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G59: Sox Extend Streak Over Yankees To Seven With 6-5 Win
By Administrator | June 10, 2009
In the first two-plus months of the 2009 season, the Red Sox have accomplished something that VERY few Red Sox fans have ever seen before.
In 1912, the Red Sox won the first fourteen games they played against the New York Highlanders (a franchise that was re-named the Yankees a year later). Since that time, the Sox have never beaten the Yankees in the first seven games the teams have played in any season — until now.
Tonight at Fenway Park, the Sox beat the New Yawkers for the seventh straight time… this time the score was 6-5. At this point, the Yankess have to be scratching their heads wondering how the Red Sox have managed to pull it off.
The good guys won the first five games against The Evil Empire earlier in the year… but, at the time, the Yankees were without A-Rod, the real Mark Teixeira hadn’t shown up, and their starting pitching was scuffling badly. As THIS series began, the Yankees fortunes had improved dramatically… A-Rod has returned, Teixeira was mashing the ball, and the starting pitching has been outstanding. Over the course of the last month, the Yankees had gone 21-10 and vaulted ahead of the pack in the AL East.
Their swagger was back.
W-A-S back.
This week, the Red Sox have re-asserted themselves. As the teams meet for the final game of the three-game series tonight, the Red Sox have a chance to put a dagger in the heart of the Yankees. They have a chance to take a two-game lead in the division and leave their arch-rival questioning whether they can beat them. The Yankees HAD excuses in April… they have NONE now. The Red Sox are demonstrating that they are just a better team — in spite of their flaws.
I know it’s only June, but tonight’s start is HUGE. Brad Penny vs C C Sabathia.
Can you s-m-e-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l what the Sox are cookin?
Tonight, the Sox scored early and often. They tallied runs in each of the first four innings while taking a commanding 6-2 lead after four innings behind starter Tim Wakefield… and then held on for the one-run win.
The Sox tagged NY starter Chien-Ming Wang for four runs over 2 2/3 innings and then added two more runs in the fourth inning off prospect Phillip Hughes. They got things started in the first inning with a big assist from Wang, who issued back-to-back walks with one out in the frame… LF Jason Bay then drove JD Drew home with a line drive single into left field.
After Jorge Posada tied the game with a solo home run leading off the second inning, the Red Sox answered with back-to-back rbi-doubles in the second inning (Kottaras and Pedroia) to take a 3-1 advantage (it was a lead they would not relinquish). Mike Lowell honered to lead off the third inning and extend the lead to three runs.
The Yankees scored in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 4-2, but once again the Sox answered the Yankees tally with a pair of runs of their own. This time, Kevin Youkilis followed a Bay triple with a two-run home run into the Red Sox bullpen.
Red Sox-6, Yankees-2.
New York scored a run in the fifth inning on a Robinson Cano ground out.
Uncharacteristically, reliever Ramon Ramirez struggled in his outing. He relieved the knuckleballer in the seventh inning and immediately surrendered back-to-back home runs to Johnny Damon and “Tex”. After recording two outs and allowing a base hit, Ramirez was removed in favor of southpaw Hideki Okajima who struck out left-handed hitting Hideki Matsui. Okajima surrendered a walk in the eighth inning but struck out the final two batters — derek Jeter and Damon — to get the game to closer Jonathan Papelbon to begin the ninth inning.
Pappy walked A-Rod with one out in the ninth inning. Ramiro Pena, pinch-running for Rodriguez, stole second base to put the tying run into scoring position with just one out… but Pappy would have NONE of that! He struck out Cano and retired Posada on a fly ball to center field to notch his fifteenth save.
Every Red Sox starter had at least one hit in the ballgame except for David Ortiz (.196), who walked twice.
Topics: Sox Games, Sox Players |
