It was so considerate of the Boston Red Sox to get out to a big lead last night on the New York Yankees, meaning that you didn't have to worry about them while we watched the Bruins dominate the Canucks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Boston (35-26) was up 7-0 in the top of the fourth and hung on for a 11-6 win over the Yankees (33-26) last night at Yankee Stadium. It gave the Red Sox six wins in the teams' seven meetings so far this season and also catapulted Boston a game ahead of New York for first place in the American League East.
The game that figured to be dominated by hitters with Tim Wakefield and A.J. Burnett on the mound, turned out just as you'd expect with both teams using them as batting practice.
Wakefield (3-1) at least saved some face and survived for 5.1 innings, earning the win. He allowed five earned runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Alfredo Aceves, the former Yankee, picked up his first save of the season by getting the final 11 outs. He allowed one earned run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts. More importantly, with Bobby Jenks back on the DL (what a useless tub of goo) and the Red Sox bullpen taxed, Aceves gave them some much needed rest in the brutal heat.
Burnett (6-4) used to own Boston when he was in the no-pressure zone of Toronto. Since he's been with the Yankees, he can't do anything positive against the Red Sox. Last night in 5.2 innings, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits) led off the game with a single, he stole second and moved to third on an error by Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs). Adrian Gonzalez drove Ellsbury in for a 1-0 lead. For the second straight game, David Ortiz went deep (his 15th of the season) with a two-run bomb in the first. There was no bat flip so Joe Girardi will have to find some other inane thing to cry about.
J.D. Drew made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second. The Red Sox tacked on three more runs in the fourth, including an RBI double by Ellsbury.
Alex Rodriguez really stepped up in the clutch with a solo homer when his team trailed 7-0 in the fourth. After Cervelli's RBI double, Derek Jeter's RBI single and Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly, New York cut it to 7-4 in the fifth.
The teams both scored one run in the sixth before Boston put it away with a pair of home runs in the ninth. Carl Crawford (sixth of the season) had a solo homer and Drew hit a two-run bomb off somebody named Lance Pendelton (Joba is on the DL and is going to have Tommy John surgery).
Teixeira's RBI single in the ninth made it 11-6 which was the final margin.
Josh Beckett faces CC Sabathia tonight in the series finale. A win would give the Red Sox their second straight sweep in Yankee Stadium and it would plant some serious dobut in the Yankees' minds.
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