Final, Yankees 9-6: Mariano Rivera did what Mariano Rivera typically does. He closed out the Red Sox in the ninth inning despite Boston putting two runners on, and the Yankees take the rubber match 9-6.
The Red Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and then carried a 6-3 lead into the sixth inning before the Yankees rallied. Brett Gardner capped a four-run sixth inning with a bases-clearing, go-ahead triple after Drake Britton took over for Ryan Dempster.
Dempster gave up seven runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. But this outing will be most remembered for a four-pitch sequence in the second inning that ended with Dempster drilling Alex Rodriguez.
Dempster threw his first pitch behind A-Rod. He then threw two more pitches inside before plunking Rodriguez with his fourth offering. Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora issued warnings to both sides, although Yankees manager Joe Girardi was irate that Dempster wasn’t ejected.
Girardi ended up getting tossed after a heated exchanged with O’Nora. Both benches also emptied following Rodriguez getting hit. No punches were thrown or anything, but it was still a pretty crazy scene at Fenway.
Rodriguez eventually got the last laugh. He homered to lead off New York’s four-run sixth, and he finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
The Red Sox have now lost four of five and seven of their last 10 games. They’ll head out west for a three-game set in San Francisco before going to Los Angeles for three games against the red-hot Dodgers.
The West Coast trip means some late nights are ahead. Monday’s first pitch is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET.
Good night, everyone.
Mid 9th, Yankees 9-6: The Yankees gave themselves one more run to play with in the ninth inning.
Rubby De La Rosa took over, and he plunked Jayson Nix to begin the inning. Nix moved up to second base on a wild pitch and stole third base with Chris Stewart batting.
Stewart drove in Nix with a single into left field.
Brett Gardner followed with a one-out single of his own, and Stewart tagged up and advanced to third base when Ichiro Suzuki flied out to deep center.
Robinson Cano was hit in the leg with a pitch, although it appeared to bounce before hitting him. Cano was a bit shaken up, but he was awarded first base, which packed the bags for Alfonso Soriano.
De La Rosa minimized the damage by retiring Soriano on a fly ball to left-center field.
Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz are due up in the ninth inning as Mariano Rivera enters the game.
End 8th, Yankees 8-6: It’s been a rough night for Jacoby Ellsbury.
Ellsbury struck out with Will Middlebrooks on third base to end the eighth inning, and he has now struck out four times in this game. That’s a first for Ellsbury.
Ellsbury was one of David Robertston’s three strikeout victims in the eighth. The right-hander also struck out Daniel Nava and Stephen Drew before Middlebrooks made some noise with a two-out double down the left field line.
Rubby De La Rosa will be the new Red Sox pitcher in the ninth inning. He’s scheduled to face Jayson Nix, Mark Reynolds and Chris Stewart while trying to keep Boston’s deficit at two runs.
Looking ahead to the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox are scheduled to send up Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz.
Mid 8th, Yankees 8-6: The difference is still two runs, as the Yankees came up empty despite loading the bases in the eighth inning.
Junichi Tazawa struck out Alfonso Soriano after taking over for Franklin Morales.
Tazawa should have been out of the inning when Alex Rodriguez hit a hot shot to Dustin Pedroia at second base. Pedroia couldn’t corral it, though, and Rodriguez reached safely to load the bases. The play was ruled a hit — presumably because of how hard it was hit — but it was a play that Pedroia usually makes.
Tazawa made sure that the play didn’t cost him. He got Curtis Granderson to hit a lazy fly ball to shallow left field, and Jonny Gomes put it away for the third out.
David Robertson will be the new Yankees pitcher in the eighth inning. He’s scheduled to face Daniel Nava, Stephen Drew and Will Middlebrooks.
11:29 p.m., Yankees 8-6: The Red Sox will make a pitching change. Junichi Tazawa is entering the game.
Franklin Morales started the eighth inning, and he hit Brett Gardner with a big, looping curveball. Clearly, there was no intent.
Ichiro Suzuki then dropped down a bunt, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia charged out from behind the plate to play it. It was perfectly placed along the third base line, though, and the Red Sox couldn’t record an out.
Morales struck out Robinson Cano, and Tazawa will now take over with runners at first and second and one out.
By the way, if you missed A-Rod get drilled by Ryan Dempster earlier in the game, don’t worry. Check out a GIF of the incident at the link below.
Click here to see A-Rod get drilled by Dempster >>
End 7th, Yankees 8-6: Jonny Gomes’ one-out walk was immediately spoiled in the seventh inning.
Gomes walked on four pitches after David Ortiz struck out to begin the inning. Jarrod Saltalamacchia then hit the first pitch he saw to shortstop for a tailor-made double play.
Ortiz was visibly frustrated upon striking out in the seventh. It looked like he was going to break his bat over his knee after striking out, but he refrained at the last second.
Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora also took a ball to the neck area in the seventh, causing a brief delay. Catcher Chris Stewart didn’t catch Boone Logan’s 3-0 pitch to Gomes, and the ball drilled O’Nora. He appears to be OK, though.
Franklin Morales will come back out to begin the eighth inning.
Mid 7th, Yankees 8-6: The Yankees will carry a two-run lead into the seventh-inning stretch.
Alex Rodriguez led off the seventh inning, and he singled into center field past a diving Stephen Drew. The boos only grew louder at that point.
Rodriguez was wiped off the bases when Curtis Granderson grounded to third base. Will Middlebrooks tossed to second for the forceout, but Drew’s relay throw to first wasn’t in time.
Granderson then swiped second base as the Yankees continue to be aggressive on the bases. Brandon Workman was replaced by Franklin Morales after striking out Jayson Nix.
Granderson scored when Mark Reynolds, who pinch-hit for Lyle Overbay, singled into center.
Chris Stewart gave one a ride with two down, but Jacoby Ellsbury drifted back toward the warning track in left-center field to make the play and end the inning.
Boone Logan will be the new Yankees pitcher in the seventh inning. Reynolds will remain in the game as the first baseman.
End 6th, Yankees 7-6: Shawn Kelley entered for CC Sabathia and retired both hitters he faced in the sixth inning.
Shane Victorino came up empty while chasing a 1-2 slider in the dirt for the second out. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to Robinson Cano for the third out.
Sabathia gave up six runs on seven hits in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He struck out five, walked five and threw 103 pitches (64 strikes).
Brandon Workman will come back out to begin the seventh inning for Boston. His first opponent is Alex Rodriguez.
10:47 p.m., Yankees 7-6: CC Sabathia’s night has come to an end.
Sabathia walked Will Middlebrooks on four pitches, and then struck out Jacoby Ellsbury.
Shawn Kelley will take over with a runner on first and one out.
Mid 6th, Yankees 7-6: Brandon Workman needed just one pitch to finally end the sixth inning. The Yankees did plenty of damage, though.
New York scored four runs in the sixth. The rally started with Alex Rodriguez’s solo homer and was capped by Brett Gardner’s bases-clearing, go-ahead triple.
All seven runs were charged to Ryan Dempster, who exited after loading the bases with one out in the sixth inning. Dempster surrendered nine hits, struck out three and walked one while throwing 107 pitches (65 strikes) in his 5 1/3 innings of work.
10:35 p.m., Yankees 7-6: This game has had plenty of twists and turns.
The Yankees loaded the bases against Ryan Dempster after Alex Rodriguez led off the inning with a moon shot to center field. Drake Britton then took over, and Brett Gardner wasted no time giving the Yankees the lead.
Gardner jumped on Britton’s second pitch and sent it toward the warning track in right-center field. Both Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino gave chase, but it fell beyond their reach. All three runners scored as Gardner dived into third base with a triple.
Gardner got thrown out at the plate for the inning’s second out. Ichiro Suzuki hit a ground ball to Stephen Drew, and Drew fired home to nail Gardner, who was off on contact.
Robinson Cano dropped a two-out single into left field. John Farrell will now make another pitching change. Brandon Workman is entering the game.
10:25 p.m., Red Sox 6-4: Alex Rodriguez exacted some revenge in the sixth inning.
Rodriguez, who was plunked in the second inning, took Ryan Dempster deep to straightaway center field. It was a shot, and Rodriguez didn’t hold back when it came to basking in the home run.
Upon touching home plate, Rodriguez stood there for a second and pointed up toward the sky — just as David Ortiz frequently does after homering.
The Yankees aren’t done, though. Two singles and a walk have loaded the bases for Brett Gardner.
Dempster is now being relieved by rookie Drake Britton with the bags packed and one out.
End 5th, Red Sox 6-3: CC Sabathia hasn’t been sharp.
Dustin Pedroia reached with one out when Eduardo Nunez’s throw to first base following a nice play brought Lyle Overbay off the bag.
David Ortiz then hammered a line drive to right field that kicked up off the warning track and into the seats for a ground-rule double.
Sabathia loaded the bases by walking Jarrod Saltalamacchia with two outs. The left-hander fell behind, 3-0, so he opted to intentionally walk Salty on the next pitch and test his luck with Daniel Nava.
Nava worked a five-pitch, bases-loaded walk to make the score 6-3.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-3: Ryan Dempster enjoyed a very quick fifth inning.
The Yankees put some good wood on the ball, but the hits were right at guys. Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano and Alfonso Soriano went down in order.
Ichiro lined the second pitch of the inning right at Dustin Pedroia for the first out. Cano and Soriano then flied out to Shane Victorino in right field.
Dempster needed just seven pitches to get through the fifth inning.
End 4th, Red Sox 5-3: It’s clear that Will Middlebrooks wants to stick around.
Middlebrooks sent an 0-1 pitch into the Red Sox’ bullpen for his 10th home run of the season, continuing what has been a solid run for the 24-year-old since being recalled from Triple-A.
Middlebrooks is now hitting .478 (11-for-23) in eight games since rejoining the major league club. His fourth-inning home run was his first since coming back, and the fact that he showed power to right-center field was very encouraging. That’s usually when Middlebrooks is hitting at his best.
The Red Sox actually grabbed the lead before Middlebrooks’ solo homer, though. Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to lead off the fourth, and he scored on a sacrifice fly after Daniel Nava bunted him over to third base.
Mid 4th, 3-3: The Yankees put a runner into scoring position, but Ryan Dempster navigated through the trouble.
Eduardo Nunez singled to lead off the fourth inning, and he stole base base while Lyle Overbay struck out swinging. The Yankees have been very aggressive on the bases in this series, and that trend is clearly continuing.
Dempster picked up two big outs following Nunez’s steal. Chris Stewart lifted a high fly ball to left field that Jonny Gomes snagged just in front of the warning track, and Brett Gardner popped out in the infield.
End 3rd, 3-3: The Red Sox answered right back with a run in the bottom of the third inning.
It looked like Shane Victorino was also taking aim at Alex Rodriguez, as he absolutely smoked a line drive over A-Rod’s head and down the left field line. The ball rattled in the corner as Victorino headed into second base with a double.
Dustin Pedroia flied out for the first out, but Victorino moved up to third base when CC Sabathia’s pitch to David Ortiz bounced in the dirt and briefly got away from catcher Chris Stewart. Ortiz knocked in Victorino with a ground ball down to first base.
Jonny Gomes hit a high chopper to Rodriguez with two outs. A-Rod fielded it and made a strong throw to first to beat Gomes by half a step.
Mid 3rd, Yankees 3-2: Ryan Dempster did not drill Alex Rodriguez this time around.
Rodriguez came up for his second at-bat — his first since being plunked in the second inning — with runners at first and third and one out. He worked the count full before hitting a sharp ground ball to short. Stephen Drew made a nice diving stop and fired to first to record the out, but Ichiro Suzuki crossed the plate with the go-ahead run.
Robinson Cano — who singled to put runners at the corners after Ichiro led off with a single — was running on the 3-2 pitch to A-Rod, so Drew had no chance to retire him at second base. Daniel Nava also made a very nice scoop at first base, as Drew’s throw bounced in the dirt.
Curtis Granderson grounded out to end the inning. The Yankees have scored the last three runs, though, so the little incident involving Dempster and A-Rod seems to have sparked New York.
End 2nd, 2-2: The madness has died down — for now.
CC Sabathia further silenced the crowd with a perfect second inning.
Stephen Drew, who has been swinging the bat better against left-handers of late, was robbed to begin the inning. Lyle Overbay sprawled out up along the first base line to take away a hit.
Will Middlebrooks then grounded to Alex Rodriguez, who once again heard it from the Boston fans. Rodriguez fired to first for the second out.
Sabathia struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to end the inning.
Mid 2nd, 2-2: This game just got a lot more interesting. And the tie score has nothing to do with it.
Ryan Dempster threw behind Alex Rodriguez with his first pitch of the second inning after the Fenway Faithful showered the controversial slugger with boos. Dempster then threw two pitches inside before drilling him with his fourth pitch.
That prompted home plate umpire Brian O’Nora to issue warnings to both sides, which didn’t sit well with Joe Girardi and the Yankees.
Girardi stormed onto the field as both dugouts and bullpens emptied. He got right up in O’Nora’s face, as he clearly felt that Dempster should have been tossed. Instead, it was Girardi who was sent to the showers as the crowd chanted at A-Rod, “You’re a cheater!”
No punches were thrown and no shoves were exchanged. It was essentially a gathering of bodies. Order was eventually restored, and the Yankees’ offense went to work, scoring two runs to tie the game at two apiece.
Curtis Granderson doubled on a ground ball past Daniel Nava and up the right field line. That put runners at second and third for Eduardo Nunez, who drove in New York’s first run with a single into center field. Lyle Overbay plated the second run with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: The Red Sox’ offense is off and running against CC Sabathia.
Sabathia struggled with his command in the first inning. He issued walks to Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz. Shane Victorino also singled into left field, so the bases were loaded up after Ortiz earned his seven-pitch free pass.
Jonny Gomes, who is once again hitting in the five spot, drove in Boston’s first run. He hit a ball right on the screws, and Ichiro Suzuki snagged it in deep right field. Ellsbury tagged up and scored while Victorino took third.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a run with an RBI single into center field.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Ryan Dempster got off to an impressive start.
Dempster struck out the first two hitters he faced, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. Gardner struck out on a fastball outside, and Ichiro went down hacking at a good-looking splitter.
Robinson Cano attempted to change New York’s fortunes in the first inning by hammering a double into the right-center field gap. He took third base on a wild pitch.
Dempster escaped the inning unscathed, though. The red-hot Alfonso Soriano grounded out to Stephen Drew to strand Cano at third base.
8:07 p.m.: Brett Gardner bunts the first pitch foul, and we’re underway at Fenway Park.
7:46 p.m.: The Red Sox won’t have history working in their favor Sunday.
Ryan Dempster is 0-5 in seven career starts against the Yankees. He owns a 6.98 ERA and has just one quality start against New York.
The Yankees and Tigers are the only two teams that Dempster hasn’t beaten in his career.
7:19 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury continues to thrive atop the Red Sox’ order this season. He leads the majors with 44 stolen bases in 48 attempts, and he’s getting more opportunities to run because he’s been raking at the dish.
Ellsbury’s .337 average (97-for-288) since May 26 is good for fourth in the American League. He’s tied for first in the AL with eight triples (two shy of a career high). Ellsbury’s nine career leadoff home runs are tied with Dom DiMaggio and Tommy Harper for the most in Red Sox history.
To see how Ellsbury compares to DiMaggio, check out BostonFanFavorites.com.
7:03 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia being in the Red Sox’ lineup is surprising, but it isn’t surprising. You know what I mean?
It’s surprising — if you saw it — because Pedroia went down hard after fouling a pitch off his shin Saturday. He appeared to be in some pain, and John Farrell noted after the game that Pedroia was sore.
It’s unsurprising, however, because, after all, this is Dustin Pedroia we’re talking about. It takes a lot to keep him out of the Red Sox’ lineup, so there would need to be something seriously wrong for him not to play in a Sunday night game against the Yankees.
Farrell discussed Pedroia’s leadership, among other things, during pregame media availability Sunday. Check out what he had to say about the Red Sox’ leader at the link below.
Click here to read about Pedroia’s leadership >>
6:08 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia fouled a ball off his shin Saturday, and he was removed from the game before the top of the ninth inning. He’s ready to go Sunday, though.
Mike Napoli, meanwhile, will be out of the Red Sox’ lineup again. He’s been dealing with a foot ailment, and his status remains day-to-day. Daniel Nava will play first base and bat seventh in Napoli’s absence.
Check out the complete lineups below.
Red Sox (73-52)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Jonny Gomes, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Daniel Nava, 1B
Stephen Drew, SS
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Ryan Dempster, RHP (6-8, 4.50 ERA)
Yankees (63-59)
Brett Gardner, CF
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Alfonso Soriano, LF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Curtis Granderson, DH
Eduardo Nunez, SS
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Chris Stewart, C
CC Sabathia, LHP (10-10, 4.66 ERA)
8 a.m. ET: The Red Sox are still the only team in Major League Baseball without a losing streak of at least four games.
The Red Sox bounced back from three straight losses to take down the Yankees 6-1 on Saturday. John Lackey pitched into the seventh inning to earn his first victory since July 12, and Boston’s offense finally came up with some timely hits.
The Red Sox’ ability to avoid extended losing streaks speaks to both the depth and resiliency of the club. Even after winning Saturday, both Farrell and Lackey opted to point out that it was just another day at the office rather than overemphasis the victory. It was certainly a big win, though, especially with the Rays nipping at the Red Sox’ heels in the AL East.
Saturday’s result means that the Sox and Yanks will now have a rubber match on the national stage. The Red Sox are 9-4 in rubber matches since mid-May, and Ryan Dempster and CC Sabathia will be the two hurlers going Sunday night. Boston is 2-1 on Sunday Night Baseball this season, with both victories coming against the Yankees.
Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. That gives you plenty of time to grab some dinner and follow the live blog. See you then.
