Games that start at 10:32 p.m. on the East Coast are made for the DVR. With a rain delay of three hours and 27 minutes, that’s when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees started playing baseball.
But for those who stayed up (I was not one, just finished watching on DVR), you missed a late inning barrage of runs by the Red Sox to beat the Yankees 8-3. The win gave the Red Sox a sweep of the series in the Bronx and puts them up two games over the Yanks in the AL East. It’s also the eighth time in nine tries that the Red Sox have beaten the Yankees.
Unfortunately though, this game may only be remembered for David Ortiz finally being plunked with a pitch. Of course you have to wonder if Josh Beckett hadn’t hit Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez whether or not the Yankees would have hit him or anyone else for that matter.
But since Beckett did hit Jeter and ARod, Yankees starter CC Sabathia hit Big Papi in the right leg in the fourth inning. Both benches were warned then and things went back to normal. It did mark the first time in 161 games that Ortiz had been hit by a pitch from a Yankees pitcher. On the other hand, Jeter had been 18 times by Sox pitchers in his career.
Beckett had issues early in the game as he did hit Jeter who was the first batter he faced in the game. The next batter he faced was Curtis Granderson who yanked a fastball out of the yard giving the Yankees a 2-0 early lead. He did settle down though and was outstanding the rest of the way for seven innings.
And with the offense getting him seven runs in the top of the 7th, he was able to get his third victory of the season over the Yankees and Sabathia. The pair had been matched up in two previous starts this season. Three of Beckett’s five wins so far in 2011 have come against the Bronx Bombers.
The Red Sox offense was stymied by Sabathia until that fateful 7th inning.
Big Papi led off with a single and came into score on a Jed Lowrie triple to cut the lead to 2-1. After a Carl Crawford groundout, Mike Cameron‘s double tied the game at 2. Jason Varitek followed that with a single then a Jacoby Ellsbury single scored the go-ahead run in Cameron with Tek moving up 90 feet.
After Marco Scutaro, who was playing second base for the injured Dustin Pedroia, lined out to left, Adrian Gonzalez chased Sabathia from the game with an RBI single to make it 4-2. The Red Sox wouldn’t stop there though as they continued the onslaught against Yankees reliever David Robertson.
Kevin Youkilis greeted him with an RBI single. Big Papi then picked up his second hit of the inning as he cleared the bases with a double to push the lead to 7-2. The inning finally ended when Lowrie lined out to left but the damage had been done and what was left of the New York fanbase at the game made their way to the exits. Both teams would add a run in the 9th.
Another solid win by the Red Sox last night. Any win over the Yankees is a great one but when it gives you a bigger lead in the AL East it’s only sweeter. Sure there’s a lot of baseball left to be played but you could say the Red Sox own the Yankees right now. And if the Yankees want to compete against them, they’ll need to find a way.
If not, given how solid this Red Sox team, they could find themselves falling fast. And we here in Red Sox Nation would be none too pleased.
The Red Sox are off to Toronto so we’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Red Sox wipe out Yankees [Boston Globe]
Pedroia’s checkup is OK [Boston Globe]
Yankees seeking some relief [Boston Globe]
Weiland going steady at Pawtucket [Boston Globe]
Red Sox continue reign over Yankees [Boston Herald]
David Ortiz blames media for getting plunked [Boston Herald]
Terry Francona expects Dustin Pedroia to play tonight [Boston Herald]
Jacoby Ellsbury takes the lead [Boston Herald]
A painful lack of depth is hurting Yankees [Boston Herald]
Sox get to Sabathia, sweep Yanks [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Ortiz rips media after hit by pitch [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 8, Yankees 3 [ESPN Boston]
Ortiz blames media for getting hit by pitch [ESPN Boston]
No love lost: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees plunk each other [ESPN NY]
Ortiz rips media after being hit by a pitch [Extra Bases]
Video: Cafardo on Red Sox sweep [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox score seven in seventh to sweep Yankees [Full Count]
Exam leads to good news for Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox [Full Count]
Quite A Late Show: Red Sox Complete Sweep Of Yankees [Hartford Courant]
Jose Iglesias, Lars Anderson Among Pawtucket Red Sox Getting Votes for Triple-A All-Star Game [NESN.com]
Video – Terry Francona on Dustin Pedroia: ‘We Just Wanna Make Sure He’s OK’ [NESN.com]
Video: Tim Wakefield Grateful for Praise From Peers As He Approaches Career Win No. 200 [NESN.com]
Dustin Pedroia With Bone Bruise, Expects to Rejoin Red Sox on Friday in Toronto [NESN.com]
What Will Dustin Pedroia’s Batting Average Be at Season’s End? [NESN.com]
Roger Clemens Dominates Again, But 1990 Red Sox Team Falls Short of World Series Berth [NESN.com]
Sox recall Bowden [Projo Sox Blog]
Boston bats erupt late, complete sweep in Bronx [Providence Journal]
Former Red Sox prospect Rizzo called up by Padres [Providence Journal]
So far this season, the Sox simply own the Yankees [Providence Journal]
Sox expect Buchholz to return to form on Friday [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Pedroia diagnosed with bone bruise [Providence Journal]
And Now This Brief But Important Message from Puppet Red to the New York Yankees [Surviving Grady]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN NY, 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.
