In some ways this game came down to just a few plays. The Bill Hall throwing error, the Kevin Cash throwing error and the David Ortiz groundout with the bases loaded in the seventh sunk the ship.
Terry Francona backed both Hall and Cash, first saying he liked Hall's decision to try and throw out the speedy Brett Gardner in the second. The throwing error scored the first run of the game.
"It's a great play if he makes it," Francona said.
As for Cash's miscue, which helped fuel the Yankees' five-run fifth, it was just a bit of bad luck, according to Francona. The ball hit off Robinson Cano's helmet.
"That's a big swing right there," Francona said. "It was actually a great play and just a little unfortunate."
Another guy not blaming Hall or Cash was Josh Beckett, who put it all on his shoulders. He said he left too many pitches over the plate.
"You give up seven runs who else are you gonna blame? It's not anybody else's fault in here," Beckett said.
With that, the Sox can still get out of here with a split if Jon Lester performs well Monday. He is due for some better results after a string of hard-luck losses. First pitch is 2:05 p.m.
Final, Yankees 7-2: It wasn't pretty, folks. Josh Beckett gets knocked around by the Yankees for the fifth straight time and the Red Sox continue their love affair with the number two. They've scored two runs and committed two errors in each of the last two games.
Heading downstairs for some reaction. See you soon.
11:11 p.m.: With two on and two outs in the top of the ninth Yankees manager Joe Girardi is not taking any chances. Mariano Rivera is in in a non-save opportunity.
End 8th, Yankees 7-2: The silver lining in the last two days (yes, we are reaching here) has to be the work of the bullpen. Manny Delcarmen, Felix Doubront and Tim Wakefield have combined to throw 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
Too bad the starters have given up 12 runs in a combined 10 2/3 innings.
Mid 8th, Yankees 7-2: Boone Logan has retired all four men he has faced to just about squash any hopes the Red Sox had of making a comeback in this one. Tim Wakefield is on for his third inning of work.
Many thought that the Sox needed to win this series to have any chance of catching the Yankees. Even if they do win Monday and get a split (provided New York finishes this one off) they would be seven games back in the loss column with 49 games to play.
Not impossible, but very tough. Good thing Tampa Bay is reeling.
End 7th, Yankees 7-2: Tim Wakefield has thrown two scoreless innings in each of his last two relief appearances. He'll probably go out there for a third unless the Sox mount a six-run rally here.
Mid 7th, Yankees 7-2: If the Red Sox were going to mount a comeback, that might've been their chance. Alas, three hits and a walk amounts to just one run when David Ortiz grounds out to end it. Boston has left the bases loaded twice.
Mike Lowell remains in the game and plays first. Victor Martinez is behind the plate to catch Tim Wakefield.
10:34 p.m.: Mike Lowell gets an RBI single and one out later Joba Chamberlain loads the bases by walking Marco Scutaro. David Ortiz is up with a chance to make this a game again with one swing of the bat. Boone Logan is the third Yankees pitcher of the inning.
10:25 p.m.: Dustin Moseley gets a nice hand after going 6 1/3 strong innings on a night he wasn't even scheduled to start. He cedes to Joba Chamberlain with runners on the corners and one out. Mike Lowell is hitting for Kevin Cash.
End 6th, Yankees 7-1: Tim Wakefield works a scoreless sixth but not before the Yankees net another milestone. We know you love those, so read on.
Alex Rodriguez, who singled with one out, stole his 300th base and become the 10th player in baseball history to have 300 steals, 1,500 runs, 2,500 hits and 200 home runs.
Dustin Moseley is on the mound having thrown only 77 pitches.
Mid 6th, Yankees 7-1: A leadoff hit by David Ortiz is erased by a double play and the Dustin Moseley show continues. Tim Wakefield is on to pitch for Boston.
In his last five starts in the rivalry Josh Beckett has given up 32 earned runs on 42 hits in just 27 1/3 innings.
The computes to an ERA of 10.54!!!
Not what you want to see in games that always mean so much. Funny thing is, he had two scoreless outings in a row against the Yankees prior to this five-start slump.
End 5th, Yankees 7-1: Red Sox pitchers struck out the side in the fifth. Unfortunately, nine men batted and the other six reached, five of them scoring.
Josh Beckett has been owned by the Yankees of late.
9:56 p.m.: What a disaster. A home run, two doubles, two walks, a hit batter and a huge throwing error allow the Yankees to explode for five runs in the fifth. So far. Josh Beckett is removed after giving up a two-run double to Derek Jeter with two outs.
This has been a sloppy couple of days for the Sox. They have committed four errors and have had a handful of misplays elsewhere in the field. Kevin Cash committed the latest error, throwing the ball down the line in left trying to pick off Robinson Cano. Ill advised, I would say.
Manny Delcarmen is on to clean up the mess.
Mid 5th, Yankees 2-1: I always mean to look this up and I promise I will someday, but it seems as if every time Bill Hall makes an error he hits a home run. He crushes his 13th of the year to cut the Red Sox' deficit in half.
End 4th, Yankees 2-0: After giving up at least two hits in each of the first three innings and eight overall, Josh Beckett really needed a clean inning. He strikes out Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher to finish his first 1-2-3 frame.
Beckett has thrown 75 pitches already. Six innings may be his max in this one.
Mid 4th, Yankees 2-0: The Red Sox finally mount a threat against Dustin Moseley by loading the bases with two outs on a single and two walks. But Ryan Kalish grounds to first to end it, leaving the Sox' offense in neutral. Boston has scored just two runs in its last 16 innings.
End 3rd, Yankees 2-0: Balls hit to the right side of the infield are causing some problems for the Red Sox. That can happen when your star first baseman and star second baseman are both out. At least this time it doesn't hurt Josh Beckett.
On a chopper to the first base side of the mound Victor Martinez made a move for it but then stopped when he thought Beckett was going to glove it. The ball got past Beckett easily and by the time Martinez doubled back and made the throw to Beckett covering it was too late.
Goes into the books as a base hit for Lance Berkman.
Mid 3rd, Yankees 2-0: It may not happen, but dropping Jacoby Ellsbury in the lineup for a bit might not be a bad idea. He is now 0-for-14 since returning after striking out to end the third.
There is precedent for this. Just last year Ellsbury was dropped out of the leadoff spot when he wasn't getting on base enough. His OBP began to rise and he was soon returned to the top of the order.
We know Marco Scutaro can fill in just fine if you need to make the move.
End 2nd, Yankees 2-0: Another milestone for the Yankees' captain as Derek Jeter gets his 2,874th career hit to surpass Babe Ruth and move into 39th on the all-time list. It also gave New York a 2-0 lead.
Josh Beckett begrudgingly tossed the ball to the Yankees' dugout so Jeter could put it on his mantle. Can't blame Beckett for the disgust. He was hit pretty hard in the inning.
With one out, Lance Berkman ripped a double for his first extra-base hit in a Yankees uniform. One out later, Brett Gardner grounded one past Beckett. Bill Hall smothered it with a dive and then made a poor decision to try to throw out the speedy Gardner.
The throw sails wide of first, allowing Berkman to come in for the game's first run. Gardner stole second and then came in on Jeter's historic hit. Next on the list for Jeter is Mel Ott, who is in 38th place with 2,876.
Both runs are earned, if you're scoring at home.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Nick Swisher makes a nice catch to rob Adrian Beltre of an extra-base hit and end the top of the second. It looks as if Beltre's drive might have hit the top of the wall had Swisher not come up with it, so he may have saved a run. It was at least a double.
Six up and six down for Dustin Moseley. The 6-4 righty has increased his workload in each start for the Yankees, going from 4 2/3 innings to six innings to 7 2/3 innings.
End 1st, 0-0: Alex Rodriguez marks his return to the lineup by striking out on a Josh Beckett breaking ball with two on and one out. Beckett then strands the runners when he gets Robinson Cano to pop to first.
The wind is really blowing out to left. Something to keep in mind.
Mid 1st, 0-0: When asked about Jacoby Ellsbury's struggles before the game, Terry Francona said that with his speed alone Ellsbury will start getting some hits. Not when guys make plays like the one Dustin Moseley made to start the game.
Ellsbury hit a little tapper to the third base side of the mound. He figured to have a great chance to pick up his first hit since returning from the DL, but Moseley pounced off the mound, bare-handed the ball and threw in one motion to nail Ellsbury.
Pretty good start for Moseley. He also struck out Marco Scutaro and got David Ortiz on a grounder to first.
7:57 p.m.: This series has received a ton of attention, and with good reason. But the upcoming three-game set in Toronto has become a pretty intriguing one. The Blue Jays are hot and still alive in the wild card race.
Boston has had some very difficult trips to Toronto in the past. While 2010 in Canada has gone well for the Red Sox, they could be running into a bit of a buzzsaw.
The Jays finished a sweep of Tampa Bay earlier Sunday behind Brandon Morrow's near-no-hitter. At least the Sox will miss him. They will face three pretty good arms in Ricky Romero, Shaun Marcum and Brett Cecil.
We're getting ahead of ourselves a bit. Still two to go in New York.
7:10 p.m.: We talked earlier about how Mike Lowell was given the night off, which will happen often. Terry Francona may have had an urge to put him in once there was word that A.J. Burnett was scratched.
Lowell is 3-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs against Dustin Moseley, Burnett's replacement. The Red Sox' starters Sunday are a combined 6-for-27 (.222) against the Yankees' righty with as many extra-base hits as Lowell himself.
Lowell is just 4-for-20 (.200) against Burnett so that may have played into the plans to sit him Sunday. Oh well.
6:20 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia ran the bases a bit this afternoon and Jason Varitek swung on the field for the first time in his recovery process. Both had very good days, according to Terry Francona.
Pedroia is going to back off a bit Monday and then go at it harder on Tuesday. He still has just one obstacle.
"He's done everything but run at full speed," Francona said.
When that finally occurs, there is still a chance that Pedroia will need a rehab assignment. Pedroia has said he doesn't want to waste any time down there with the team in need of some wins, but it may be necessary.
"We will do what's in his best interest," Francona said. "I'm not sure we know what that is yet."
In other news:
– Kevin Youkilis is itching to return to the team but felt a bit queasy Saturday, the day after his surgery, and was told to wait until the team gets to Texas at the tail end of the road trip to meet up. He may even wait until the Sox get back home for a nine-game homestand that starts August 17.
Francona said that Youkilis cannot do anything with the hand for some time. No need for him to be with the team right now except to satisfy Youkilis's desire to be with the boys.
"He's probably bored not being here," Francona added. "You do this every day of your life. Wants to be around the team. I don't have any problem with that. I think it's great."
– The skipper said before this series began that he would like to get Mike Lowell in at first base in three of the four games. Victor Martinez is getting his second start at first since Youkilis went down. With both, Francona must balance their playing time and conditioning, Lowell with the hip and Martinez with the catching duties.
Francona must give them both breaks from the grind to keep them as productive as possible. Hence the installment of Kevin Cash for this one.
– Mike Cameron was going to attempt to hit off a tee Sunday.
– Jacoby Ellsbury's rough return (0-for-12) may be a matter of timing. He has been a bit slow on some offerings, Francona said. It also may simply be about getting that first one.
"Sometimes you just need a hit," Francona said. "It's amazing how it kind of loosens you up and you get rewarded."
Francona thinks Ellsbury's speed is not all the way back, but will continue to come.
– Carlos Delgado has arrived in Pawtucket and may play in a game as soon as Monday.
5:45 p.m.: The word on A.J. Burnett is back tightness/spasms and he is expected to go Tuesday in Texas. While he is out, Alex Rodriguez is back in the Yankees lineup a day after taking a ball off his left leg during batting practice.
Interestingly, A-Rod is not among those taking grounders at third base right now. Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli are. Probably wise to limit Rodriguez to cuts in the cage for a day.
(Update: Rodriguez is now taking grounders but they were shooing him into shallow left to keep him out of harm's way)
There is word that A-Rod may be a gametime decision, but he is in there for now. Here is the complete Yankees lineup in support of Dustin Moseley:
Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Swisher, RF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Jorge Posada, C
Lance Berkman, DH
Curtis Granderson, CF
Brett Gardner, LF
Back in a few minutes with all the notes from the desk of Terry Francona.
5:25 p.m.: Yankees starter A.J. Burnett has been scratched from his start tonight.
He'll be replaced by Dustin Moseley who was slated to start Monday afternoon's finale.
We'll be sure to pass along more information when we get it.
5:15 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury finds himself back in the lineup hitting leadoff for the Red Sox for tonight's clash with the Yankees.
After getting the day off with the left-handed CC Sabathia on the bump for the Bombers yesterday, Ellsbury returns to the lineup in the top spot and in center field.
The Red Sox lineup looks like this tonight against the Yankees' A.J. Burnett:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, SS
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Victor Martinez, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Adrian Beltre, 3B
7. Ryan Kalish, LF
8. Bill Hall, 2B
9. Kevin Cash, C
4:24 p.m.: Greetings from Yankee Stadium, where we just saw Dustin Pedroia taking some grounders and now see the ESPN boys putting together their on-field set. We already have some positive news in the form of a Tampa Bay loss (near no-hitter in Toronto).
Lineups should be available shortly. We will get you those and all the pregame news and notes as we move ahead toward the 8:05 first pitch.
9:05 a.m.: Former teammates Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett square off in the third game of a four-game series between the Red Sox and Yankees on Sunday night.
Linked since their hard-throwing days as the future of the Florida Marlins, the two right-handers have been going in opposite directions of late.
Beckett is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA since coming off the disabled list. Burnett gave up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings in his previous start.
The two teams split the first two games of the series. CC Sabathia pitched New York to a 5-2 win Saturday afternoon, dropping the Sox to 12-18 in day games.
First pitch for Sunday's contest is 8:05 p.m.
