Following James Paxton’s sluggish start to life in pinstripes, the 30-year-old left-hander needed to endear himself to the Yankees faithful in a big way. And with the surprisingly woeful Red Sox in town, there was no time like the present.
Despite Chris Sale pitching more like a clearance sale during April, no one expected the game to be quite as easy as the Yanks and Paxton made it appear.
However, Paxton, who only reached 99 mph on two occasions in 2018 as a member of the Mariners, came out of the gate firing. Backed by an extra shot of adrenaline that was his first taste of the storied Sox-Yanks rivalry, Paxton was nearly perfect for eight innings.