They did just that, jumping all over Yankees starter A.J. Burnett in the bottom of the first and never letting up. The Boston bats exploded for 13 runs on 14 hits on the way to a 13-1 victory.
Red Sox 14, Yankees 1
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
Aug. 22, 2009
Headliner: The middle of the order was in full effect on Saturday afternoon, as Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Jason Bay combined to go 12-for-20 with two walks, three home runs, 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored.
Of those RBIs, 10 were driven in with two outs. That fact proved to be the difference, as the Yankees stranded six runners in scoring position.
Dirt Dog: Junichi Tazawa walked a tightrope all day but managed to get out of jam after jam. The 23-year-old, making just his third career start, worked some type of magic over six shutout innings, giving up eight hits and two walks but making the pitches when he needed to. He forced the Yankees to strand a runner on third in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings, ending his outing after inducing a 4-6-3 double play by Melky Cabrera.
The effort gave Tazawa his second win and lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 3.57.
Better Luck Next Time: A.J. Burnett used to be a Red Sox killer. Heading into this season, the righty was 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA against the Sox. This year has proven to be different, especially in Fenway Park.
In Boston this year, he's now 0-2 with an astronomical 14.21 ERA. On the season, he's still 10-7 with a 4.08 ERA. But if the scenario presented itself in which Burnett would have to pitch in a playoff game in Fenway Park, he may not exactly inspire confidence in New York. Talking to himself and repeatedly asking "Why?" after giving up a homer to Ortiz also didn't help.
Key Moment: Kevin Youkilis popped up with runners on the corners and one out in the first. David Ortiz picked Youk up by driving a double off the Monster, plating both runs. Jason Bay followed that up with an RBI single, and the Sox never looked back.
On Deck: The division may be out of reach, but a series win is never something to dismiss when the Yankees are in town. Sunday night, the big guns will be on the mound for both teams. Josh Beckett (14-4, 3.38 ERA) looks to recover from a bad start in Toronto, while CC Sabathia (14-7, 3.58 ERA) is coming off his fourth straight start in which he's pitched at least seven innings and earned a win. Beckett will fire the first pitch at 8:05 p.m.
