BOSTON – The Rivalry produces so many twists and turns that you never know what to expect at any moment.
Perhaps the only certainty is that the games will usually last somewhere in the neighborhood of four hours.
For the Yankees (9-8) on Saturday they wish the game could have been shorter that way would not have to use as many pitchers.
It looked good for the first three innings, but then inexplicably took a dramatic turn for the worse as the Red Sox (11-6) erased a 6-0 deficit to win a 16-11 decision in a game that did not figure to end until sometime next Thursday. The nine-inning marathon lasted an unmanageable 4 hours 24 minutes.
The first three and a half innings saw a completely different ballgame as the Yankees raced out to a 6-0 lead, hammering Josh Beckett.
Singles by Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada plated the first two runs of the game in the first. In the second, Robinson Cano crushed a pitch that hit high off of Pesky’s Pole in right for a two-run homer and in the to extend the lead and then double home two more runs in the fourth to put the Yankees seemingly in control with AJ Burnett on the mound.
Burnett was cruising through the first three frames with ease. However, things suddenly went wrong.
Terribly wrong.
After a leadoff walk to Dustin Pedroia and a one out single by Kevin Youkilis, Burnett was up 1-2 in the count on J.D Drew, threw three successive breaking balls, and walked him to load the bases. Jason Bay would single home Boston’s first run, and after striking out Mike Lowell for the second out, Jason Varitek deposited Burnett’s first pitch for a grand slam to right to trim the lead to 6-5.
From that point, the game entered the “Twilight Zone”. Jacoby Ellsbury homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth to tie the game and Bay would give the Red Sox the lead with a two-run double off the Green Monster to make it 8-6.
For Burnett, his first introduction to The Rivalry went from splendid to stupor. He dominated the first three innings with ease, but then found himself battered around by Boston hitters. In five innings, he would allow eight runs, eight hits and three walks (he struck out three) in 91 pitches before giving way to the bullpen.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona elected to keep Beckett in the game to start the sixth and the move would fail. He walked Derek Jeter to start the inning and Johnny Damon homered into the Boston bullpen to tie it at eight and chase Beckett from the game. He threw 116 pitches in five innings (37 in the first inning), giving up ten hits and eight runs.
Boston regained the lead in the bottom half when David Ortiz’z sacrifice fly gave them a 9-8 lead. However, in this rivalry, there is always a surprise around the corner. With two out, Damon’s hard hit ball went through the legs of Pedroia into right center that score both Angel Berroa and Brett Gardner to give the Yankees a 10-9 lead. But the Red Sox would counter again when Mike Lowell hammered a three-run bomb into the Monster Seats to put the Red Sox back on top 12-10.
Robinson Cano brought the Yankees a run closer in the eighth hitting his second homerun of the game (fifth of the season) making it 12-11. They had a chance to take the lead with runners on second and third with only one out against reliever Ramon Ramirez.
With Melky Cabrera at the plate, his chopper of the end of the bat came right back to Ramirez, who had Posada caught in a run down in between home plate and third base for the second out. Brett Gardner would ground out to Pedroia to end the threat. It followed a disturbing pattern of not being able to get “the big hit”. After going 4 for 19 last night in their 5-4 loss, the New York offense hit a horrendous 3 for 17 and has hit only .194 with runners in scoring position in the series.
Boston put the game out of the reach in the last half of the eighth. After Ellsbury reached on Jorge Posada’s catcher interference, he was called safe on a steal attempt despite numerous replays showing that he was tagged out on the legs by Cano. This non-call would lead to a run when Pedroia would single him home on a base hit to center. Lowell would extend the lead and conclude the scoring when his bases loaded double went off the glove at ball and trickled away, scoring all three runners for a 16-11 lead.
Six relievers followed after Burnett departed after five innings. In three innings and 79 pitches, the pen allowed eight runs (seven earned) and six hits. This group has been severely overworked in this early part of the season.
Boston will seek the sweep of the series tomorrow night in an ESPN national telecast. Andy Pettitte takes the ball for the Bombers and young Justin Masterson makes the start for the Red Sox.
Game time is 8:05 ET.
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