Final, Red Sox 4-2: Edward Mujica got the job done. Mujica, pitching in place of Koji Uehara, closed the door to give the Red Sox a 4-2 victory at Yankee Stadium.
Jon Lester was solid in 6 2/3 innings for Boston. He gave up two earned runs on six hits while striking out six and walking two. Lester threw 113 pitches (71 strikes).
Jonny Gomes and Grady Sizemore both went deep in the sixth inning to provide the offense. Gomes led off the sixth with a solo blast, and Sizemore later added a three-run shot. Both players collected two hits in the victory.
John Lackey will face Hiroki Kuroda in Saturday’s matinee. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 4-2: Dellin Betances struck out the side in the ninth inning.
David Ross, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Jonny Gomes went down in order against Betances. Ross and Bradley went down looking.
The bigger development, however, is that Edward Mujica is going to pitch the ninth inning for Boston. It’s unclear why Koji Uehara isn’t entering the game with the Red Sox holding just a two-run lead.
Uehara last pitched Wednesday, so this doesn’t seem like a move related to overuse.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-2: Junichi Tazawa, who recorded the final out of the seventh inning, pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Boston.
Alfonso Soriano singled with two outs, at which point Joe Girardi turned to his bench and called upon catcher Brian McCann to pinch hit. McCann struck out swinging on a nasty splitter down and out of the strike zone.
Jonathan Herrera took over at third base before the inning. Ryan Roberts, who had been playing third base, was pinch hit for by Mike Carp during the top half of the inning.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-2: The Red Sox were unable to extend their lead despite putting a couple of runners on base in the eighth inning.
David Ortiz led off with a walk against lefty Cesar Cabral. Joe Girardi then called upon Adam Warren, who surrendered a one-out single to Grady Sizemore.
The Red Sox couldn’t cash in, though. Xander Bogaerts flied out to center field and Mike Carp, who pinch hit for Ryan Roberts, struck out swinging to end the threat.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-2: The Yankees shaved off a run in the seventh inning.
Jon Lester got two quick outs in the seventh before running into some trouble. The left-hander wasn’t able to finish the frame, as manager John Farrell turned to his bullpen after the Yankees scored their second run of the game.
Ichiro Suzuki singled and Brian Roberts walked with two outs, bringing up Kelly Johnson with runners at first and second. Johnson put together a nice, seven-pitch at-bat, which he capped by singling into right field on a 3-2 pitch. The runners were going with the count full, so Ichiro scored easily from second base.
Farrell turned to Junichi Tazawa at that point, and the reliable setup man escaped the jam. Tazawa got Derek Jeter to fly out to right field.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Jonny Gomes has strung together a couple of hits, although CC Sabathia kept him in the yard this time around.
Gomes, who homered in the sixth, singled with two outs after Sabathia induced back-to-back ground ball outs to begin the seventh.
Gomes’ two-out knock didn’t cause any trouble, though, as Dustin Pedroia — like David Ross and Jackie Bradley Jr. earlier in the inning — put the ball on the ground.
End 6th, Red Sox 4-1: Jacoby Ellsbury found himself in scoring position in the sixth inning before Jon Lester shut the door.
Ellsbury singled into right field with one out and stole second base uncontested as Carlos Beltran struck out for the second out.
Alfonso Soriano followed Beltran’s strikeout with a comebacker that Lester handled and flipped to first base.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 4-1: This game changed in a hurry.
Jonny Gomes and Grady Sizemore went deep in the sixth inning as the Red Sox scored four runs to take a 4-1 lead.
Gomes led off the sixth inning with a solo homer. It was a no-doubter into the left field seats, as Gomes absolutely smoked a 1-0 fastball from CC Sabathia.
David Ortiz reached with one out on an accidental single. He checked his swing, but the ball hit his bat and rolled out toward third base. Since the Yankees were aligned in a defensive shift, they had no play.
Mike Napoli then roped a single into center field, setting the stage for Sizemore’s three-run homer. Sizemore crushed Sabathia’s 0-1 offering well beyond the right field fence.
End 5th, Yankees 1-0: Jon Lester benefited from a double play in the fifth inning.
Ichiro Suzuki hit a ground ball that deflected off Lester and toward second base. Since the ball changed direction, it took a while for Pedroia to track it down and Ichiro reached with an infield single.
Brian Roberts grounded to Pedroia to kick off a 4-6-3 double play.
Lester capped the inning by striking out Kelly Johnson.
Mid 5th, Yankees 1-0: CC Sabathia has been in complete control.
Sabathia walked Xander Bogaerts to lead off the fifth inning, but he settled right back down to keep the Yankees’ one-run lead intact.
Ryan Roberts hit a slow roller that Derek Jeter handled for the first out. Bogaerts moved up into scoring position on the play, and he’d stay there because Sabathia picked up two crucial strikeouts.
David Ross and Jackie Bradley Jr. both struck out swinging to end the inning. Sabathia has six strikeouts total.
Sabathia, who now has 1,014 strikeouts with New York, tied Roger Clemens in the fifth inning for 11th place on the Yankees’ all-time strikeout list.
End 4th, Yankees 1-0: Jon Lester again handled his business.
The Yankees couldn’t get anything going in the fourth inning, and this game is shaping up to be a pitchers’ duel.
Lester struck out Alfonso Soriano, who homered in his first at-bat, and Yangervis Solarte as part of his scoreless fourth inning.
This game has a good pace to it right now, which is important because the pregame forecast called for rain.
Mid 4th, Yankees 1-0: The Red Sox might soon regret stranding that runner at third base in the third inning. CC Sabathia has been solid thus far.
Sabathia spun a perfect fourth inning in which David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Grady Sizemore went down in order.
Ortiz and Sizemore both put the ball on the ground against Sabathia, who has been keeping his pitches down with great effectiveness.
End 3rd, Yankees 1-0: Jon Lester worked around some two-out trouble in the third inning.
Brian Roberts’ leadoff bunt attempt failed miserably, as catcher David Ross made the catch in foul territory a few feet away from home plate.
Derek Jeter followed Kelly Johnson’s flyout with an infield single. Jeter hit a chopper to the left side of mound. Lester corralled it but had no chance to throw out Jeter at first base.
Jacoby Ellsbury, facing his former teammate for the second time, drew a walk against Lester before the left-hander got Carlos Beltran to put the ball on the ground to end the inning.
Mid 3rd, Yankees 1-0: The Red Sox left the potential tying run at third base in the third inning.
David Ross doubled down the left field line to lead off the third. He then advanced to third base when Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded out.
CC Sabathia really buckled down at that point, retiring the next two hitters to keep Boston off the scoreboard. Jonny Gomes popped out to first baseman Kelly Johnson, and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to third base to end the inning.
End 2nd, Yankees 1-0: The only question was whether it was fair or foul.
Alfonso Soriano led off the bottom of the second inning with a lined shot down the left field line. The ball began hooking toward foul territory, but it wrapped inside the pole for a home run.
Jon Lester rebounded to produce two ground ball outs and a strikeout, but Soriano’s blast — his second of the season — will be enough if Lester’s last two starts are any indication.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: CC Sabathia has four strikeouts through two innings after fanning two more in the second inning.
Grady Sizemore and Xander Bogaerts went down swinging to begin the second inning. Sizemore struck out on a sinker, while Sabathia turned to his fastball to handle Bogaerts.
Ryan Roberts put good wood on the ball with two outs, but it was right at Ichiro Suzuki in left field.
End 1st, 0-0: Jon Lester easily handled the first inning.
Lester retired Derek Jeter, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran in the first inning. Jeter grounded out, Ellsbury flied out and Beltran popped out in foul territory.
The left-hander has been impressive to begin the season, but he hasn’t received any offense. Let’s see if things change.
Mid 1st, 0-0: David Ortiz has been an on-base machine against the Yankees over the last two-plus seasons. He walked with two outs in the first inning Friday.
Jonny Gomes struck out looking and Dustin Pedroia grounded out before Ortiz worked a five-pitch walk.
The Red Sox couldn’t do anything with Ortiz’s free pass. Mike Napoli, like Gomes, struck out looking.
7:08 p.m.: Jonny Gomes takes a first-pitch ball at Yankee Stadium.
6:03 p.m.: Shane Victorino (hamstring) and Will Middlebrooks (calf) both worked out on the Yankee Stadium field Friday. Both are making progress, according to John Farrell.
Farrell said the Red Sox will have a better idea of where each player is at following next week’s series against the Chicago White Sox. Right now, Victorino is slightly ahead of Middlebrooks in terms of progress.
Both players will require minor league rehab stints before returning to major league action.
5:58 p.m.: Jonny Gomes will hit atop Boston’s order with lefty CC Sabathia on the hill. Daniel Nava, who homered in Thursday’s loss, will sit as Grady Sizemore plays left field and Jackie Bradley Jr. starts in center field.
Sizemore made his first career start in left field Thursday, and he’ll be back there again Friday because of the unique Yankee Stadium dimensions. John Farrell said before Friday’s game he doesn’t have any concerns about Sizemore lacking comfort in left.
Friday’s complete lineups are below.
Boston Red Sox (4-6)
Jonny Gomes, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Grady Sizemore, LF
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Ryan Roberts, 3B
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jon Lester, LHP (0-2, 2.51 ERA)
New York Yankees (5-5)
Derek Jeter, SS
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Carlos Beltran, RF
Alfonso Soriano, DH
Francisco Cervelli, C
Yangervis Solarte, 3B
Ichiro Suzuki, LF
Brian Roberts, 2B
Kelly Johnson, 1B
CC Sabathia, LHP (1-1, 7.50 ERA)
5:45 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox will turn to Jon Lester on Friday while trying to put Thursday’s disappointing loss behind them.
Lester was a hard-luck loser in each of his first two starts, with the Red Sox’s offense providing a combined one run of support in those two games. Boston’s offense isn’t exactly in a great place right now, either, as the unit mustered up just one run on four hits against Michael Pineda and Co. in Thursday’s series opener at Yankee Stadium.
Thursday’s game made headlines for reasons beyond the Yankees’ 4-1 victory. It was Jacoby Ellsbury’s first game against his former team, and Pineda appeared to use a foreign substance on his throwing hand while shutting down the Red Sox for six innings. Joe Torre, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president of baseball operations, said Friday the league won’t suspend Pineda, though it does plan to discuss Thursday’s incident with the team.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Red Sox manager John Farrell, as well as several players, again downplayed the situation’s significance before Friday’s game. The general consensus seems to be that a little bit of something for extra grip isn’t a bad thing and that the only reason this has become a story is because of how blatant Pineda was in his use of a substance.
In any event, both teams will look to turn the page Friday at Yankee Stadium. Lester will battle CC Sabathia in the second game of the teams’ four-game set.
Friday’s contest is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., but there is rain in the forecast. Stick around for updates throughout the evening.
