If you wanted to see bad starting pitching, lots of home runs, some defensive miscues, a bad outing again from the Yankees bullpen, Fenway Park was the place to be this afternoon.
After trailing 6-0, the Red Sox rallied to take the lead only to lose only to rally again and in the end they walked away 16-11 winners over the Yankees in front of 37,699 on an absolutely gorgeous day for baseball at the Fens.
It’s the 9th straight win for the Red Sox after starting the season 2-6 while the Yankees fall to 9-8. The Red Sox are now just a game back of the Toronto Blue Jays (13-6) in the AL East standings while the Yanks are in 3rd.
With Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett on the mound today, you would have expected to see a pitcher’s duel. It was far from that from Beckett while for the first three innings, Burnett was dominating the Red Sox like he’s done all through his career.
Beckett went 5 innings, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts. Burnett went 5 innings, giving up 8 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts.
It came down to the bullpens again and while the Red Sox bullpen was touched up for 3 runs (1 earned), it was the Yankees bullpen that once again faltered giving up 8 runs (all earned) over the final 3 innings.
Manny Delcarmen worked 1 2/3 innings for the Red Sox, giving up 2 runs (none were earned) on 3 hits and recorded 3 strikeouts. Hideki Okajima went 2/3 of an inning, allowing a run on a hit and a walk while Ramon Ramirez also went 2/3 of an inning, giving up a hit and a walk. Jonathan Papelbon finished it off for the Red Sox, walking two and striking out one in the 9th.
Mike Lowell was the man for the Red Sox this afternoon, driving in 6 runs on 2 hits. His two hits were a 3-run homer and 3-run double. Jason Varitek helped the Red Sox get back into the game with a grand slam, his fourth homer of the year. Jason Bay continues to swing a hot stick as he was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and 2 walks, one of the intentional variety while Kevin Youkilis. also had 2 hits.
Dustin Pedroia reached base all 5 times he was up (3 hits, 2 walks) and added an RBI. Jacoby Ellsbury also had 2 hits including a solo home run to tie the game and an RBI and David Ortiz added an RBI to the cause for the local nine as well.
Johnny Damon got things started for the Yankees in top half of the 1st with a one out single. Beckett then walked Mark Teixeira and gave up a single to Nick Swisher that drove in Damon to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. Robinson Cano flew out but Jorge Posada singled in Teixeira for a 2-0 lead. Beckett left them stranded on the basepaths when he got Hideki Matsui grounded out to Youkilis at first.
Burnett worked around a single to Pedroia in the 1st and a walk to J.D. Drew in the 2nd while Beckett had an easy 2nd as well.
Teixeira (5 walks on the day) worked a leadoff walk in the 3rd. After Beckett struck out Swisher, Cano connected for the first of two home runs on the day to put the Yankees up 4-0.
Derek Jeter led off the 4th with a single and after a Damon fly out, stole second with Teixeira at the plate, who Beckett ended up walking. Beckett got Swisher to strikeout again but that pesky Cano doubled in Jeter and Teixeira to put the Yanks up 6-0.
The Red Sox rally began in the 4th inning off of Burnett.
Pedroia worked a leadoff walk and after a Big Papi foul out, went to second on a Youkilis single. A walk to Drew loaded up the bases for Bay, who singled to score Pedroia and cut the lead to 6-1. After a visit from the pitching coach, Burnett struck out Lowell. Varitek then took the first pitch fastball he saw from Burnett and crushed it for a grand slam that cut the Yankees lead to 1 at 6-5.
Beckett seemed to be rejuvenated after the Red Sox got most of the runs back and worked a perfect 5th inning.
Ellsbury tied it for the Sox when he lead off the bottom half of the inning with a home run. A flustered Burnett then gave up a single to Pedroia and a double to Big Papi. He then hit Youk with a pitch but got Drew to ground into a 3-2-3 double play that saw Pedroia retired at the plate and him at first base. Bay followed with a double to center that cleared the bases and gave the Red Sox an 8-6 lead.
Rather than let the bullpen come in, Red Sox skipper Terry Francona elected to keep his ace on the mound for the 6th inning. It was a move that would backfire.
Beckett walked Jeter to start the inning and then gave up a game-tying 2-run homer to Damon that ended his afternoon. Delcarmen came in and recorded two strikeouts sandwiched around a Swisher double and Cano ground out.
Jose Veras came out for Burnett in the bottom half of the 6th and struck out the Captain. He then hit Nick Green with a pitch and Green would go to third on an Ellsbury double. Veras walked Pedroia to load the bases up and left the game. Phil Coke came in and got Big Papi to fly into a sacrifice double play that saw Green score before Pedroia was tagged out at second base trying to advance.
Matsui led off the 7th with a single off of Delcarmen and then Angel Berroa grounded into a fielder’s choice with Matsui out at second. Gardner moved Berroa over to third on a single. With Jeter at the plate, Gardner stole second before Jeter ended up striking out.
Okajima came in and got Damon to ground into what should have been a double play but for the first time in a long time, the ball got by Pedroia for an error that scored Berroa and Gardner to give the Yanks back the lead at 10-9.
Jonathan Albaledejo came out in the bottom half and gave up a leadoff double to Youk who went to third on a Drew groundout. The Yanks decided to intentionally walk Bay to face Lowell but the move failed as Lowell crushed the offering from Albaledejo into the Green Monster seats for a 3-run homer that put the Sox back out front 12-10.
The Yanks got a run back in the 8th on a Cano home run but that’s all they would get for the afternoon.
The Red Sox would add 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th on a Pedroia RBI single and three run double by Lowell.
This was a game I’m sure that Beckett would rather forget. He looked almost too ramped up, mainly because he hadn’t pitched in over a week due to his suspension.
These same two teams will be back at it again tomorrow night at 8:05 PM on ESPN. Justin Masterson will get the ball for the Red Sox and he’ll be opposed by Andy Pettitte.
Notes and musings:
New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 4.25.09 box score
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, wearing a Red Sox jersey with No. 9.69 on the back for his record time in the 100 meters, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
In typical Red Sox/Yankees fashion, the game took 4 hours, 21 minutes. This was the fifth nine-inning game since 2006 between these teams that lasted longer than four hours.
The Yankees are the fourth team since 1900 to allow 15 or more runs three times within the first 17 games of the season.
The teams combined for 27 runs, which is tied for fourth-most in any meeting between these teams.
A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett each allow eight runs. This is the first time both starters in a Yankees-Red Sox game allowed more than eight runs since 1987 (Tommy John and Roger Clemens).
Mike Lowell had six RBIs, the most by a Red Sox player against the Yankees since Carlton Fisk in 1973.
