The Red Sox and Yankees sent a pair of 14-game winners, Josh
Beckett and CC Sabathia, to the mound for their series finale on Sunday
night. But instead of dueling CC deep into the night, Beckett got taken
deep. Five times.
Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez all went deep
for the Yankees, and Hideki Matsui did twice. Beckett went eight full
innings for the Sox, but he never had a chance. Jeter's home run on the
very first pitch of the game gave the Yankees thelead, and they never looked back. CC and the slugging Yanks surged to an 8-4 win.
Sabathia earned his 15th victory of the season, becoming the
first pitcher in baseball to reach that mark this season. The Yankees
took two of three from the Red Sox at Fenway Park this weekend,
bringing them to 6-9 against Boston this season.
Final: Yankees 8, Red Sox 4.
The Red Sox do indeed delve into their bench for a couple of pinch-hitters, but it's no use against Mariano Rivera.
Drew pinch-hits for Baldelli and draws a walk, but Rivera gets a
strikeout and then a groundout from Casey Kotchman, the pinch-hitter
for Gonzalez. Jacoby Ellsbury then goes down swinging, and the ballgame
is over. The Yanks have won two of three at Fenway.
Middle 9th, 8-4 Yanks: For
what it's worth, Saito does an impressive job retiring the bottom of
the Yankees' order — he strikes out the first two batters he faces,
and though Jose Molina manages a single, Saito gets Captain Jeter to
ground out to second. Time for the bottom of the ninth, when the Sox
will rely on their 7-8-9 hitters (Baldelli, Varitek, Gonzalez) to dig
out of a four-run hole. Pinch-hitters anyone? Papi and Drew are of
course waiting on the Sox' bench.
End 8th, 8-4 Yanks: The
eighth was the Sox' best chance to gain some ground in this one, with
the 3-4-5 hitters coming to the plate, but it didn't work out. A Victor
Martinez single gives the Red Sox a lead man on against Phil Hughes,
but Hughes retires the side from there — deep flyout, strikeout, and
fly to right to end the inning. On to the ninth, as the Yankees look
for some insurance. Beckett is finally done — Takashi Saito will pitch the top of the ninth.
Middle 8th, 8-4 Yanks: For the
first time in his life, Josh Beckett has allowed five home runs in a
single game. Again, it's Hideki Matsui going deep to right — it's
Godzilla's second home run of the game, fourth of the series, and 23rd
of the year. And yet Francona, loyal perhaps to a fault, lets Beckett
stick around. The Sox are now buried deep in a four-run hole, but
they've got the heart of the order (Martinez, Youkilis, Bay) due up in
the bottom of the eighth.
End 7th, 7-4 Yanks: Girardi sticks with CC to open the bottom of the seventh, but the Yanks' workhorse can't quite make it out of the inning. Alex Gonzalez grounds out and Jacoby Ellsbury strikes out swinging, but that brings Sabathia to 118 pitches, and Girardi pulls the plug. Phil Hughes finishes the inning, getting Dustin Pedroia to line out to right.
Middle 7th, 7-4 Yanks: Beckett
stays in to pitch the seventh inning for Boston — you can tell Tito
trusts his ace when he lets him go seven deep after allowing four home
runs. The seventh inning goes smoothly, with with Jose Molina strike
out looking and the next two batters grounding out to Gonzalez at
short. Time for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
End 6th, 7-4 Yanks: The Red Sox
get one back here — Kevin Youkilis leads off the bottom of the sixth
with a double to left-center, and a Mike Lowell single moves him to
third. Rocco Baldelli's subsequent flyout to Swisher in right is just
barely deep enough for score Youk — the sacrifice fly is good for the
second RBI of the night for Baldelli. We're headed to the seventh.
Middle 6th, 7-3 Yanks: Could it
be? Really? Truly? Yes — it is! It's a perfect inning for Josh
Beckett. Beckett gets the best of the 6-7-8 hitters in the Yankees'
order — Swisher grounds out, Cano lines one straight to Bay in left,
and Melky Cabrera grounds out to end the inning. 1-2-3 for the Sox' ace.
End 5th, 7-3 Yanks: CC gets a
1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth — Ellsbury grounds out,
Pedroia flies to center, and Martinez strikes out on a
questionable-looking checked swing at a pitch in the dirt. He attempts
to protest, but to no avail. Check your rule book, Victor — hitters
don't appeal checked swings. It's taken him 93 pitches, but CC is
moving to the sixth with a nice lead.
Middle 5th, 7-3 Yanks: Five
innings in the books for Josh Beckett, and still not a goose egg in
sight. Beckett appears to be on the verge of a scoreless fifth, getting
to a full count against A-Rod with two outs, but the Yanks' star
absolutely demolishes the payoff pitch, hitting it over the wall in
left field for a two-run homer. It's the 575th round-tripper of his
career, making him the ninth player in baseball history to reach that
milestone.
End 4th, 5-3 Yanks: Once again, Robby Cano's defense proves costly for the Yankees. The Red Sox get the lead runner aboard against Sabathia, as Jason Bay
singles to right field, and after two easy outs, Jason Varitek comes up
hoping to extend the inning. He pops up behind second, and Cano
misjudges the routine pop fly and ends up dropping it. Bay, running on
contact with two outs, scores all the way from first, and the Sox get a
run back.
Through four innings, Sabathia's pitch count is now at 84. Top of the order coming up in the fifth for the Yankees.
Middle 4th, 5-2 Yanks: For the
third time tonight, Beckett has been taken over the wall in right
field. This time, it's Robinson Cano — the Yanks' second baseman stays
back on a curveball over the outside corner on a 2-2 count and blasts
it over the bullpens in right. All these homers to the right side —
what is this, Yankee Stadium?
End 3rd, 4-2 Yanks: The Red Sox are making Sabathia work. Jacoby Ellsbury strikes out swinging, but not before seeing eight pitches, and Dustin Pedroia follows
with a nine-pitch at-bat culminating in a single to right. Martinez
singles as well, but Youkilis kills the rally with an inning-ending
GIDP. It's taken him 60 pitches, but CC will take a two-run cushion
into the fourth.
Middle 3rd, 4-2 Yanks: Whatever
happened to the Beckett-Sabathia pitchers' duel? It's another two-run
rally for the Yankees. Jeter gets his second hit of the night, singling
to center field with one out in the third, and Damon and Mark Teixeira bring him around with another single each. A groundout from Alex Rodriguez plates Damon for another New York run.
End 2nd, 2-2: The Sox are right
back in the thick of things. Mike Lowell gets things started with a
double off the wall in left field, sparking a two-out rally. Rocco
Baldelli then singles to center, scoring Lowell, and Jason Varitek follows with a double into the right-field corner. Baldelli is waved all the way home, and Nick Swisher's throw to the plate is way off the mark, allowing Baldelli to score easily. We're all tied up.
8:35 p.m.: Who gets your vote?
Two hypothetical pitchers vying for a Cy Young Award — one is 20-7
with a 3.27 ERA and 194 strikeouts, and the other is 19-7 with a 3.21
ERA and 209 K's. Pitcher A has allowed three fewer homers; Pitcher B
has issued three fewer walks. Pretty close call, right?
Okay, so it's not so hypothetical. This is the race for the 2007 AL Cy Young Award, when Sabathia edged Beckett with an 85 percent share of the balloting to Beckett's 61 percent. In the end, the voters went for the workhorse — Sabathia threw 241 innings that season, giving him the edge.
You think maybe Josh Beckett wants some revenge tonight?
Middle 2nd, 2-0 Yanks: Two innings, two first-pitch
homers to lead off. Has that ever happened before? This time it's
Hideki Matsui taking Beckett deep, and his blast into the depths of
right-center is no cheap one. Sabathia now has a two-run lead to work
with — given how dominant he's been this month, you have to think he's
comfortable with that.
End 1st, 1-0 Yanks: The Red Sox manage to get their lone lefty on base against Sabathia in the first — an error by Robinson Cano
on a grounder to the right side puts Ellsbury aboard. But the Sox'
leadoff man treats us to the Ellsbury special, jumping too soon and
getting caught off the bag by a perfect CC pickoff attempt. The hefty
lefty then retires the next two Red Sox, and it's on to the second.
Middle 1st, 1-0 Yanks: We're underway, and the early news is not good news for the host Red Sox. Yankee captain Derek Jeter
has gone deep on the very first pitch of the ballgame against Josh
Beckett, sneaking one just over the wall in right field and into the
bullpen. It's an early lead for the Bronx Bombers.
7:30 p.m.: The tarp is off the field, and we're getting ready to play some baseball. Some lineup notes to kick things off:
Terry Francona is opting for a virtually lefty-free lineup tonight against the southpaw Sabathia — of his usual three left-handed starters, only Jacoby Ellsbury gets the start. David Ortiz will sit in favor of the righty Mike Lowell, and instead of J.D. Drew, Tito's sticking with Rocco Baldelli as his right fielder. Lowell will DH, Kevin Youkilis plays third and Victor Martinez moves to first.
For the Yankees, Johnny Damon returns to the lineup after missing most of the series with a day-to-day knee injury. Damon is back in the lineup, and Jorge Posada is out. Posada gets the night off, and Joe Girardi gives Jose Molina a start behind the plate.
9:55 a.m.: My, how the tables have turned.
One day after
suffering a 20-11 thrashing in their series opener with the Yankees,
the Red Sox bounced back and earned a big, big 14-1 win on their home
turf. Now they'll look to win another — and thus, the series.
With the three-game set on the line, the Red Sox send ace Josh Beckett to the mound to take on the Yankees in Sunday's rubber match. Beckett is in search of his 15th win this season — but so is the man opposing him, CC Sabathia.
These two are rivals — they clashed back in 2007, when Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award in a squeaker as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Once again, the two men are among the best pitchers in the AL, and once again, we're ready for an epic showdown. Power lefty versus power righty — with pride, joy and precious ground in the AL pennant race on the line.
