How often do you go to a wedding in Charlotte, NC and there has to be a television so that people are able the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees? Well it happens when one half of the family involved in the wedding are Red Sox fans.
Unlike Friday night when everyone was coming to me for updates, it worked out on Saturday watching the game as Jon Lester continued his resurrection from his career-worst season as the visiting nine beat the Evil Empire 4-1.
After Adrian Gonzalez had gotten the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the top half of the 1st with a two-run blast off of David Phelps, Lester took to the Yankee Stadium bump and got off to a rough start. He walked Derek Jeter and then allowed a single to Nick Swisher. But he recovered and struck out Robinson Cano, got Andruw Jones to ground out and then struck out Casey McGehee to end the inning.
Lester was strong after that though. The one big mistake he made was when he left a pitch out over the plate that Curtis Granderson blasted out of the park to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
He was tested once again in his final inning of work when Granderson doubled to lead off the 7th. Russell Martin grounded out to move Granderson up 90 feet but Lester got Nix to fly out to short right field keeping Granderson at third. He got out of any further trouble when Ichiro Suzuki grounded out.
The Yankees had another chance in the 8th when Nick Swisher singled off of Andrew Bailey. But Craig Breslow came in and got Cano to ground into a double play to end the inning. Alfredo Aceves worked around a leadoff single by Eric Chavez to preserve the win for Lester and pick up his 25th save in the process.
Before we talk about anything else, here’s an interesting tidbit for you. It had been 125 years since two members of the Yale Bulldogs made up the battery in an MLB game. Well it happened yesterday when Breslow and Ryan Lavarnway made up the Red Sox battery in the 8th inning.
We have to be realistic here. The Red Sox are a longshot to make the playoffs. There’s no doubts about that. Given how the races have gone in year’s past, you can’t rule out anyone within 10 games. The Red Sox are still 6.5 games out of the second wild card but aren’t dead in the water.
They’ll need to play good baseball over the final 41 games of the season. If they do, you can’t rule anything out. A win tonight against the first place team in the division would could go a long way. And it’s up to Josh Beckett to do just that.
We are going dark until tomorrow night since I’ll be in area today and most of tomorrow where there’s no cell service or internet until I fly back tomorrow night. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.
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Sox find some cheer in the Bronx [boston globe]
Farrell not one to discuss speculation [boston globe]
Crawford wants surgery [boston globe]
It’s always sunny side up for Marrero [boston globe]
Ciriaco keeps up clip [boston globe]
By looking better, Lester improves image [boston globe]
Jon Lester all aces as Red Sox win in NY [boston herald]
The need for speed [boston herald]
Report: Shoppach sent text [boston herald]
Red Sox’ Yale contingent helps Jon Lester break through [boston herald]
Daniel Bard battling to return to majors [boston herald]
Red Sox plenty Lucky to have him [boston herald]
Bobby Valentine says he’s not doing a good job [boston herald]
For starters, Sox’ finish not reliant on Carl Crawford [boston herald]
Agent says Carl Crawford will follow club doctor’s orders [boston herald]
Yanks have done it better than Sox [boston herald]
Scary start for Brian Johnson [boston herald]
Pitching woes have ‘X’ in spotlight [boston herald]
Resurgent Lester leads Sox past Yankees, 4-1 [csn new england]
Amid losses and dysfunction, Ross wants to come back to Sox [csn new england]
Red Sox notes: Valentine, Doubront, Johnson, Ortiz [csn new england]
Where was this in the first half from Lester, Gonzo? [csn new england]
Ciricaco (4-for-4) solidifies reputation as Yankee-killer [csn new england]
Report: Shoppach sent text on Gonzalez’s phone [csn new england]
Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1 [espn boston]
Sox supportive if Crawford picks surgery [espn boston]
Cherington ‘not itching’ for more trades [espn boston]
Cherington: Sox will recall Bard this season [espn boston]
Ciriaco makes good with bad (pitches) [espn boston]
Results starting to show for Lester [espn boston]
Yale Bulldogs alumni Craig Breslow and Ryan Lavarnway induce key double play as Boston Red Sox beat New York Yankees [espn boston]
Closing Time: Jon Lester dominates, Pedro Ciriaco unstoppable as Red Sox beat Yankees [full count]
David Ortiz Backs Bobby Valentine, Claims Outside Controversy Affecting Red Sox [nesn.com]
Carl Crawford Could Shut Himself Down Soon to Undergo Tommy John Surgery [nesn.com]
Jon Lester Paves the Way for Complete Effort From Red Sox Pitching Staff [nesn.com]
Faith, Hope and Pixie Dust May Not Be Enough to Save Red Sox’ Season [nesn.com]
How Pedro Ciriaco (with an assist from Robinson Cano) became an unlikely Yankees killer [alex speier – weei.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
photo credit: reuters pictures
