Red Sox Crush Yankees En Route to Sole Possession of First Place

Sports Illustrated

Red Sox 11 Yankees 6
Winning Pitcher: Tim Wakefield (3-1)
Losing Pitcher: AJ Burnett (6-4)
Save: Alfredo Aceves (1)


Recap
The Red Sox came out swinging again in game two of their series against the Yankees, and were able to take over sole possession of first place in the AL East with their victory. AJ Burnett came out struggling, allowing a lead off single to Jacoby Ellsbury. The speedster then stole second, and advanced to third on an errant throw from Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli. He was then knocked in by an Adrian Gonzalez ground out. Following a Kevin Youkilis walk, David Ortiz came up to bat with many expecting him to be beaned due to his bat flipping incident. Instead, Ortiz went yard, giving Wakefield an early 3-0 lead. After Wake shut the New York offense down 1-2-3 in the first, the Red Sox added on another run thanks to a JD Drew sac fly in the second. Wakefield continued to look strong, and the game started to get ugly in the top of the fourth. The Red Sox loaded the bases with one out, then scored one on a fielder's choice from Jason Varitek. Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia came up with a couple of big 2-out RBIs, and all of a sudden Boston had a commanding 7-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez led off the bottom of the inning with a solo shot, but that was all the Yankees managed in the inning. The fifth inning provided some trouble for Wakefield, as he allowed three runs, and the Yankees were able to climb back in the game, cutting the deficit to three. The Red Sox got one back in the sixth, however, when Gonzalez drew a bases loaded walk against New York reliever Boone Logan. Wakefield finished his outing 5.1 IP, allowing five runs on five hits, three walks and three Ks. It was nothing too spectacular, but it was enough for the victory.


Home Runs
Boston: David Ortiz (15), Carl Crawford (6), JD Drew (4).
New York: Alex Rodriguez (11)


News and Notes

• The Red Sox received some bad news after the conclusion of the big win. According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, Dustin Pedroia is going back to Boston to see if he needs surgery on his knee. If surgery is needed, he would be out for about a month. 

The Red Sox and Yankees conclude their series tomorrow night at 7:05 PM ET. Boston will send Josh Beckett (4-2 2.01) to the mound against New York's CC Sabathia (7-3 2.80) in what should be a great pitching matchup.