Final, Red Sox win 4-3: Anthony Ranaudo earned a victory in his first career big-league start and Koji Uehara closed it out as the Red Sox dispatched the Yankees.
Betts ran down a short flyout by Drew for out No. 1, Prado swung through a high fastball for out No. 2 and Gardner battled back from an 0-2 count to fly out to center.
Dustin Pedroia had two hits and an RBI to lead the Red Sox (49-60). Carlos Beltran and Derek Jeter homered for New York (55-53), but it was not enough to avoid the loss.
End 8th, Red Sox 4-3: It’s all but to Koji Uehara now.
Right-hander Adam Warren took the mound for New York and immediately walked Napoli, although the Yankees thought Napoli went around on ball four. Didn’t matter, since Craig then grounded into a double play.
Bogaerts whiffed badly on a changeup, sending us to the what the Red Sox hope is the final half-inning of the game.
There are changes coming defensively for the Red Sox. Looking to put their best defensive outfield on the field, the Sox insert Jackie Bradley Jr. in the outfield, sending Betts to right and Holt to left. If the game continues, Bradley will bat fifth in place of Craig.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 4-3: Junichi Tazawa relieved Layne and was promptly welcomed with a solo shot by Jeter to pull New York within a run.
It didn’t get any easier for Tazawa after that. Ellsbury clubbed one to deep center, with Betts making a spectacular leaping catch to save extra bases. Teixeira followed with a ground-rule double, before getting Beltran to ground out to Pedroia for out No. 2.
McCann walked before Tazawa finally escaped, lead intact, by inducing a groundout by Headley.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-2: With one pitch Thornton retired two men. Ortiz struck the first pitch he saw at Drew to start a double play and help the Yankees escape the inning.
The damage is done, though, with the Red Sox extending their lead by a run.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 4-2: That was a quick night for Kelley. After giving up an RBI single to Pedroia, Kelley leaves in favor of left-hander Matt Thornton, who will face Ortiz.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 3-2: Capuano’s night is done, and he’s on the hook for the loss despite not pitching that poorly.
Betts singled to right to get things started, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Holt. That was enough to chase Capuano, who gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings, but is still responsible for Betts if he scores.
Right-hander Shawn Kelley comes on in relief for New York.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 3-2: Left-hander Layne did his job to perfection getting Drew to fly out to left, Martin Prado to ground out to third and Gardner to look at strike three to end the half-inning.
End 6th, Red Sox 3-2: Chris Capuano has retired nine in a row.
Capuano took care of Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks and David Ross in the sixth inning.
Chase Headley, whom the Yankees recently acquired from the Padres, provided some fancy glove work.
Bogaerts ripped a hot shot that Headley picked on the back hand. Mark Teixeira completed the out with a nice-looking scoop at first base.
Ross also took aim at Headley. The third baseman dived to knock it down before delivering a strong throw across the diamond.
Ross, who has been battling plantar fasciitis, came up lame while running to first base. He looked to be in some serious pain, and the Red Sox will insert Christian Vazquez behind the plate.
Tommy Layne will take over on the mound after six innings from Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo is in line for a win in his major league debut.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 3-2: An overturned call benefited the Yankees in the sixth inning.
Anthony Ranaudo walked Jacoby Ellsbury on five pitches — clearly a dangerous thing to be doing given Ellsbury’s baserunning prowess.
Ellsbury took off for second base and originally was ruled out. Xander Bogaerts’ tag was high up on Ellsbury’s hip, though, and replays proved the wrong call was made. The Yankees successfully challenged.
Carlos Beltran knocked in Ellsbury with a single into center field.
End 5th, Red Sox 3-1: Chris Capuano worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
David Ortiz and Mike Napoli both put Derek Jeter to work, shooting a couple of ground balls in the shortstop’s direction. Jeter was up to the challenge.
Capuano struck out Allen Craig to end the inning. Craig chased a 3-2 slider in the dirt.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-1: Anthony Ranaudo overcame a leadoff single in his fifth big league inning.
Ichiro started the frame with a base hit. You could say that’s been a familiar sight over the years.
Ranaudo quickly benefited from a double play. Brett Gardner, who has shown a power stroke of late, lined to Dustin Pedroia, who turned it into a double play.
Derek Jeter grounded out to end the inning.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-1: Welcome back, Will Middlebrooks.
Middlebrooks, playing in his first major league game since May 16, laced a line drive into the right field corner. The ball briefly got lodged under the padding on the wall, enabling Middlebrooks to cruise into second base.
David Ross, still battling plantar fasciitis, put an inside-out swing on a 1-0 offering. He dropped it into right field, scoring Middlebrooks from second.
Chris Capuano retired Mookie Betts, Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia to close out the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-1: Carlos Beltran — a player the wheeling and dealing Red Sox could have more aggressively pursued in free agency over the offeason — put the Yankees on the scoreboard.
Beltran ripped his 13th home run of the season into the Yankees’ bullpen in right field in the fourth. He now owns an eight-game hit streak.
Anthony Ranaudo rebounded immediately following Beltran’s blast. He retired the next three hitters.
Brian McCann flied out to Allen Craig in left field. Chase Headley and Stephen Drew both grounded to second base.
Dustin Pedroia briefly bobbled Drew’s ground ball but bounced back to complete the out.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Pedroia broke the scoring ice, sparking the Red Sox offense to take the lead in the third.
Headley got a good jump on a chopper down the third-base line to throw out Betts at first. Teixeira was not as fortunate, though, with Holt pulling a triple to right.
Pedroia just needed a groundout or a fly out to drive in Holt from third with one out, but he did more than that. Pedey clocked a ground-rule double to the triangle in center, plating Holt for the first run of the game.
Ortiz kept things going by dropping a single over the slight shift to score Pedroia. Napoli hit a screamer, but straight at Jeter, who gloved it but was unable to double up Ortiz at first. Papi reached third on a double to right by Craig, who owns Capuano in his career. But the both were stranded when Bogaerts yanked a grounder to third to end the threat.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: Ranaudo has held the Yankees scoreless so far, but he has thrown 48 pitches through three innings.
Craig gloved a sailing liner by Ichiro at the warning track and Gardner walked. Apparently, that’s sort of his thing tonight. Then he swiped second base, smelling blood against the rook on the mound.
Ranaudo, who is pitching fairly well despite a climbing pitch count, recovered to paint the corner and strike out Jeter. Bogaerts almost ended the inning on a diving snag of a grounder up the middle by Ellsbury, but the umpire said the ball did not beat the runner.
No matter. Teixeira flied out to center for the third out.
End 2nd, 0-0: First play in the field, and now his first at-bat as a member of the Red Sox for Craig.
Ellsbury snagged Craig’s sinking liner to out No. 1 before Xander Bogaerts flared a single over Jeter’s head into left. Will Middlebrooks, back in his big-league uniform, waved at a breaking ball for strike three and out No. 2.
David Ross ended the inning with a groundout to short.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Carlos Beltran earned the Yankees’ second leadoff walk in as many innings. McCann flied out to left, where Craig took an awkward route to make the catch. Clearly, Craig is not yet comfortable with that wall.
Craig isn’t the only one having a little trouble in the outfield. Holt, manning right, had to wait a beat before coming in to catch a liner by Chase Headley. But the half-inning ended uneventfully when Drew, in his first at-bat as a Yankee, rolled one to first base.
End 1st, 0-0: The Red Sox, like the Yankees, were not able to do anything with a free baserunner in the first.
Brock Holt struck out, but reached first on a passed ball by Yankees catcher Brian McCann. Dustin Pedroia hit a one-hopper to short, but Derek Jeter and Stephen Drew could not turn it quick enough to turn the double play.
David Ortiz and Mike Napoli flied out to end the inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Anthony Ranaudo was relatively spotless in his first major-league inning.
Brett Gardner led off with a walk, advancing to second on a groundout by Derek Jeter, who received a standing ovation from the Fenway faithful. Jacoby Ellsbury’s reception was not as welcoming; the former Red Sox center fielder was booed on his way to the plate.
To the delight of Red Sox fans, Ellsbury flied out to left field, where Allen Craig got into the scorebook for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. Mark Teixeira softly grounded back to the mound for the third out.
6:12 p.m.: Here is something for opposing baserunners to think about when the ball is hit to center or right field (although not tonight, since Jackie Bradley Jr. has the night off):
Bradley and Cespedes are tied for the major-league lead with 12 outfield assists each. All of Cespedes’ assists have come from left field, where his total is three more than that of any other left fielder. He’s projected to play right field full-time for the Red Sox.
5:55 p.m.: Yoenis Cespedes just got finished making his first appearance before the media as a member of the Red Sox. He said all the right things — in Spanish, of course, through a translator — so it was hard to gauge how he feels about being dealt from a World Series contender to a last-place ballclub.
Basically, Cespedes said that the A’s have done a good job of becoming a winning franchise over the last few years — something the Red Sox have been, for the most part, for more than a decade. He didn’t see a lot of Red Sox games growing up in Cuba, but the history and tradition of the Red Sox and Fenway Park precedes them.
Here’s a look at Cespedes in his new Red Sox gear, courtesy of NESN’s Gary Striewski:
[tweet https://twitter.com/garystriewski/status/495323702897410048 align=’center’]
You can also watch more of Cespedes’ press conference here.
5 p.m. ET: Anthony Ranaudo and Allen Craig get to share the spotlight in their first games as members of the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Ranaudo, a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who has come up through the Red Sox system, will make his major-league debut against the New York Yankees. Craig will suit up for the first time since being acquired in a trade deadline deal Thursday.
As a starter for Triple-A Pawtucket, Ranaudo was 12-4 with a 2.41 earned-run average this season. He is not a strikeout pitcher, having fanned 99 batters in 119 1/3 innings, but he has limited opposing batters to just six home runs all season.
Craig’s arrival comes with less fanfare than that of Yoenis Cespedes, who is expected to be active for the game but will not start. Still, Craig is an All-Star caliber outfielder who actually participated in the midsummer classic last year. He will get a fresh start on turning around a down season for him by starting in left field against the Yankees.
Cespedes’ plane landed late Friday evening and he arrived at Fenway Park about two hours before the first pitch. Mookie Betts, who was recalled from the PawSox, is listed as the starting center fielder with Brock Holt in right.
A couple of veterans will be missing from the action, as Mike Carp was designated for assignment and Shane Victorino was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Check out the full lineup in Eastern Bank Leading Off.
