BOSTON — Dellin Betances has shown unusual signs of vulnerability lately, but even if he is not the Yankees’ closer, there may not be a pitcher they would rather have in high-level circumstances than the towering right-hander.
With the Fenway Park crowd on its feet Tuesday night, Betances escaped jams in the seventh and eighth innings, dispatching the Red Sox’ hottest hitter, Jackie Bradley Jr., and their most fearsome one, David Ortiz, to help the Yankees hang on for a 3-1 victory.
Betances struck out Bradley on a high fastball with the tying run at second base in the seventh, and fanned Ortiz, the potential tying run, on a curveball in the dirt in the eighth.