BOSTON – The rain that forecasters predicted early in the day came quickly and when it fell, everyone in the stadium ran for cover.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, there was nowhere to hide.
For the second straight day, the Yankees, despite missing several members of their order, continued their weekend hit parade, racking up double digit runs in a 14-3 thrashing of the Red Sox in front of 37,138 at Fenway Park.
The win continues the team’s best start since 2003. Dating back to last season, they have now won 13 of the last 15 games against Boston. This comes at a time where the Yankees are receiving contributions from everyone, and a reemergence of one of their key contributors.
Mark Teixeira barely could hit himself out of the month of April and now is on fire in the month of May with three homeruns in a 4-for-6 afternoon stretching into the evening to raise his average to .207.
His first hit of the day started the scoring for the Yankees when his RBI single to right off Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz scored Ramiro Pena, who led off the top of the third inning with a double. Alex Rodriguez then singled home Derek Jeter to up the lead to two.
CC Sabathia was in search of his fifth win and cruised early. However, Boston would respond with three runs in their half to retake the lead as Darnell McDonald blasted one over the wall in left center. Dustin Pedroia was hit in the backside perhaps in retaliation for Yankee hitters drilled by Josh Beckett the previous night, but Victor Martinez made him pay by hammering a hanging slider over the Green Monster to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.
The lead was short-lived as the Yankees tied the score in the fourth as Francisco Cervelli solid single to center scored Nick Swisher. In the fifth, they would retake the lead as Teixeira would homer to the bullpen in right. Cervelli increased the lead to three when he floated a single to shallow left center than scored two runs.
Buchholz, who was one of the few Red Sox pitchers performing well, was worn down and beaten up as Beckett was the previous night. In five innings, the young right-hander gave up six runs, nine hits and walked five over 93 pitches.
As dark clouds began to hover over Fenway park, Sabathia needed three more outs to be eligible for his fifth win of the season. Instead, in a flash, heavy rains came down on the field. With a 3-2 count on Martinez and two outs, umpired halted the action.
The rain delay stopped play for an hour and fifteen minutes. With the long wait, Joe Girardi removed Sabathia from the game, making him ineligible for the win. Alfredo Aceves came in relief and got Martinez to foul out to end the frame.
However in the sixth, Aceves would have to leave the game in the sixth when he awkwardly came off the mound after throwing a pitch. Replays initially believed it was a potential knee injury, but it would later turned to be lower back stiffness, an injury he had battled through for most of the season.
Teixeira’s second homer would come to start the seventh as he hammered a 1-0 pitch off Ramon Ramirez along Pesky’s Pole in right. Nick Swisher’s single to right drove in Rodriguez to increase the lead to 8-3.
The tandem of Aceves and David Robertson combined to pitch 2 1/3 scoreless innings. In the eighth, the Yankees would pile on reliever Daniel Bard as Swisher would drive home two on a double to right.
Cervelli would cap off a career day with five RBI’s as his single to center drove home two more as most of the Fenway Faithful left for the exits and mostly Yankee fans remained.
With the score no longer in doubt, Boston elected to not use anymore pitchers and brought in outfielder Jonathan Van Every to pitch. Jeter would greet him with a double off the wall and Teixeira would get the home run hat trick by blasting off the tower above the Green Monster to make it 14-3.
The bullpen in relief of Sabathia combined to throw 4 1/3 scoreless innings among five pitchers.
The Red Sox bullpen was not so lucky, throwing 113 pitches over four innings using the same five pitchers.
With the win, the Yankees have now won nine of their first ten series of the season. At 21-8, they enjoy a seven game lead over their rivals despite all of their injuries.
Sunday night they will look to go for the sweep. AJ Burnett takes the ball for the Yankees and Jon Lester will seek to avoid the sweep for the Red Sox.
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