Old Sox prospect Carl Pavano got the ball in the top of the first and Johnny Damon popped up to second to start. Trot Nixon and Manny Ramirez both struck out swinging to end the inning. Clement made his Sox debut in the bottom of the first and Derek Jeter grounded out to short to start. Alex Rodriguez struck out swinging and Gary Sheffield flied out to left to end the inning.
David Ortiz struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Kevin Millar watched strike three go by. Edgar Renteria grounded out to short to end the inning. Clement got in trouble in the bottom of the second as Hideki Matsui singled to right to start. Jorge Posada walked but Jason Giambi struck out swinging. Bernie Williams walked to load the bases but Tino Martinez hit one up the elevator shaft. Tony Womack popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the third as Jason Varitek grounded out to short to start. Bill Mueller got a base hit to left but Mark Bellhorn struck out swinging. Damon lined a base hit to left but Nixon struck out swinging to end the inning. The Yankees pounced in the bottom of the third as Jeter was plunked to start. A-Rod hit a routine grounder to Renteria who turned and fired the ball into the dugout for a bizarre error to move both runners into scoring position. Sheffield scored Jeter with a grounder to third and Matsui hit a home run all the way into the Empire State Building to increase the lead. Posada struck out swinging and Giambi grounded out to second to end the inning with the Yankees up 3-0.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth although Manny took strike three to start. Ortiz clobbered his first home run of the season to cut the lead and Millar drew a walk. Renteria flied out to center and Varitek flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
Williams flied out to left to start the bottom of the fourth and Martinez grounded out to second. Womack singled to left and swiped second before Jeter walked. A-Rod struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mueller grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth but Bellhorn singled to right. Damon flied out to center and Nixon grounded out to second to end the inning. The Yankees chased Clement in the bottom of the fifth as Sheffield singled in the hole at third to start. Matsui flied out to left but Posada singled to center. That was it for Clement who was knocked out after 4 1/3 innings and 3 runs allowed, not the best debut. John Halama came in and plunked Giambi to load the bases, but got Williams to hit into a double play to end the inning.
Manny grounded out to second to begin the top of the sixth but Ortiz singled to right. Millar got a base hit to left but Renteria banged into a double play to end the inning. Halama got Martinez and Womack to both ground out to second to begin the bottom of the sixth but he was lifted for righty Matt Mantei. Jeter grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the seventh although Varitek grounded out to second to start. Mueller singled to center and Bellhorn singled him to third to chase Pavano. Old friend Mike Stanton came in and Damon dropped a base hit to right to score Mueller. With a chance to do some damage....Nixon banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.
A-Rod walked to start the bottom of the seventh but Sheffield flied out to center. Sox manager Terry Francona sent in Mike Myers just to pitch to Matsui but Hideki got a base hit to left. Alan Embree came in for Myers and Rodriguez moved to third on the fly ball to center by Posada. Giambi struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tom Gordon came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Manny flied out to right to start. Ortiz popped up to third and Millar lined out to left to end the inning. For some reason Sox closer Keith Foulke came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Williams flied out to right to begin. Martinez took strike three and Womack grounded out to short to end the inning.
Mariano Rivera came in to close out the top of the ninth and Renteria struck out swinging to start. Suddenly Varitek smashed his first home run of the season to tie the game out of nowhere. Mueller singled to center to put the go-ahead run on but Bellhorn struck out swinging. Damon flied out to right to end the inning but the game was tied 3-3.
The end came quickly in the bottom of the ninth when Jeter hit a home run out of Earth's atmosphere off Foulke to win the game for New York. The Yankees had walked off the Red Sox 4-3.
Jackass of the Night is Keith Foulke, He served up the home run ball to Jeter to lose the game.
The Good:
Johnny Damon was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
Kevin Millar was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Bill Mueller was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Mark Bellhorn was 2 for 4.
John Halama tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Matt Mantei retired 2 of the 3 men he faced.
Alan Embree got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Trot Nixon was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Manny Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Edgar Renteria was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
Matt Clement lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed 3 runs.
Mike Myers gave up a hit to the only man he faced.
The Ugly:
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a solo home run.
Final Thoughts:
This is worst case scenario for the Boston Red Sox. Yankee fans have been waiting since October for revenge and I'm sure the Yankees themselves that were on the 04 squad are chomping at the bit as well. First Sunday night's blowout and now this just gives more ammo for Yankee fans to use. The Sox showed a lot of heart to come back down 3-0 and for Foulke to blow it was another sucker punch to the gonads. Varitek and Jeter as the two captains going tit for tat was fun to watch, even if the wrong team won. So far both David Wells and Clement failed to impress, which isn't to say Pedro Martinez & Derek Lowe were guaranteed to do better, but this was not a good first impression. The season is starting out on the wrong foot for the starters and that can't continue. Its only two games but losing to the Yankees like this after beating them here in October leaves a bad taste in the mouths of the fans. The Sox look to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon when Tim Wakefield makes his season debut against Mike Mussina of the Yankees. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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