Johnson’s walk in eighth gives Yanks lead, win 
BOSTON – There is such a death grip nature to these games that in many ways it appears the winner only emerges after a bloody battle of attrition.
Rarely is there ever a clean victor, and last night at Fenway Park was no exception.
It indeed was tedious, not well played, and at other times ugly.
However, each of these teams will take the win no matter how they can get it, and the Yankees were the ones to emerge victorious on this night.
It is in these games where both teams force the other to throw strikes. Each squad lives off plate discipline and the ability to lay off bad pitches and swing at only good ones. The philosophy sucks other teams pitchers dry, leaving them sometimes with nothing left.
Last night, a walk would decide the outcome.
Nick Johnson, known for his keen batting eye and ability to swing at strikes drew the key walk with the bases loaded that would provide the Yankees with the game winner. Their 6-4 win over the Red Sox notched their first win of the season. It was a game typical of “The Rivalry” as it saw one team fall behind early, rally to come back and then hold on at the end in front of a crowd of 38,000.
Before the game, many questions surrounded the relationship of temperamental starter A.J Burnett and Jorge Posada. This first test would come in the bottom of the second inning when Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single that Curtis Granderson misread, stole second and advanced to third on the bad throw by Jorge Posada that found its way into center field.
Burnett avoided further crisis by yielding only a sacrifice fly to Kevin Youkilis to escape only giving up one run.
The Yankees answered in their half of the third against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester. Robinson Cano singled to center with one out. After Posada walked, Nick Swisher lined a double into the right field corner to score Cano to tie the game. Lester squashed any attempt for the Yankees to extend the lead when he struck out Granderson with one out and Posada on third and then inducing a groundout from Jeter to end the inning.
Victor Martinez hammered a Burnett fastball into the bullpen for a two-run shot to give Boston the lead again in the bottom of the third as pitch counts for both Burnett and Lester began to rise.
It would be in the fifth where the Yankees would break Lester down and get him out of the game. Granderson and Jeter started the inning with successive singles and Nick Johnson would be hit on an inside pitch to load the bases with no out.
Mark Teixeira’s fielder’s choice scored Granderson and then a double off the wall by Alex Rodriguez tied the game at three. A deep sacrifice fly by Cano scored Teixeira from third to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Martinez would double off the Green Monster to re-tie the score as both teams continued to throw haymakers at each other. Burnett’s night would conclude after striking out both Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz to end the inning.
Both starters’ final numbers nearly mirrored the other. Each threw 94 pitches over five innings. Lester gave up four runs on hits, walking three and striking out four. Burnett gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out five.
For the second straight game, it was another edition of “Battle of the Bullpens”.
BOSTON – There is such a death grip nature to these games that in many ways it appears the winner only emerges after a bloody battle of attrition.
Rarely is there ever a clean victor, and last night at Fenway Park was no exception.
It indeed was tedious, not well played, and at other times ugly.
However, each of these teams will take the win no matter how they can get it, and the Yankees were the ones to emerge victorious on this night.
It is in these games where both teams force the other to throw strikes. Each squad lives off plate discipline and the ability to lay off bad pitches and swing at only good ones. The philosophy sucks other teams pitchers dry, leaving them sometimes with nothing left.
Last night, a walk would decide the outcome.
Nick Johnson, known for his keen batting eye and ability to swing at strikes drew the key walk with the bases loaded that would provide the Yankees with the game winner. Their 6-4 win over the Red Sox notched their first win of the season. It was a game typical of “The Rivalry” as it saw one team fall behind early, rally to come back and then hold on at the end in front of a crowd of 38,000.
Before the game, many questions surrounded the relationship of temperamental starter A.J Burnett and Jorge Posada. This first test would come in the bottom of the second inning when Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single that Curtis Granderson misread, stole second and advanced to third on the bad throw by Jorge Posada that found its way into center field.
Burnett avoided further crisis by yielding only a sacrifice fly to Kevin Youkilis to escape only giving up one run.
The Yankees answered in their half of the third against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester. Robinson Cano singled to center with one out. After Posada walked, Nick Swisher lined a double into the right field corner to score Cano to tie the game. Lester squashed any attempt for the Yankees to extend the lead when he struck out Granderson with one out and Posada on third and then inducing a groundout from Jeter to end the inning.
Victor Martinez hammered a Burnett fastball into the bullpen for a two-run shot to give Boston the lead again in the bottom of the third as pitch counts for both Burnett and Lester began to rise.
It would be in the fifth where the Yankees would break Lester down and get him out of the game. Granderson and Jeter started the inning with successive singles and Nick Johnson would be hit on an inside pitch to load the bases with no out.
Mark Teixeira’s fielder’s choice scored Granderson and then a double off the wall by Alex Rodriguez tied the game at three. A deep sacrifice fly by Cano scored Teixeira from third to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Martinez would double off the Green Monster to re-tie the score as both teams continued to throw haymakers at each other. Burnett’s night would conclude after striking out both Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz to end the inning.
Both starters’ final numbers nearly mirrored the other. Each threw 94 pitches over five innings. Lester gave up four runs on hits, walking three and striking out four. Burnett gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out five.
For the second straight game, it was another edition of “Battle of the Bullpens”.
The Red Sox won Round 1 on Sunday, and both teams each threw up scoreless frames in both the six and seventh innings. However, in the eighth, Boston’s bullpen broke.
Posada started the inning with a ground rule double to right off Hideki Okajima. After Swisher grounded to short, Brett Gardner lifted a shallow single to left that was not able to move Posada to third.
Granderson would then fly to center for the second out and the inning should have been over when Derek Jeter grounded into what was to be a routine play at short. The throw from the normally sure-handed Marco Scutaro went off the glove of Youkilis at first and everyone was safe to load the bases.
Nick Johnson came up and worked the count to 3-0 and then 3-1. Using his disciplined batting eye, he laid off a fastball high for ball walk, scoring Posada from third to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Needing three outs to get the game into the hands of Mariano Rivera, David Robertson started the bottom of the eight and gave up a single to Youkilis. Damaso Marte came to face David Ortiz, and while trying to keep the Red Sox first baseman close to the bag, he lazily threw a pickoff and squirted under the glove of Teixeira, allowing Youkilis to advance to second.
Ortiz would later fly out and Joe Girardi summoned Joba Chamberlain to put out the fire. This move paid dividends as Chamberlain showed flashes of his 2007 self, overpowering Adrian Beltre and making J.D Drew look helpless, flailing at a slider to end the inning as Chamberlain pumped his fists upon leaving the mound.
Cano would provide added insurance in the ninth with a blast off reliever Scott Atchinson. This would be plenty enough for Rivera, who pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Yankees their first win of the young season.
Wednesday night is the finale as Andy Pettitte starts for the Yankees and new free agent acquisition John Lackey takes the ball for the Red Sox.
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