Final, Yankees 3-2: The Yankees on Thursday defeated the Red Sox for the second time in three days.
David Phelps tossed six solid innings for New York in a winning effort. He allowed just two runs on four hits.
Clay Buchholz also pitched well, giving up three runs on five hits over five innings, but wasn’t quite as sharp as he was in his first three spring training starts.
Francisco Cervelli started New York’s offensive attack with a solo blast in the second inning. Ichiro Suzuki added a two-run single in the fifth inning that proved to be the difference. Dustin Pedroia’s two-run double in the sixth inning represented Boston’s only offense.
Chris Capuano and Drake Britton also pitched for the Red Sox. Capuano worked three shutout innings before Britton pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Red Sox will battle the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. The action is scheduled to get started at 1:05 p.m. ET.
Mid 9th, Yankees 3-2: Drake Britton probably won’t crack the major league roster out of camp. However, the left-hander has solidified himself as one of Boston’s top minor league options with a solid spring.
Britton tossed a scoreless ninth inning. The lefty induced two ground ball outs and picked up a strikeout while working around a two-out single.
Dan Butler, Matty Johnson and Daniel Nava are due up for Boston in the bottom of the ninth.
End 8th, Yankees 3-2: The Red Sox will need to generate some offense in the ninth inning.
Mike McCoy’s two-out single into right field didn’t lead to anything in the eighth. Mookie Betts struck out swinging to cap the inning.
Grady Sizemore lined out to shortstop in the eighth. He’s 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Drake Britton will be the new Red Sox pitcher in the ninth. He’ll take over after three solid relief innings from Chris Capuano.
Mid 8th, Yankees 3-2: Chris Capuano stayed in amid a host of defensive changes for the Red Sox. The lefty tossed another scoreless frame.
Capuano walked Mark Teixeira with two outs, but that was the only blemish. Capuano induced a ground ball out and two fly ball outs in the eighth.
Mookie Betts, Matty Johnson and Mike McCoy entered for Boston. Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli and Xander Bogaerts exited.
End 7th, Yankees 3-2: Chris Leroux tossed a scoreless seventh inning for New York.
David Phelps, as mentioned, was solid for the Yankees in his six innings of work. The right-hander gave up two runs on four hits while striking out three and walking two.
Mid 7th, Yankees 3-2: Chris Capuano didn’t let a two-out walk haunt him in the seventh inning.
Capuano induced three ground ball outs en route to a scoreless seventh. Yangervis Solarte and Zoilo Almonte grounded to third baseman Carlos Rivero, and Ichiro Suzuki grounded to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop to end the inning.
David Phelps will give way to the Yankees’ bullpen after six solid innings.
End 6th, Yankees 3-2: The Red Sox finally got to David Phelps in the sixth inning.
David Ross jumpstarted the rally with a single into center field, although he would be wiped off the bases when Jonathan Herrera grounded into a forceout. Herrera’s grounder was hit softly to second baseman Jose Pirela, who seemed to surprise Ross by going to second base, as the Red Sox catcher didn’t slide.
The rally really got going when Grady Sizemore reached out and yanked a pitch located down and away into right field. Carlos Rivero, who pinch ran for Herrera, scooted up to second base on the single.
Rivero and Sizemore, who each advanced a base on Shane Victorino’s ground ball, scored when Dustin Pedroia doubled into right-center field. Pedroia is starting to look locked in offensively.
David Ortiz walked with two down, but Phelps finally escaped the inning by getting Mike Napoli to pop out.
Mid 6th, Yankees 3-0: Chris Capuano took over in the sixth inning after five innings from starter Clay Buchholz.
Capuano, who has had a nice spring since being signed as a free agent, settled things down for Boston with a 1-2-3 inning.
Jonathan Herrera, who beat out Brock Holt for the Red Sox’s utility infielder job, made a nice play down at third base for the second out. Herrera charged in on a dribbler up the line, made the play and delivered a strong, off-balance throw across the diamond to nail the red-hot Francisco Cervelli.
Buchholz gave up three earned runs on five hits in his five innings of work. He struck out three and walked one.
End 5th, Yankees 3-0: David Phelps had the perfect solution to a two-out walk: a 4-6-3, inning-ending double play.
Daniel Nava walked with two down, but Phelps quickly erased any potential threat by getting Xander Bogaerts to ground to second baseman Jose Pirela.
Mid 5th, Yankees 3-0: The Yankees struck for two runs in the fifth inning after back-to-back scoreless frames for Clay Buchholz.
The trouble started for Buchholz with two outs in the fifth. Zoilo Almonte walked, and then scampered from first to third on Zelous Wheeler’s double down the right field line.
Almonte and Wheeler both scored when Ichiro Suzuki smacked a two-run, two-out single into right field.
Dean Anna also singled before Buchholz finally escaped the inning.
End 4th, Yankees 1-0: David Phelps has been in control.
Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz couldn’t make any noise in the fourth inning. They went down 1-2-3 against the Yankees right-hander.
Mid 4th, Yankees 1-0: Clay Buchholz again kept the ball on the ground in the fourth inning.
Eduardo Nunez tried to bunt his way on, but Buchholz charged off the mound to field it cleanly. Buchholz’s throw to first base arrived just in time to get Nunez.
Mark Teixeira then grounded back to Buchholz, and Francisco Cervelli, who homered in his first at-bat, grounded to Xander Bogaerts at short to end the inning.
End 3rd, Yankees 1-0: David Phelps enjoyed another quick, effective inning in the third.
David Ross, Jonathan Herrera and Grady Sizemore went down in order against Phelps.
Sizemore nearly reached, as Scott Sizemore’s throw brought first baseman Mark Teixeira off the bag before Big Tex slapped down a tag to record the out.
Mid 3rd, Yankees 1-0: The third inning was quick and painless for Clay Buchholz.
Buchholz kept the ball down in the strike zone while inducing three straight ground ball outs.
The Red Sox’s infield was busy. Xander Bogaerts, Mike Napoli and Dustin Pedroia were forced to field each of their positions in the grounder heavy third inning.
End 2nd, Yankees 1-0: David Phelps motored through the second inning.
Phelps picked up back-to-back strikeouts to begin the frame. Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava each went down looking against Phelps, who impressively painted the corners.
Xander Bogaerts quickly fell behind in the count, too, although the 21-year-old was retired via a soft grounder to short.
Mid 2nd, Yankees 1-0: Francisco Cervelli is piping hot right now.
Cervelli kicked off the second inning with a home run over everything in left field. The Yankees catcher now is 15-for-29 with four home runs this spring.
Clay Buchholz, to his credit, settled down after Cervelli’s solo blast. The right-hander struck out Scott Sizemore (swinging) and Yangervis Solarte (looking) before getting Zoilo Almonte to bounce out to Mike Napoli at first base.
End 1st, 0-0: Shane Victorino is beginning to look more comfortable in the box.
Victorino ripped a one-out double down the left field line in the first inning. He then advanced to third base on a wild pitch, although it didn’t lead to any damage on the scoreboard.
Dustin Pedroia flied out to center field, and David Ortiz grounded into the shift in shallow right field for the third out.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Clay Buchholz is off and running.
Buchholz yielded an infield single in the first inning, but otherwise was very effective, continuing the right-hander’s trend this spring.
Ichiro Suzuki lined out to Grady Sizemore in center field for the first out, and Buchholz struck out Dean Anna with a pitch on the outside corner for out No. 2.
Eduardo Nunez reached with two down on a ground ball to the right side. Mike Napoli ranged over, but the ball kicked off his glove and past Dustin Pedroia, who also converged on Nunez’s chopper. Pedroia might have made the play if Napoli didn’t also make an effort for it.
Buchholz made sure the infield single didn’t hurt him by getting Mark Teixeira to pop out to catcher David Ross in foul territory up along the third base line.
7:08 p.m.: Clay Buchholz delivers a first-pitch strike.
6:50 p.m.: Red Sox manager John Farrell announced a few roster moves before Thursday’s game.
Pitcher Rubby De La Rosa and infielder Brock Holt have been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Infielder Brandon Snyder has been reassigned to minor league camp.
The moves aren’t surprising, but Holt’s demotion is significant. It essentially means Jonathan Herrera will begin the season as Boston’s utility infielder.
6:40 p.m.: Former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield was kind enough to answer fan questions submitted via social media Thursday.
The questions touched on a number of topics, including Wakefield’s best Red Sox memory, his relationships with his teammates and whether he still could pitch at a major league level. Check it all out at the link below.
Click here for Wakefield’s Q&A >>
6:34 p.m.: One glaring omission from the Yankees’ lineup is Jacoby Ellsbury, who also missed Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox in Tampa Bay. Ellsbury is dealing with right calf tightness.
Ellsbury underwent a precautionary MRI after skipping batting practice Thursday. The test came back negative, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
2:38 p.m.: Thursday’s lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox
Grady Sizemore, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
David Ross, C
Jonathan Herrera, 3B
Clay Buchholz, RHP
New York Yankees
Ichiro Suzuki, CF
Brendan Ryan, SS
Eduardo Nunez, 3B
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Francisco Cervelli, C
Scott Sizemore, 2B
Yangervis Solarte, LF
Zoilo Almonte, RF
Zelous Wheeler, DH
David Phelps, RHP
2:30 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees on Thursday will square off for the second time in three days.
Clay Buchholz will lead the Red Sox into battle against David Phelps and Co. The Yankees downed Felix Doubront and the Red Sox 8-1 in the teams’ clash in Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Buchholz has made three spring training starts to this point and has been impressive. The right-hander has given up one run on five hits in eight innings this spring. He gave up just two hits — back-to-back singles to begin the game — against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start on Friday, and even retired 11 straight to conclude his outing.
Thursday also will mark a special night at JetBlue Park because Tim Wakefield and others will be raising awareness for the Red Sox Foundation. A representative from each cornerstone of the Red Sox Foundation will be in attendance to discuss how the Foundation has changed their lives.
Thursday’s action is scheduled to kick off at 7:05 p.m. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and follow along with NESN.com’s live blog throughout the day for updates.
