This season went downhill in a hurry for the Boston Red Sox. At one point they were neck and neck with the world champion New York Yankees but injuries to key personnel including Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kevin Youkilis have decimated them. The real culprit in tonight's loss to the Yankees was the regression of Josh Beckett (3-2, 6.21 ERA). Beckett got hammered for 7 runs and failed to get out of the fifth inning. Meanwhile AJ Burnett was scratched due to a bad back so naturally Dustin Moseley held the Sox to just 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings. The Sox bullpen held the fort but so did the Yankees as they took Game 3 of this series 7-2 at Yankee Stadium.
Moseley got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded back to the mound to start. Marco Scutaro struck out looking and David Ortiz grounded out to first to end the inning. Beckett got the ball in the bottom of the first and Derek Jeter flied out to center to begin. Nick Swisher got a base hit to center and Mark Teixeira got a base hit to right. Alex Rodriguez struck out swinging and Robinson Cano popped up to first to end the inning.
Victor Martinez grounded out to second to start the top of the second and JD Drew flied out to left. Adrian Beltre flied out to the right field wall to end the inning. The Yankees took command in the bottom of the second as Jorge Posada grounded out to first to start. Lance Berkman doubled to right but Curtis Granderson flied out to right. Brett Gardner hit a routine grounder to second but Bill Hall threw the ball away for an error to score Berkman. Gardner stole second and scored on the Jeter base hit to center. Swisher singled to right to move Jeter to third but Teixeira was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Yankees up 2-0.
The Sox failed to answer in the top of the third as Ryan Kalish grounded back to the mound to start. Bill Hall got a base hit to left but Kevin Cash forced him at second. Ellsbury took strike three to end the inning. A-Rod lined out to left to start the bottom of the third but Cano singled to left. Posada popped up to third and Berkman singled inside the first base bag. Granderson flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fourth as Scutaro lined out to second to start. Martinez got a base hit to center, Drew walked, and Beltre walked to load the bases. Kalish grounded out to first to end the inning. Gardner flied out to left to start the bottom of the fourth as Sox manager Terry Francona told ESPN that Dustin Pedroia is a pain in the ass. Jeter took strike three and Swisher struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth as Hall bashed his 13th home run of the year to put the Sox on the board. Cash took strike three, Ellsbury grounded out to second and Scutaro grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
The Yankees finished off Beckett in the bottom of the fifth as Teixeira hit a home run all the way to Romulus to start. A-Rod walked and Cano was hit with a pitch, but Posada struck out swinging. Berkman doubled to left to score A-Rod and Granderson walked to load the bases. The good news was Gardner struck out swinging....the bad news was Cash pegged Cano in the back with a throw. The ball got away and Cano scored. Jeter finished off Beckett with a double to right to clear the bases. Beckett was toast, allowing 7 runs in 4 2/3 innings off 11 hits and 2 walks. Manny Delcarmen came in to pitch and Swisher struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees up 7-1.
Beckett gets rocked
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the sixth as Ortiz beat the shift with a base hit to right to start. Martinez popped up to third and Drew grounded into a double play to end the inning. Tim Wakefield came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Teixeira popped up to third to start. A-Rod got a base hit to left and promptly stole second, then moved to third on a grounder to first by Cano. Posada struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the seventh as Beltre doubled off the top of the left field wall to start. Kalish struck out swinging but A-Rod failed to field a swinging bunt by Hall to end Moseley's night. Joba Chamberlain came in to face Mike Lowell pinch hitting for Cash. Lowell beat out a roller to short to score Hall to cut the lead. Ellsbury popped up to left but Scutaro drew a walk to load the bases. Boone Logan was brought in to face Ortiz and David....grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox down 7-2.
Berkman took strike three to start the bottom of the seventh and Granderson flied out to right. Gardner grounded out to short to end the inning.
Martinez popped up to second to start the top of the eighth and Drew struck out swinging. Beltre flied out to right to end the inning. Jeter struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth and Swisher flied out to right. Teixeira lined out to first to end the inning.
Ramiro Pena came in for A-Rod with David Robertson in to close out the top of the ninth. Pena booted a grounder by Kalish for an error and Ryan moved to second on a grounder to the mound by Hall. Lowell flied out to right but Ellsbury walked. Mariano Rivera was summoned to face Scutaro and Marco forced Ellsbury at second on the first pitch to end the game. The Yankees had won 7-2.
Yankees win
"Get out of here, Jackass" - Francona
Jackass of The Night is Josh Beckett. He got pounded for 11 hits and 7 runs in just 4 2/3 innings.
The Good:
Adrian Beltre was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Manny Delcarmen struck out the only man he faced.
Bill Hall was 3 for 4 with a home run.
Mike Lowell was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Tim Wakefield tossed 3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Ryan Kalish was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Kevin Cash was 0 for 2 with a strikeout and an error.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Marco Scutaro was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Victor Martinez was just 1 for 4.
JD Drew was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
If Josh Beckett continues to pitch like this, kiss the post-season goodbye. I know he and a few others have been off and on the Disabled List but that's not going to get the job done. Jon Miller said it on the ESPN broadcast that this is the first time the Sox rotation has been healthy virtually all season and the time to strike is now....and they've gone right in the tank after the trade deadline. Losing Kevin Youkilis sucks but they have to be better than that with the Yankees starting to pull away and a big series with the Tampa Bay Rays coming. There's still 50 games left in the season but they look overmatched against the Yankees right now. The Sox have to find a way to figure it out or else they'll be home in October for the first time since 2006. The loss dropped the Sox to 63-49, 7 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon when Jon Lester (11-7) takes on Phil Hughes of New York. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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