Yankees Bash Beckett, Sox (8/8/10)

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.

                                                       "We lost to Dustin Moseley??"

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.

                                                          Yankees up by a pair

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.

                                    "Pedroia still can't beat me in cribbage" - Francona

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.

                                                            Home Run Hall

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.

                                                           Lowell gets a run back

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

Jackass of The Night is Josh Beckett. He got pounded for 11 hits and 7 runs in just 4 2/3 innings.

                                                 "Get out of here, Jackass" - Francona

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.

Yankees Score Late, Sink Sox (4/6/10)

So much for the feel good win of Sunday night for the Boston Red Sox. Jon Lester performed as bad as Josh Beckett did in the opener and it became a battle of the bullpens after New York Yankees starter AJ Burnett didn't last long either. Unlike on Opening Day, the Yankees bullpen held and the Sox cracked. Nick Johnson and Robinson Cano drove in the deciding runs and the world champion Yankees got revenge on the Sox with a 6-4 win at Fenway Park.

Lester got the ball in the top of the first inning and Derek Jeter led off by striking out swinging on a full count. Nick Johnson grounded out to third before Mark Teixeira took strike three to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Burnett in the bottom of the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury's pop up fell into no-man's land for a leadoff single. Ellsbury took off for second but Jorge Posada threw the ball into center, moving Jacoby to third. Dustin Pedroia lined out to second but Victor Martinez drew a walk. Kevin Youkilis hit a fly ball to center and Ellbury made a mad dash home to score on the sac fly to give the Sox the lead. Ortiz grounded into the shift to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                                              1-0 Sox

The Yankees tied it in the top of the second as Alex Rodriguez led off with a tapper back to the mound to start. Robinson Cano broke his bat on a base hit up the middle before Jorge Posada walked. Nick Swisher doubled down the right field line to score Cano with the tying run. Marcus Thames drew a walk and Sox pitching coach John Farrell sprinted to the mound to tell Lester that Slumdog Millionaire was on in the clubhouse. Lester got so excited that he struck out Curtis Granderson swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                            Yankees tie it up

Adrian Beltre led off the bottom of the second with a base hit to center but JD Drew whiffed on a curve in the dirt. Mike Cameron struck out but Beltre swiped second on the throw down. Marco Scutaro popped up to Teixeira in foul territory to end the inning.

As the top of the third inning began, NESN flashed the injury report. Boof Bonser would begin his rehab with Pawtuckett on Thursday and Daisuke Matsuzaka would begin his with Pawtucket on Saturday. Jed Lowrie was out with mono and Junichi Tazawa was out for the year with Tommy John surgery. Johnson led off the inning by flying out to right to start. Teixeira missed a home run by 10 feet by the left field foul pole before grounding out to short. A-Rod grounded out to third to end the inning.

                                                       Who is Lowrie making out with?

The Sox took command in the bottom of the third as Ellsbury doubled down the right field line to start. Pedroia also missed a home run by 10 feet by the left field foul pole before he lined out to a diving Granderson in center. V-Mart bashed his first home run of the season into the Boston bullpen to put the Sox on top. Youk was rung up on a fastball on the outside corner and Ortiz grounded into the shift to end the inning but the Sox were on top 3-1.

                                                     Martinez put the Sox on top

Lester walked Cano to open the top of the fourth but Posada banged into a double play. Swisher was plunked but Lester struck out Thames to end the inning. Beltre led off the bottom of the fourth by lashing a base hit to center. Drew popped up to left but Cameron was plunked. Scutaro banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Yankees roared back in the top of the fifth as Granderson lashed a base hit to right to start. Jeter lined a base hit to center that sent Granderson to third and Johnson was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Teixeira beat out a double play ball to score Granderson and A-Rod doubled to the left field wall to tie the game. Cano put the Yankees on top with a sac fly to score Teixeira and Posada flied out to left to end the inning. Lester didn't have it at all and left after 5 innings, 4 runs allowed and trailing 4-3.

                                                      Not Lester's best stuff

The Sox answered in the bottom of the fifth although Jeter made a great jumping catch to rob Ellsbury of a base hit to begin. Pedroia drilled a base hit to right and motored around home to tie the game on a wall ball double by V-Mart. Youk was rung up for strike three and Ortiz went down hacking to end the inning but it tied 4-4.

                                                   Martinez ties it up with a double

Manny Delcarmen made his season debut in the top of the sixth and Swisher doubled high off the wall to start. Brett Gardner pinch hit for Thames and moved Swisher to third with a grounder to second. MDC got a big out when Youk robbed Granderson of a hit with a diving catch. Jeter grounded out to short to end the inning. Alfredo Aceves took over for the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth and Jeter made another great jumping catch to rob Beltre of a hit. Drew grounded out to first but Jeter threw a routine grounder by Cameron into the dirt for an error. Scutaro grounded into a force to end the inning.

"Flamethrower" Daniel Bard came in for the top of the seventh and Johnson walked to start. Ellsbury made a great diving catch to rob Teixeira of a bloop single before A-Rod was rung up on a bad call for strike three. Cano grounded out to second to end the inning. Ellsbury grounded out to first to start the bottom of the seventh before Pedroia popped up to center. V-Mart lined out to left to end the inning.

The Yankees took command in the top of the eighth inning as Hideki Okajima came in to crap his pants. Posada hit a ground rule double into the right field corner but Okajima got Swisher to ground out to short. Gardner sliced a base hit to left but Posada remained at second and Granderson flied out to the left field warning track. Jeter hit a routine grounder to Scutaro but Youk couldn't pick the low throw by Marco and everyone was safe to load the bases. The Yankees pounced on the mistake a Johnson walked home Posada to put the Yankees up for good. That was it for Okajima who had to throw over 30 pitches, leaving the bases loaded. Scott Atchison made his Red Sox debut and first appearance in the United States since 2007 by getting Teixeira to fly out to right to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 5-4.

                                                          Not Okie's night

Daniel Robertson came in to face Youk in the bottom of the eighth and Youkilis got a base hit to left. Yankees manager brought in Damaso Marte to face Ortiz only for Marte to throw the pickoff throw away to advance Youk to second. Ortiz failed to advance Youk by popping up to center and that was it for Marte. Joba Chamberlain came in to face Beltre and struck Adrian out. Drew whiffed to end the inning as Sox fans groaned.

The Yankees got a big insurance run off Atchison in the top of the ninth although Drew ran down an A-Rod fly ball to the right field warning track. Cano didn't miss like A-Rod did, pounding a home run into the right field corner to ice the game. Posada whiffed and Swisher took strike three to end the inning but the Yankees were up 6-4.

                                                No doubt for Cano

Mariano Rivera came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Cameron popped up to short to start. Somehow Scutaro doubled to the left field wall to bring the tying run to the plate. Ellsbury took strike three on the outside corner and Pedroia flied out to right to end the game. The Yankees avenged opening day with a 6-4 win over the Sox.

                                                         Damn Yankees


Jackass of the Night is Hideki Okajima. Yes the error didn't help but he still put two men on and walked in the go-ahead run when one more out got out of the inning.

                                                               Okie-dokie Jackass



The Good:

Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with a stolen base and 2 runs scored.

Victor Martinez was 2 for 3 with a walk, 3 total rbis and a 2 run home run.

Kevin Youkilis was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Adrian Beltre was 2 for 4 with a stolen base.

Manny Delcarmen pitched a scoreless 6th inning.

Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless 7th inning.



The Bad:

David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

JD Drew was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Mike Cameron was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Jon Lester lasted just 5 innings and allowed 4 runs in his season debut.

Scott Atchison allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings of work.



The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.

Marco Scutaro was just 1 for 4 and committed an error.




Final Thoughts:

That's why the Yankees are the world champions. When the bullpen needed to step up, they did and when the Sox needed theirs, they didn't. Not much the Sox could do against Rivera but they could have avoided getting to that point if they finished off the eighth inning rally. A loss like this stings because two in a row against the Yankees puts the pressure on them for tomorrow night's game. Now its anyone's ballgame for bragging rights this early in the season. Tomorrow night is the rubber game between the two teams with John Lackey making his Red Sox debut taking on Andy Pettite of the Yankees. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park,