BOSTON – In many ways, it was only fitting that the Yankees would leave Fenway Park this way.
Seven different ways the Red Sox had scripted out their method of beating them so far this season.
Make it eight.
Last night, Boston decided to go into the deep part of their “How to beat the Yankees” cookbook and pulled out another winning recipe that made the Bombers sick to their stomach.
Leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Yankees appeared to be on their way to removing the “donut” from the season scoreboard. They had their ace CC Sabathia, the man they paid $161 million to deliver his best game of the season. He needed three more outs to get the game to Mariano Rivera, or even complete the game himself.
It didn’t happen.
The Red Sox (36-24) rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to win 4-3 and delivered the Yankees (34-26) their most disappointing loss of the season, dropping them to 0-8 against Boston. It was a night that saw all of their good play through the last month and in this game washed straight down the toilet.
It was a game that the Yankees looked at and believed they had a distinct advantage in the pitching matchup. They were giving the ball to their best pitcher (Sabathia) taking on Brad Penny, Boston’s number five starter.
Penny to his credit pitched the game of his season, aided partially by the Yankees idiocy on the base paths, and their continued inability to get the big hit with runners in scoring position. He was also able to take away Sabathia’s ability to pitch inside from the first inning.
With Derek Jeter on second base with one out and Alex Rodriguez at the plate, Penny drilled him with a pitch in his back.
It appeared Penny was intentionally trying to hit on the first pitch of the at bat, but missed. After throwing a strike at 1-0, he connected with Rodriguez’s back and the umpires issued warnings to both teams. Cano would fly out to end the threat.
The Yankees squandered another great opportunity in the next inning. After Nick Swisher doubled and Hideki Matsui walked, Melky Cabrera struck out. Francisco Cervelli then flew out in front of the Green Monster in left to Jason Bay. Problem though was Swisher was fooled by the trajectory of the ball and was unable to return to second before being doubled up. They would strand two more runners in the third when Cervelli grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
Using his power fastball and painting the corners, Penny delivered his best performance of the season, dealing six shutout innings, allowing only six hits and striking out five in 117 pitches.
The Red Sox got on the board in the second inning when the suddenly hot (only when he sees the Yankees) David Ortiz drilled his second home run (fourth of the season) over the Green Monster to make it 1-0.
Boston’s lead would hold up until the seventh inning. Penny had departed and Manny Delcarmen entered to protect the lead. After Cabrera singled to lead the inning off, Cervelli executed a perfect hit-and-run double into the left field corner that scored Cabrera to tie the game.
Johnny Damon would walk to continue the inning and with heavy rains set to pour, Rodriguez was at the plate with two out and chance to come through to give the Yankees the lead
Before the at-bat, the Yankees were an abominable 11 for 81 (.135) in the eight games (counting tonight) with men in scoring position against Boston. This time though, Rodriguez would drill a fastball off the wall in left center, driving home both runs and giving the team a 3-1 lead.
With the way Sabathia was pitching, it looked to be enough. He was pitching spectacular through the night through seven innings and at 105 pitches, he came out again to start the eighth.
From there, it would all unravel.
Sabathia gave up a leadoff single to Nick Green. Dustin Pedroia then worked a great at –bat, working a tremendous 10-pitch walk to put runners on first and second.
Girardi came to the mound to talk to his starter and left him in the game to pitch to J.D Drew. Drew singled sharply to center, scoring Green to make it 3-2.
It was the end of Sabathia’s night.
The rain continued to come down inside Fenway Park. But all Sabathia could do was watch from the dugout.
He was a spectator who had fought gallantly for seven innings, but with a rising pitch count, two hits given up with a walk in between, his stamina clock had reached midnight.
All of the great work he had done for the night was being washed away as Red Sox hits rained down on reliever Alfredo Aceves, who had been the best the Yankees had to offer from a bullpen hanging by chewing gum.
Aceves gave up a single to right by Kevin Youkilis to load the bases with no outs. Yankee killer Jason Bay singled on the first pitch to left to tie the game and move up the runners.
A win they thought they had was now wiped away.
The Red Sox would take the lead on Mike Lowell’s sacrifice fly. Drew tagged from third, but Brett Gardner’s throw was off, two hopped to the infield, not in enough time to throw him out and Boston now led 4-3.
Phil Coke came in to put out the fire from turning into an inferno. Though he held the team scoreless, it did not eliminate the fact that the team’s lack of quality bullpen people that shows the succinct difference between these two teams.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched a clean ninth inning, getting the final out when Mark Teixeira lined out to Youkilis.
Through eight games, the Red Sox have made it a clean sweep of the Yankees.
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