Burnett Even Baffles Boston

You know things are bad when A.J. Burnett shuts you down and pitches into the 8th inning. It's no dream, it's a nightmare. One that the Boston Red Sox experienced Sunday afternoon. Save for a couple of Jacoby Ellsbury solo home runs, the Sox couldn't muster anything against Burnett and the Yankees won it 6-2.

The loss was the Red Sox 16th in their last 20 games. Combined with Tampa Bay's victory over Toronto, the Boston wild card lead is down to just a half a game (one in the loss column - if the Angels win this afternoon they will be just 1.5 back). The Yankees used their speed and took advantage of the combination of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to grab an early 2-0 lead. Brett Gardner led off the bottom of the 1st with a bunt single and quickly stole second base. Derek Jeter reached on a bunt of his own that advanced Gardner to third. Jeter swiped second and Gardner scored when Saltalamacchia threw the ball away.

Jeter advanced to third on a passed ball and scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the third Yankees fan may have seen Jorge Posada launch a home run for the last time in Yankee Stadium. Following a one out walk to Alex Rodriguez, Posada drilled a Wakefield deliver into the right field seats for his 14th home run of the year and a 4-0 lead. He acknowledged the crowd when they cheered for a curtain call.

Meanwhile, Burnett cruised through the Boston lineup with unusual efficiency. Ellsbury had three of the Red Sox six hits, including a 1st inning single that was erased when Burnett caught him leaning off of first base. Rookie Brandon Laird threw to Jeter to put it in the book as a caugh stealing.

Ellsbury's first home run of the day got Boston on the board in the 4th, but the Yankees got the run back an inning later. Derek Jeter, who had three hits on the day to reach the .300 mark for the season, singled to left and moved to second when left fielder Carl Crawford misplayed the ball. Alex Rodriguez then singled through the right side to plate Jeter ahead of Conor Jackson's throw.

Notes

Ellsbury's second home run of the game, in the 6th inning, earned him the honor of being the first Red Sox player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Quite an accomplishment for a player who missed most of last year and is now a candidate for both MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards.

Jeter finished the scoring off with an RBI ground rule double in the 7th.

Burnett felt the love from the Stadium crowd, something he hasn't experienced too often the last two years. He left to a huge ovation after picking up the second out in the 8th inning.

Mariano Rivera was honored before the game for breaking the record for career saves. Among the gifts presented to him was a portrait with 602 printed above his head and his baseball cards surrounding him. Jorge Posada commissioned the piece and the gift was from the team.


UPDATE 6:55 PM - The Angels chances are virtually done after they allowed four runs in the 9th inning and lost to Oakland 6-5. They remain 2.5 back of Boston with just three games to play.

Full Count Pitch - Don't Count Your Wicked Awesomes Just Yet

Many pundits think the Red Sox are a lock in the AL East, but FCP is here to give you some food for thought.

Listening to/reading ESPN or other media outlets you would think the Boston Red Sox would not have to play one game in 2011 to capture the AL East title. The experts see the addition of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to a healthy lineup and think “1,000 runs scored and a dominant team”. Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman reported the other day that one AL Scout said, “I don’t see how Red Sox lose the AL East.”

Hang on, unnamed source; I can see a few reasons how they might lose and I’m going to tell you and everyone else. Let’s start with the Red Sox’ starting pitching. The quintet of Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka looks pretty good on paper, but let’s take a closer look.

There’s no question that Lester is an ace, a #1 stud, who is easy to root for given that he conquered cancer. But he does struggle in April (16 starts 3-5 and a career worst 4.58 ERA) and that could have an overall effect on the team’s start. Lester will be fine as the weather gets warm, though, and is one of the most reliable starters in baseball. John Lackey, on the other hand, is not the same pitcher he was with the Angels. His ERA has steadily risen over the last three seasons from 3.75 to his worst ERA in six seasons (4.40) last year. The league average against him has also gone from .260 to .277 over the same time period, and his strikeouts per nine innings has gone from 8.6 in 2005 to 6.5 in 2011.

Click Here to read the rest of this free article at FullCountPitch.com

Rain Moves Yankees Into 1st Place

The Yankees and Red Sox waited 3 1/2 hours before last night's was finally called. (Nice job jerking the fans around even if the fans up there are jerks.)

In the meantime, Bruce Chen of all people pitched a complete 2-hit shutout of the Rays to give the Yankees a half-game lead in the AL East.

The Yankees will play their regularly scheduled game at 4 pm thanks to the bozos at Fox. Andy Pettitte will face Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer will be filling in for Clay Buchholz, who was scratched due to a sore back.

The nightcap will pit A.J. Burnett against Daisuke Matsuzaka. The game is scheduled to start at 9:05 pm. Again, thanks to the idiots at Fox since the first game doesn't start until 4. The second game will be televised on YES.

This is Burnett's last chance to step up and basically force his way on the ALDS roster. (By the way Bruce Chen has more wins than Burnett.) If it's me, Burnett isn't coming close to being on the ALDS roster.

The Red Sox will also be without Adrian Beltre all weekend. He's gone home to be with his wife who is about to give birth. Since he's a free agent, Boston may have seen Beltre in a Red Sox uniform for hte last time.

Kansas City Here I come

The Yankees owe a big thank you to the KC Royals tonight for reducing their magic number for clinching the AL East to 8.

Tim Wakefield and his bad back couldn't throw strikes (7 BB in 5 IP) and the Royals rallied back from a pair of four run deficits to beat the Red Sox bullpen 12-9.

There'll Be No Joy in Taiwan Tonight

Yankees Can’t Avoid Fenway Flop

June 10th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: chien-ming wang • Hideki Okajima • Johnny Damon • Jonathan Papelbon • Kevin Youkilis • Mark Teixeira • nick swisher • Phil Hughes • Tim Wakefield • Yankees 6/10 recap • Yankees vs. Red Sox

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	0		5	11	0
Boston	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	X		6	9	0

WP - Wakefield (8-3) SV - Papelbon (15) LP - Wang (0-4)

Another game in Fenway Park, another loss for the New York Yankees. The Bombers dropped to 0-7 against the Red Sox this season, with five of the losses coming on the road in Boston. Wednesday night the Yankees belted three home runs, but couldn’t overcome another horrendous start by Chien-Ming Wang, and fell 6-5. The victory gave the Red Sox sole possession of first place in the AL East.

In Wang’s start against Texas last Thursday he showed a glimmer of his old self, shutting down the Rangers the first time through the lineup. That would not be the case tonight. Wang retired Dustin Pedroia to start the game, but then issued a pair of walks prior to a Jason Bay RBI single. The Yankees tied things up immediately on Jorge Posada’s home run off Tim Wakefield in the 2nd, but the Red Sox tagged Wang for a pair of runs in their half of the inning. George Kottaras doubled in one run and Nick Swisher gave Pedroia a gift when he turned a catchable ball into a run scoring ground-rule double. Wang lasted just 2.2 innings, the second straight night the Yankees starter did not make it out of the 3rd inning, and was charged with 4 earned runs.

Phil Hughes did a great job out of the pen with 3.2 innings of relief. He allowed a 2-run home run to Kevin Youkilis in the 4th, but otherwise kept his team in the game. Down 6-3 in the 6th, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira hit back to back home runs off Ramon Ramirez to cut the deficit to a single run. The Yankees had the tying run on second base with one out in each of the final two innings, but couldn’t deliver the big hit.

Hideki Okajima struck out Derek Jeter and Damon to escape the 8th and Jonathan Papelbon struck out Robinson Cano and retired Jorge Posada on a ground out to preserve the lead in the 9th.

Game Notes

Mark Teixiera was 4-5 with two doubles and a single in addition to his league leading 19th home run. He’s hitting a season high .296 and is batting .343 since May 1st.

Nick Swisher made a tremendous diving catch in right field to take away an extra base hit and had a pretty push bunt for a base hit, but it’s a game he’ll want to forget. Besides completely missing Pedroia’s fly ball in right, he was also doubled off of a first on a soft line out to shortstop by Melky Cabrera. The Yankees had runners on the corners with no one out at the time, so it completely killed a potential rally.

The Yankees were 2-15 with runners in scoring position.

CC Sabathia will try to salvage the finale of the series Thursday night when he faces veteran Brad Penny.

Austin Jackson Slams his way out of Camp

Austin Jackson left a lasting impression for the future in last night's Yankees-Red Sox spring training game. The player the Yankees front office hopes is the face of center field in 2010 or 2011 and many years to follow, belted a game breaking grand slam in the Yankees 7-1 victory over the Red Sox last night in Tampa, Florida.

The Yankees had grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth and were looking for more when Jackson stepped up to face Manny DelCarmen. Moments later, Jackson was circling the bases with his third home run of the spring. Hewas rewarded after the game with a reassignment to the minor league camp. Of course, that was totally expected.

A.J. Burnett had another fine performance, limiting the Sox to one run over 5.2 innings. He left with the bases loaded and two outs, but Jonathan Albaladejo retired Rocco Baldelli to keep it a 1-0 game at that point.

Burnett allowed three hits, walked two and struck out four. He's pitched to a 1.20 ERA this spring. Edwar Ramirez picked up the victory with 1.1 innings of work. Mariano Rivera threw another 1-2-3 inning, recording a pair of strikeouts.

With a slight breeze assisting him, Tim Wakefield baffled the Yankees with his knuckleball. Wakefield, beginning his 15th season in Boston, allowed four hits, one run, a walk, and struck out five in 5.2 innings pitched.

Derek Jeter played his first game since the US was eliminated in the WBC. He went 1-2 with a walk. Jorge Posada threw out would be base stealer Jacoby Ellsbury with the help of a nice tag by Jeter.

Box Score

Yankees vs. Red Sox - Mar 13

Chien-Ming Wang is on the mound in Ft. Myers tonight as the Yankees take on the Red Sox. The game is scoreless in the bottom of the first after Tim Wakefield got Xavier Nady to hit into an inning ending double play. Brett Gardner and Juan Miranda had drawn walks, and Gardner stole his third base of the season.

Damaso Marte and Robinson Cano are back from the WBC, but Cano was sent to have his right shoulder checked out. Cano has had discomfort in the back of the shoulder since the beginning of spring training.

UPDATE: 7:34 PM
The Yankees have taken a 1-0 lead in the 2nd on Juan Miranda's RBI single. John Rodriguez singled and scored the run.

UPDATE 7:36 PM
The lead was short lived; Mike Lowell led off the bottom of the second inning with a long solo home run.

UPDATE 8:35 PM
A Juan Miranda throwing error opened the flood gates for the Red Sox in the second inning. Seven runs in all crossed home plate, two of them on a David Ortiz home run.

The Yankees answered immediately with three runs in the top of third. Xavier Nady delivered a 2-run double and Jose Molina brought him home with an RBI single.

Brett Tomko replaced Wang with two outs in the second and tossed a scoreless third.

Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

Rays Sting Red Sox to the Brink

Joe Maddon knows the history. He has seen what the Red Sox have done in the past. A comeback from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS that led to a World Series championship. A comeback from a 3-1 deficit to the Indians in last year's ALCS that led to another title. After last night's Rays 13-4 blow out of the Red Sox, Maddon's Tampa squad is in the same position. An American League pennant is in their grasp. Now they have to finish it off.

Carl Crawford (5) and Willy Aybar (4) combined to out hit the Red Sox (7) last night as Tim Wakefield knuckled under. For the second straight game the Rays scored early and often, and didn't let up. Wakefield didn't make it out of the third inning and was charged with five earned runs. Manny DelCarmen gave up the same amount in just a third of an inning. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine gave the bullpen a rest with a solid 7.1 innings pitched.

Carlos Pena ignited the Rays attack with a 2-run home run in the first and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Aybar, who drove in 5 runs, also homered.

Box Score

But beware Rays. The Yankees won game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, 19-8. Getting that last victory is not a given.

James Shields was originally slated to start game 5, but Joe Maddon has switched to Scott Kazmir instead. Kazmir was hammered in game 2, and all season, by the Sox, but we understand the thinking here. If Kazmir loses, Maddon will still have Shields, who pitched very well in losing game 1, to try to close things out at home in game 6.

The Red Sox will be without third baseman Mike Lowell for the rest of the season. Last year's WS MVP has opted for season ending hip surgery on Monday.

Yankees Knuckle Under the Pressure

The way last night's Yankees-Red Sox game started out, it looked like whomever batted last would win the game. Only thing is, someone forgot to tell the Yankees. Lead by Alex Rodriguez, they failed in the clutch, Jason Giambi made a huge mental mistake, and Andy Pettitte picked the wrong night to have a miserable performance. The end result was a 7-3 Yankees loss that dropped them six games back of the Red Sox in the wildcard race.

The top of the order did everything they could in setting the table for the big guns that followed, but they flailed and failed miserably. Johnny Damon had a pair of solo home runs on the night, including one that led off the bottom of the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. But Pettitte gave it right back in the second inning.

In fairness, home plate ump Jim Reynolds was squeezing Pettitte, but he can't be blamed for the poor pitches Pettitte made all night. Pettitte escaped a two on, two out jam in the first inning (yes, we weren't disappointed..."he worked into, and out of, trouble"), but couldn't replicate his Houdini act in the second inning. Two out singles by Jeff Bailey, Kevin Cash, and Jacoby Ellsbury tied the game at 1-1.

The Yankees went back ahead in their half of the inning with a two out rally of their own off of Tim Wakefield. Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano set things up with singles, and Jose Molina delivered a big two out hit up the middle for an RBI single. With a chance for more, Damon grounded out to end the inning.

But this was not to be Andy Pettitte's finest hour. He was greeted in the third inning by back to back doubles by David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis to tie the game, and Jason Bay put the Red Sox on top for good with a single to center field.

The Red Sox added to their lead in the fifth inning with some help from Jason Giambi. Once again Pettitte retired the first two men he faced, but consecutive singles by Bay, Jed Lowrie, and Coco Crisp produced a fourth run. After Crisp stole second base, Bailey hit a high chopper near the line at third, A-Rod fielded it and fired across the diamond to Giambi, but not in time. The only problem was Giambi thought it was in time, and watched as Crisp, who never stopped running, scored behind Lowrie for a 6-2 lead. The play also ended the night for Pettitte, who gave way to Brian Bruney.

The Yankees had a chance to come right back against Wakefield in their half of the fifth inning. Damon's second home run cut the lead in half and Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu followed with one out singles. But A-Rod and Giambi both flied out to let Wakefield off the hook.

The Red Sox added another run in the seventh after Bruney walked the bases loaded (and yet Girardi left him in). Bay's sacrifice fly brought home the Sox seventh run and made a comeback that much more difficult. But the Yankees did have an opportunity against Javier Lopez in the seventh.

Walks to Damon and Abreu, sandwiched around a Jeter single, loaded the bases with just one out. But a chorus of boos would come crashing down from the fans when A-Rod bounced into an inning ending double play against Justin Masterson.

The Yankees tried again in the eighth. Giambi reached on an error and Xavier Nady singled to left. With two on and no one out, Terry Francona sent for left-hander Hideki Okajima. The Japanese import struck out his fellow countryman, Matsui, looking, and retired Robinson Cano on a pop up. Francona then went to his closer Jon Papelbon, who got the final out on a comebacker from Ivan Rodriguez.

The Yankees put a man on in the ninth, but it was apropos that A-Rod struck out to end the game.


News and Notes

A-Rod is 1-10 with the bases loaded this eason.

Johnny Damon's multi-homer game was the 11th of his career and first since 2006.

Dustin Pedroia's misplay in the eighth inning snapped a 61-game errorless streak.
Joba Chamberlain is set to throw another bullpen session on Thursday.

Lou Lamariello pulled the MetLife lever last night to reduce the number of Yankees home games to 15. They couldn't find a former Yankee to do it?


August 26, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	1	2	0	3	1	0	0	0		7	14	2
NY Yankees	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	10	1

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, RF	6	0	1	1	0	2	3	.263
Pedroia, 2B	5	1	0	0	1	0	5	.315
Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	.263
Youkilis, 3B-1B	2	1	1	1	3	0	0	.319
Bay, LF	4	1	2	2	0	0	2	.293
Lowrie, SS-3B	5	1	1	0	0	1	6	.296
Crisp, CF	5	1	3	1	0	1	0	.263
Bailey, 1B	4	1	2	2	0	1	1	.278
Cora, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.278
Cash, C	4	0	2	0	1	1	2	.229
Totals	39	7	14	7	7	6	20
BATTING 2B: Ortiz 2 (19, Pettitte, Ramirez), Youkilis (35, Pettitte). TB: Ellsbury; Ortiz 4; Youkilis 2; Bay 2; Lowrie; Crisp 3; Bailey 2; Cash 2. RBI: Ellsbury (38), Youkilis (90), Bay 2 (84), Crisp (32), Bailey 2 (3). 2-out RBI: Ellsbury; Crisp; Bailey 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bay; Pedroia 2; Lowrie 3. SF: Bay. GIDP: Lowrie. Team LOB: 13. BASERUNNING SB: Crisp (16, 2nd base off Pettitte/Molina). CS: Crisp (6, 2nd base by Robertson/Molina). FIELDING E: Pedroia (6, fielding), Lowrie (1, fielding). DP: 2 (Lowrie-Pedroia-Bailey, Cora-Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wakefield (W, 8-8)	5.0	8	3	3	1	1	2	3.73
Lopez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.92
Delcarmen	0.1	1	0	0	2	1	0	4.25
Masterson (H, 2)	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.21
Okajima (H, 20)	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.77
Papelbon (S, 34)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1.71

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	2	2	2	1	1	2	.313
Jeter, SS	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	.294
Abreu, RF	4	0	2	0	1	0	1	.298
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	0	0	0	0	2	7	.308
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.247
Nady, LF	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.328
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.310
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	3	.269
Molina, C	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	.230
a-Rodriguez, I, PH-C	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	.283
Totals	37	3	10	3	3	6	20
a-Struck out for Molina in the 7th.
BATTING HR: Damon 2 (11, 1st inning off Wakefield, 0 on, 0 out; 5th inning off Wakefield, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 8; Jeter 2; Abreu 2; Nady; Matsui; Cano; Molina. RBI: Damon 2 (57), Molina (15). 2-out RBI: Molina. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon; Giambi; Rodriguez, I. GIDP: Rodriguez, A 2. Team LOB: 10. FIELDING E: Rodriguez, A (10, throw). DP: (Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pettitte (L, 13-10)	4.2	10	6	6	3	3	0	4.37
Bruney	1.1	0	1	1	3	0	0	2.38
Robertson	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	5.76
Ramirez	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.59
Britton	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	4.30

Masterson pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

IBB: Youkilis (by Ramirez).
Pitches-strikes: Wakefield 80-55, Lopez 9-9, Delcarmen 18-7,
Masterson 9-6, Okajima 14-8, Papelbon 15-10, Pettitte 101-60,
Bruney 33-16, Robertson 13-10, Ramirez 15-8, Britton 18-12.
Groundouts-flyouts: Wakefield 7-7, Lopez 1-1, Delcarmen 0-0,
Masterson 2-0, Okajima 0-1, Papelbon 2-0, Pettitte 8-3, Bruney 1-3,
Robertson 0-0, Ramirez 1-2, Britton 0-2.
Batters faced: Wakefield 23, Lopez 3, Delcarmen 4, Masterson 3,
Okajima 2, Papelbon 5, Pettitte 26, Bruney 7, Robertson 3, Ramirez 6, Britton 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Masterson 3-0, Okajima 2-0, Papelbon 2-0, Bruney 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Gary Cederstrom. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, In from LF.
T: 3:22.
Att: 55,058.

Yankees Knuckle Under the Pressure

The way last night's Yankees-Red Sox game started out, it looked like whomever batted last would win the game. Only thing is, someone forgot to tell the Yankees. Lead by Alex Rodriguez, they failed in the clutch, Jason Giambi made a huge mental mistake, and Andy Pettitte picked the wrong night to have a miserable performance. The end result was a 7-3 Yankees loss that dropped them six games back of the Red Sox in the wildcard race.

The top of the order did everything they could in setting the table for the big guns that followed, but they flailed and failed miserably. Johnny Damon had a pair of solo home runs on the night, including one that led off the bottom of the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. But Pettitte gave it right back in the second inning.

In fairness, home plate ump Jim Reynolds was squeezing Pettitte, but he can't be blamed for the poor pitches Pettitte made all night. Pettitte escaped a two on, two out jam in the first inning (yes, we weren't disappointed..."he worked into, and out of, trouble"), but couldn't replicate his Houdini act in the second inning. Two out singles by Jeff Bailey, Kevin Cash, and Jacoby Ellsbury tied the game at 1-1.

The Yankees went back ahead in their half of the inning with a two out rally of their own off of Tim Wakefield. Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano set things up with singles, and Jose Molina delivered a big two out hit up the middle for an RBI single. With a chance for more, Damon grounded out to end the inning.

But this was not to be Andy Pettitte's finest hour. He was greeted in the third inning by back to back doubles by David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis to tie the game, and Jason Bay put the Red Sox on top for good with a single to center field.

The Red Sox added to their lead in the fifth inning with some help from Jason Giambi. Once again Pettitte retired the first two men he faced, but consecutive singles by Bay, Jed Lowrie, and Coco Crisp produced a fourth run. After Crisp stole second base, Bailey hit a high chopper near the line at third, A-Rod fielded it and fired across the diamond to Giambi, but not in time. The only problem was Giambi thought it was in time, and watched as Crisp, who never stopped running, scored behind Lowrie for a 6-2 lead. The play also ended the night for Pettitte, who gave way to Brian Bruney.

The Yankees had a chance to come right back against Wakefield in their half of the fifth inning. Damon's second home run cut the lead in half and Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu followed with one out singles. But A-Rod and Giambi both flied out to let Wakefield off the hook.

The Red Sox added another run in the seventh after Bruney walked the bases loaded (and yet Girardi left him in). Bay's sacrifice fly brought home the Sox seventh run and made a comeback that much more difficult. But the Yankees did have an opportunity against Javier Lopez in the seventh.

Walks to Damon and Abreu, sandwiched around a Jeter single, loaded the bases with just one out. But a chorus of boos would come crashing down from the fans when A-Rod bounced into an inning ending double play against Justin Masterson.

The Yankees tried again in the eighth. Giambi reached on an error and Xavier Nady singled to left. With two on and no one out, Terry Francona sent for left-hander Hideki Okajima. The Japanese import struck out his fellow countryman, Matsui, looking, and retired Robinson Cano on a pop up. Francona then went to his closer Jon Papelbon, who got the final out on a comebacker from Ivan Rodriguez.

The Yankees put a man on in the ninth, but it was apropos that A-Rod struck out to end the game.


News and Notes

A-Rod is 1-10 with the bases loaded this eason.

Johnny Damon's multi-homer game was the 11th of his career and first since 2006.

Dustin Pedroia's misplay in the eighth inning snapped a 61-game errorless streak.
Joba Chamberlain is set to throw another bullpen session on Thursday.

Lou Lamariello pulled the MetLife lever last night to reduce the number of Yankees home games to 15. They couldn't find a former Yankee to do it?


August 26, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Boston	0	1	2	0	3	1	0	0	0		7	14	2
NY Yankees	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	10	1

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, RF	6	0	1	1	0	2	3	.263
Pedroia, 2B	5	1	0	0	1	0	5	.315
Ortiz, DH	3	1	2	0	2	0	0	.263
Youkilis, 3B-1B	2	1	1	1	3	0	0	.319
Bay, LF	4	1	2	2	0	0	2	.293
Lowrie, SS-3B	5	1	1	0	0	1	6	.296
Crisp, CF	5	1	3	1	0	1	0	.263
Bailey, 1B	4	1	2	2	0	1	1	.278
Cora, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.278
Cash, C	4	0	2	0	1	1	2	.229
Totals	39	7	14	7	7	6	20
BATTING 2B: Ortiz 2 (19, Pettitte, Ramirez), Youkilis (35, Pettitte). TB: Ellsbury; Ortiz 4; Youkilis 2; Bay 2; Lowrie; Crisp 3; Bailey 2; Cash 2. RBI: Ellsbury (38), Youkilis (90), Bay 2 (84), Crisp (32), Bailey 2 (3). 2-out RBI: Ellsbury; Crisp; Bailey 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bay; Pedroia 2; Lowrie 3. SF: Bay. GIDP: Lowrie. Team LOB: 13. BASERUNNING SB: Crisp (16, 2nd base off Pettitte/Molina). CS: Crisp (6, 2nd base by Robertson/Molina). FIELDING E: Pedroia (6, fielding), Lowrie (1, fielding). DP: 2 (Lowrie-Pedroia-Bailey, Cora-Youkilis).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wakefield (W, 8-8)	5.0	8	3	3	1	1	2	3.73
Lopez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.92
Delcarmen	0.1	1	0	0	2	1	0	4.25
Masterson (H, 2)	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.21
Okajima (H, 20)	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.77
Papelbon (S, 34)	1.1	0	0	0	0	2	0	1.71

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	4	2	2	2	1	1	2	.313
Jeter, SS	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	.294
Abreu, RF	4	0	2	0	1	0	1	.298
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	0	0	0	0	2	7	.308
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.247
Nady, LF	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.328
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.310
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	3	.269
Molina, C	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	.230
a-Rodriguez, I, PH-C	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	.283
Totals	37	3	10	3	3	6	20
a-Struck out for Molina in the 7th.
BATTING HR: Damon 2 (11, 1st inning off Wakefield, 0 on, 0 out; 5th inning off Wakefield, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 8; Jeter 2; Abreu 2; Nady; Matsui; Cano; Molina. RBI: Damon 2 (57), Molina (15). 2-out RBI: Molina. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon; Giambi; Rodriguez, I. GIDP: Rodriguez, A 2. Team LOB: 10. FIELDING E: Rodriguez, A (10, throw). DP: (Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pettitte (L, 13-10)	4.2	10	6	6	3	3	0	4.37
Bruney	1.1	0	1	1	3	0	0	2.38
Robertson	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	5.76
Ramirez	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.59
Britton	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	4.30

Masterson pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

IBB: Youkilis (by Ramirez).
Pitches-strikes: Wakefield 80-55, Lopez 9-9, Delcarmen 18-7,
Masterson 9-6, Okajima 14-8, Papelbon 15-10, Pettitte 101-60,
Bruney 33-16, Robertson 13-10, Ramirez 15-8, Britton 18-12.
Groundouts-flyouts: Wakefield 7-7, Lopez 1-1, Delcarmen 0-0,
Masterson 2-0, Okajima 0-1, Papelbon 2-0, Pettitte 8-3, Bruney 1-3,
Robertson 0-0, Ramirez 1-2, Britton 0-2.
Batters faced: Wakefield 23, Lopez 3, Delcarmen 4, Masterson 3,
Okajima 2, Papelbon 5, Pettitte 26, Bruney 7, Robertson 3, Ramirez 6, Britton 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Masterson 3-0, Okajima 2-0, Papelbon 2-0, Bruney 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Gary Cederstrom. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, In from LF.
T: 3:22.
Att: 55,058.