Projo Sox Blog

By DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer
No lead was safe at Fenway Park today. The Yankees gave the Red Sox the best they had, and the Red Sox gave it right back. Then the moment the Sox began to feel secure in a lead, the Yankees chased them down and took control.

When the dust had finally settled, the Red Sox finished ahead, 16-11. At four hours, 21 minutes, the nine-inning slugfest was just as long as last night's 11-inning come-from-behind stunner.

"I didn't sit a lot. I ended up pacing. Long games. A lot of pitching changes, a lot of runs, a lot of commercials," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "There's that many pitches thrown, and it seems like every one of them is of consequence. It drains you."

385 pitches of consequence, to be exact. But for a game that featured five lead changes in four innings, it began quietly, with the Yankees methodically pounding Red Sox starter Josh Beckett for six runs in his first four innings.

For the first half of the game, it appeared that the game would be a blowout Yankee win. The Yankees worked deep counts against Beckett all afternoon, making him throw five pitches even to get a standard out. He was at 36 pitches after one inning, and 93 after only four frames. Their patience has paid off: in the first inning, New York turned singles and walks into an early 2-0 lead.

With Hunter Jones warming in the Sox bullpen, and Beckett seemingly ready to depart, the Red Sox erupted and turned the tables on Yankee starter A.J. Burnett in the fourth inning, scoring five runs, capped by a Jason Varitek grand slam.

"He was rolling, too," said Yankee manager Joe Girardi. "After the 3rd inning, we couldn't shut them down. Tried a bunch of combinations and he was so good the first three innings... he almost got out of that inning, where it looked like he was only going to give up one [then] he left the ball in the middle to Varitek."

Then the Sox scored three more in the sixth, thanks to a Jacoby Ellsbury solo shot and a Jason Bay two-run double off the Green Monster, putting the Sox ahead 8-6.

The Sox then turned two singles and a Burnett fastball into Kevin Youkilis' thigh into a bases-loaded, no-out situation, but the Yankees turned a neat 3-2-3 double play to get two quick outs. Jason Bay, however, continued his hot hitting, drilling a double off the upper portion of the Green Monster for an 8-6 Sox lead.

Then, with Beckett still in the game after 115 pitches, and Derek Jeter on first base, Johnny Damon hit a ball into the right field stands to again tie the game, 8-8.

The Red Sox quickly clawed their way ahead back, though they could have likely done more damage if not for a memorably poor inning by Dustin Pedroia. With the bases loaded and one out, David Ortiz lofted a sacrifice fly into right field. But while Nick Green scored easily, Pedroia tried an ill-advised advance to second base on the relay throw, and was tagged out by a mile, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, a Pedroia miscue again cost the Sox. The Yankees put men on second and third with Johnny Damon at the plate. Damon smacked a ground ball to Pedroia's right, but the second baseman got to the ball in time -- only to let it slip through his legs, bringing Angel Berroa and Brett Gardner home, and giving the Yankees a 10-9 lead.

"I got to it too fast, and by the time I was able to adjust, I just missed the ball," Pedroia said.

It took only a few brief moments for the momentum to see-saw back the other way. Scorching-hot Kevin Youkilis doubled to start the bottom of hte seventh, and Jason Bay soon joined him following an intentional walk.

With the crowd cheering, Mike Lowell then drove Jonathan Albaladejo's pitch over the wall for a three-run home run -- and a 12-10 Red Sox lead.

"I think it was just a big moment. Not only do you tie it, but you put your team ahead late in the game. In this game, everything was going back and forth. It seemed like almost whoever was up last was going to win," Lowell said. He finished with six RBI on the day.

But the Yankees just wouldn't go away. Robinson Cano homered in the top of the eighth to bring New York within one. The Yankees then put runners on second and third with one out, but Jorge Posada was caught in a rundown and tagged out near home plate, and Brett Gardner grounded out to Pedroia to end the inning.

The exhausted Sox knew they would need one more big push to put the game away. They barely had it in them.

"It's not easy. Obviously, it's a big series, and it's emotional. You go up, you go down, you go up, you go down, and you're coming off a four-and-a-half hour game, too," said left fielder Jason Bay, who was 2-for-3 with three RBI.

The Sox finally got the insurance runs they needed in the bottom of the eighth. Pedroia drove in Jacoby Ellsbury to make it 13-11, and then Mike Lowell drove a bases-loaded double off the wall to make it 16-11 -- the final score. Finally.

 Tags  Dan Barbarisi Jason Bay Jason Varitek Josh Beckett Mark Teixeira

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