Jason Bay hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and Kevin Youkilis crushed a solo home run in the 11th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 walk-off win over the New York Yankees in front of 38,163 at Fenway Park.
It’s the 8th straight win for the local nine and their longest streak since 2006 as they improve to 10-6. The Yankees fall to 9-7.
Mariano Rivera took over with 2 outs in the 8th inning and gave up a single to Jacoby Ellsbury before striking out Dustin Pedroia on a questionable strike three call with the Yankees leading 4-2.
Javier Lopez gave everyone a little bit of a scare loading up the bases in the top of the 9th. He recovered though by getting Robinson Cano to ground into a double play and finished it off when Melky Cabrera fouled out to Jason Varitek.
Rivera was back on in the 9th for the Yanks and struck out David Ortiz to start it. Youk followed with a single and went to second on a J.D. Drew groundout. Bay then crushed a cutter from Rivera into the Green Monster seats in deep center to tie the game at 4. Mike Lowell hit a single and was pinch-run for by Jonathan Van Every. He was left stranded there when Jason Varitek struck out.
Damaso Marte was on the mound for his second inning of work in the 11th and struck out Big Papi for the first out. He then left a fastball out over the plate for Youk who put it over the Green Monster to send the Fenway Park crowd into a frenzy.
Jon Lester started this one for the Red Sox and wasn’t great but he wasn’t all that bad. He threw 114 pitches in 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7.
For a few select moments, it appeared as though the battle of the bullpens was going to be won by the Yankees but in the end, it was the Red Sox bullpen who persevered.
Hideki Okajima had a reallly tough night as he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits without recording an out. Manny Delcarmen picked him up by getting out of a bases loaded no-out jam without giving up a hit. Takashi Saito, Lopez (despite his struggles), Jonathan Papelbon and Ramon Ramirez combined to give up just 2 hits over the final 4 innings with Ramirez getting the win.
Joba Chamberlain got the ball for the Yanks and had some early struggles of his own. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out 2.
Bay led the Red Sox with 3 hits and 2 RBIs while Lowell and Youk each had 2 hits and an RBI. Ellsbury and former New York Yankee Nick Green also chipped in with 2 hits each while Ellsbury added his 7th stolen base of the young season.
A very frustrating night for the local nine early on as they left 13 men on base and were just 4-of-13 with runners in scoring position. But when it mattered, the Red Sox buckled down and got the job done to keep the winning streak and momentum alive heading into tomorrow’s game.
These same two teams are back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4:10 PM on FOX. Former Florida Marlins teammates A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett will get the nods from their managers.
