Projo Sox Blog

By SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

NEW YORK - Jonathan Papelbon had a bad feeling when he allowed Robinson Cano to reach base leading off the bottom of the 10th inning.

"Usually when you don't get the first guy," said Papelbon, "you get in trouble."

Papelbon's suspicions were well-founded three batters later when Brett Gardner's seeing-eye single rolled through the infield and scored Cano with the winning run in the Red Sox' 5-4 defeat to the New York Yankees last night.

The fifth pitcher of the evening for the Sox, Papelbon -- making just his third appearance on the 10-game road trip -- yielded a leadoff single to center to Cano, who had popped a two-run triple for the Yanks in the seventh to tie the game at 4-4.

Melky Cabrera then dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Papelbon fielded it and looked toward second, briefly entertaining the thought of trying to cut down the lead runner before thinking better of it.

"I wanted to get the out," he said.

When Papelbon fanned pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit, he and the Red Sox were an out away from sending the game to the 11th inning.

But then began Papelbon's long, drawn-out at-bat with Gardner. Papelbon quickly got ahead 0-and-2, but Gardner hung tough, fouling off pitch after pitch.

Finally, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Gardner managed to hit a ball up the middle. Shortstop Alex Cora touched it with his glove but the ball hit the lip of the outfield grass, squirting away from Cora and converging second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Cano, running all the way from second, scored easily.

"It seems like that's the way you're going to beat me this year," Papelbon lamented. "A broken-bat, off the lip of the grass . . . it's frustrating . . . You have a guy 0-and-2 and figure you can put him away. But it didn't happen."

At least not according to home plate umpire Laz Diaz. On a 1-and-2 pitch that Gardner took, Papelbon and many Red Sox players thought the rookie outfielder had been struck out.

"Yes, I did," confirmed Papelbon.

Instead, it led to just another loss on a long, disappointing road trip.

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Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia will be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers today. That isn't bad news for the Red Sox, who had some concerns that Sabathia might end up with an American League rival like Tampa Bay or the Yankees.

The Red Sox had some discussions with the Indians about Sabathia, who can be a free agent at the end of this season. The teams discussed some names, but never got close enough to make the discussions serious.

The Indians were looking for impact bats, and that's something the Sox don't have much of at the upper levels of their minor-league system. Boston's best hitting prospect is first baseman Lars Anderson, who is still at Single A and probably won't reach the big leagues until 2011.

The Indians wanted someone who could help starting next year and focused on Milwaukee Double A outfielder Matt Laporta as the centerpiece of the deal.

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The Sox dropped to 4-2 in extra inning games this season .. . . The Sox are 11-16 in one-run games and have lost their last seven contests decided by a single run, including all six on this road trip . . . Last night marked the fifth time this season that Tim Wakefield left the game with the lead but didn't record a win . . . Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 14 games, matching a career high achieved three times earlier. During the streak, Pedroia is hitting a scorching .500 (31-for-62) . . . Kevin Youkilis had his 31st multi-hit game of the season.

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Alex Rodriguez' solo homer in the second was No. 536 of his career, tying him with Mickey Mantle for 13th on baseball's al-time list. This season alone, Rodriguez has passed Hall of Famers Ted Williams (521 homers), Willie McCovey (521) and Jimmie Foxx (534).

It was also his 191st homer as a member of the Yankees, tying him with Tino Martinez for 15th place on the franchise list.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox

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