.
The Sox starter was chased in the fourth inning after allowing four runs on seven hits to a beleaguered Yankees line-up.
Fortunately for the lefty, it was Ramirez to the rescue.
“This team is amazing, it seems like we’re never out of reach. They really picked me up tonight,” Pomeranz said.
Pomeranz already has set a career high for innings this season, but insisted that his lack of execution isn’t due to fatigue. “I feel strong, I feel good,” Pomeranz said. “I’m just not making pitches when I need to.”
After Pomeranz departed, the bullpen did yeoman’s work. They put together 51/3 scoreless to keep the Sox in striking distance, and Robby Scott (1-0) picked up his first career win. With Craig Kimbrel unavailable, Koji Uehara got his seventh save.
“My gosh, what they’ve been doing in the last three weeks is remarkable,” Farrell said about the bullpen.
The Red Sox trailed in all four games against the Yankees, but rallied back for the sweep.
“We don’t give up,” Ramirez said. “We don’t give up. We know what kind of players we are and what kind of team we’ve got.”
Right now, the Sox have the hottest hitter in baseball. Farrell didn’t understate the impact Ramirez is having in 2016. “His comeback, his resurgence,” Farrell said. “It’s been a major factor for where we stand today."