Joba gives up lead, Thames drop leads to Sawx comeback
NEW YORK – The Yankees lined everything up properly for the first seven innings.
On a damp, cold night, they held a decisive four-run advantage only to see it disintegrate completely and unable this time to stage another miracle comeback.
Give the Red Sox credit for not laying down and seeing their season fall further into the abyss, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Yankees 7-6 and salvage a split of the two game series in front of what did not appear to be 47,734 at Yankee Stadium.
The game began 59 minutes after its initial start due to consistent rain. When the game started, many in the crowd either chose not to attend, or utilized the different sections of the ballpark to warm up and watch the game there instead.
Josh Beckett, pounded by the Yankees in his first two outings this season saw an early repeat of his season long struggles. Juan Miranda’s single with the bases loaded opened the scoring. Randy Winn would follow with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
In the fourth, Miranda (called up by the Yankees last week) crushed a Beckett fastball into the bullpen in right-center to extend the lead to three. The lead would grow to 5-0 when Robinson Cano doubled home two more runs with a double to the gap in right.
After the play, Red Sox Pitching Coach John Farrell came to the mound and signaled to the bullpen without having a pitcher warmed up. Beckett was never in any apparent pain during the game, but reports later came he suffered from a case of back stiffness.
Beckett gave up five runs (three earned) and five hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out six over 101 laborious pitches. His season ERA against the Yankees over 14 2/3 innings is 10.77.
With a five-run lead, that was more than enough for CC Sabathia. Despite a high pitch count in the first three innings, he would settle in, not allowing a run for the first five innings before Kevin Youkilis homered to left to put the Red Sox on the board.
At 5-1, the Yankees had a prime chance to put Boston away in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out against reliever Manny Delcarmen, Brett Gardner hit a hard ground ball to the drawn in infield for the second out and Mark Teixeira popped out to Adrian Beltre in foul territory to end the inning and the threat.
Totaling 20 pitches over the sixth and seventh, Sabathia was in line for his fifth win of the season, his first since May 3. 112 pitches over the seven innings was exactly what the Yankees needed considering their depleted bullpen, giving up one run and four hits, walking three and striking out five.
Joba Chamberlain came into start the eighth. On Sunday, he was the losing pitcher putting the first three runners on base before Mariano Rivera came and allowed the runs to score in the Twins 6-3 win. Here, the inning started with a throwing error by Alex Rodriguez on a ground ball hit by Marco Scutaro that pulled Teixeira off the bag.
Dustin Pedroia would then single to left and then JD Drew would double down the left field line, scoring Scutaro to make it 5-2. Youkilis would then bloop a single into shallow right, scoring bother Pedroia and Drew to trim the lead to just one.
No one warmed up, so it was up to Chamberlain to get out the inning himself. Victor Martinez would swing on 3-0 and grounded out for the first out, but then David Ortiz nearly gave the Red Sox the lead when he drove a pitch off the wall in right center to tie the game. The wind, howling most of the game prevented a go-ahead homerun. Ortiz, not aware of this, slowly trotted out of the box and would be tagged out attempted to make second base.
Rivera started the ninth. After Mike Lowell grounded out, Darnell McDonald singled to center. Scutaro came up and lifted a shallow fly into right. Cano drifted back out while outfielder Marcus Thames came in, as Cano moved off the play, Thames saw the ball fall through him to the ground allowing both runners on.
Pedroia then grounded out, and with Randy Winn playing shallow in left, Jeremy Hermida laced a double over his head that went to the wall, scoring two runs and giving the Red Sox a 7-5 lead.
With the lead, it Jonathan Papelbon would get a second chance to make up for his blown save the previous day.
Rodriguez would reach to lead off the inning when his ground ball when through the glove of Scutaro at short. He would take second on defensive indifference and then scored when Cano would hammer a double inside third down the line to bring the Yankees within a run.
Francisco Cervelli would bunt Cano over to third and Thames worked a walk. Miranda hit a ball hard that with Ramiro Pena (pinch runner) running, Papelbon would snare near the mound to hold the runner at third while Pena moved to second.
It was up to Winn, who would work a lengthy at bat up to 3-2 before Papelbon blew a fastball by him on his 28th pitch of the night to end the game.
For the Yankees, it was their second late game blowup in the last three games.
Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Rays visit Yankee Stadium for a two game series.
NEW YORK – The Yankees lined everything up properly for the first seven innings.
On a damp, cold night, they held a decisive four-run advantage only to see it disintegrate completely and unable this time to stage another miracle comeback.
Give the Red Sox credit for not laying down and seeing their season fall further into the abyss, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Yankees 7-6 and salvage a split of the two game series in front of what did not appear to be 47,734 at Yankee Stadium.
The game began 59 minutes after its initial start due to consistent rain. When the game started, many in the crowd either chose not to attend, or utilized the different sections of the ballpark to warm up and watch the game there instead.
Josh Beckett, pounded by the Yankees in his first two outings this season saw an early repeat of his season long struggles. Juan Miranda’s single with the bases loaded opened the scoring. Randy Winn would follow with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
In the fourth, Miranda (called up by the Yankees last week) crushed a Beckett fastball into the bullpen in right-center to extend the lead to three. The lead would grow to 5-0 when Robinson Cano doubled home two more runs with a double to the gap in right.
After the play, Red Sox Pitching Coach John Farrell came to the mound and signaled to the bullpen without having a pitcher warmed up. Beckett was never in any apparent pain during the game, but reports later came he suffered from a case of back stiffness.
Beckett gave up five runs (three earned) and five hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out six over 101 laborious pitches. His season ERA against the Yankees over 14 2/3 innings is 10.77.
With a five-run lead, that was more than enough for CC Sabathia. Despite a high pitch count in the first three innings, he would settle in, not allowing a run for the first five innings before Kevin Youkilis homered to left to put the Red Sox on the board.
At 5-1, the Yankees had a prime chance to put Boston away in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out against reliever Manny Delcarmen, Brett Gardner hit a hard ground ball to the drawn in infield for the second out and Mark Teixeira popped out to Adrian Beltre in foul territory to end the inning and the threat.
Totaling 20 pitches over the sixth and seventh, Sabathia was in line for his fifth win of the season, his first since May 3. 112 pitches over the seven innings was exactly what the Yankees needed considering their depleted bullpen, giving up one run and four hits, walking three and striking out five.
Joba Chamberlain came into start the eighth. On Sunday, he was the losing pitcher putting the first three runners on base before Mariano Rivera came and allowed the runs to score in the Twins 6-3 win. Here, the inning started with a throwing error by Alex Rodriguez on a ground ball hit by Marco Scutaro that pulled Teixeira off the bag.
Dustin Pedroia would then single to left and then JD Drew would double down the left field line, scoring Scutaro to make it 5-2. Youkilis would then bloop a single into shallow right, scoring bother Pedroia and Drew to trim the lead to just one.
No one warmed up, so it was up to Chamberlain to get out the inning himself. Victor Martinez would swing on 3-0 and grounded out for the first out, but then David Ortiz nearly gave the Red Sox the lead when he drove a pitch off the wall in right center to tie the game. The wind, howling most of the game prevented a go-ahead homerun. Ortiz, not aware of this, slowly trotted out of the box and would be tagged out attempted to make second base.
Rivera started the ninth. After Mike Lowell grounded out, Darnell McDonald singled to center. Scutaro came up and lifted a shallow fly into right. Cano drifted back out while outfielder Marcus Thames came in, as Cano moved off the play, Thames saw the ball fall through him to the ground allowing both runners on.
Pedroia then grounded out, and with Randy Winn playing shallow in left, Jeremy Hermida laced a double over his head that went to the wall, scoring two runs and giving the Red Sox a 7-5 lead.
With the lead, it Jonathan Papelbon would get a second chance to make up for his blown save the previous day.
Rodriguez would reach to lead off the inning when his ground ball when through the glove of Scutaro at short. He would take second on defensive indifference and then scored when Cano would hammer a double inside third down the line to bring the Yankees within a run.
Francisco Cervelli would bunt Cano over to third and Thames worked a walk. Miranda hit a ball hard that with Ramiro Pena (pinch runner) running, Papelbon would snare near the mound to hold the runner at third while Pena moved to second.
It was up to Winn, who would work a lengthy at bat up to 3-2 before Papelbon blew a fastball by him on his 28th pitch of the night to end the game.
For the Yankees, it was their second late game blowup in the last three games.
Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Rays visit Yankee Stadium for a two game series.
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