The Yankees struck first in the top of the first inning although Chuck Knoblauch grounded out to second to begin. Derek Jeter took strike three but Paul O'Neill walked and Bernie Williams crushed a home run all the way into the Azores to give the Yankees the lead. Tino Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning but the Yankees led 2-0.
The Sox failed to respond against Westbrook in the bottom of the first as Jose Offerman took strike three to start. Jeff Frye grounded out to short and Trot Nixon lined out to second to end the inning.
The Yankees wouldn't score again the rest of the night as Ramon went to work in the top of the second inning. Jorge Posada flied out to center but Shane Spencer drew a walk. Ricky Ledee forced Spencer at second but stole second. Scott Brosius popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox clawed back in the bottom of the second inning as Nomar Garciaparra led off with a double to left and Carl Everett singled him home. Brian Daubach singled Everett to third and Carl scored on the sac fly by Jason Varitek to tie the game. Daubach moved to third on the grounder by Curtis Pride but Manny Alexander flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Ramon kept the lead intact in the top of the fourth as Tino Martinez grounded out to first to start. Posada grounded out to first and Spencer went down swinging to end the inning. Pride and Alexander both grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fourth but Knoblauch threw away a routine grounder by Offerman away. A wild pitch moved Offerman to third but Frye grounded out to third to end the inning.
Ledee struck out swinging to begin the top of the fifth but Brosius grounded out to short. Knoblauch singled to left but Jeter flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox nearly iced it in the bottom of the fifth as Nixon walked to start. Nomar forced Nixon at second before Everett went down hacking. Daubach walked and Varitek was plunked to load the bases but Pride whiffed to end the inning.
Ramon cruised in the top of the sixth inning as O'Neill grounded out to short to start. Williams took strike three and Tino Martinez flied out to center to end the inning. Grimsley held the Sox down in the bottom of the sixth as Alexander grounded back to the mound. Offerman lined out to first but Frye singled to right. Nixon grounded out to third to end the inning.
Ramon returned briefly in the top of the seventh with Darren Lewis now in left. Posada whiffed but Spencer singled to right. Ledee popped up to short and Sox manager Jimy Williams thought that was good enough for Ramon. Martinez pitched great to hold the Yankees to two runs in 6 2/3 innings. Bryce Florie came in and gave up a single to Brosius, but Knoblauch grounded out to third to end the inning.
Mike Stanton came in for the bottom of the seventh and looked more like himself. Nomar lined out to left but Everett singled to center. Daubach whiffed and Varitek flied out to left to end the inning.
Rich Garces came in for the top of the eighth and cruised. Jeter flied out to right, O'Neill grounded out to first and Williams grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the eighth as Lewis grounded out to third to start. Alexander grounded out to second and Offerman grounded out to short to end the inning.
Derek Lowe was brought in to close out the top of the ninth and Tino Martinez grounded out to second to begin. Posada hit a bullet but Nomar snared it and Spencer grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had won the game and reclaimed first place with the 4-2 win.
Hero of the night is Ramon Martinez. He tossed 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball against the world champs to earn the win.
The Good:
Jeff Frye was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Trot Nixon walked twice and scored a run in 4 at-bats.
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Carl Everett was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Brian Daubach was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Bryce Florie got the final out of the 7th inning.
Rich Garces tossed a scoreless 8th inning.
Derek Lowe earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jose Offerman was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Curtis Pride was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Darren Lewis was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Manny Alexander was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Jason Varitek was 0 for 2 but was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
That's more like it. After the Sox more or less lucked into a win last night due to the ineffectiveness of Mike Stanton, tonight they needed strong pitching to beat the champs. Ramon Martinez stepped up big time as did the bullpen. The Sox didn't get much offense once Westbrook was out of the game but they got all they needed with the way the pitching staff held the fort. The Sox are a starter or two away from seriously challenging the Yankees for AL East supremacy and Sox manager Dan Duquette has a little over a month to find that starter. As for now, how about those first place Red Sox? The win improved the Sox to 37-31, 0.5 games in front of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to continue their winning ways against the surging Toronto Blue Jays in their next series. Tomorrow night John Wasdin (0-2) gets the spot start against Frank Castillo at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
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