Boston Red Sox 4 — New York Yankees 2
CC Sabathia would continue to adapt to his lower velocity in his first home start of the 2014 season against the Boston Red Sox.
Early on in the game, CC Sabathia looked to have a good idea of how to handle games with his pitches topping out at 91 MPH. He would strikeout four Red Sox in the first two innings, two on fastballs and two on sliders. He would give up his first hit, a double, in the third inning but he would retire the next six in a row to have the Sox scoreless through five.
For the Yankees offense, Alfonso Soriano provided some instant offense in the second inning. Batting in the clean up spot, Soriano would get a hold of a Jon Lester pitch and put it into right field for a one-run lead. This was the one real mistake on Lester’s pitching line tonight. The offense couldn’t get to Lester and when they did, it came with two outs and it would usually result in no runs.
The sixth inning was a struggle for CC Sabathia in his previous start at Toronto, allowing three runs on four hits. Tonight’s game would feature another poor sixth inning that would prove costly. On a 1-0 count, outfielder Jonny Gomes would tie the game with a leadoff solo home run to right field. Sabathia would get Dustin Pedroia to strikeout but David Ortiz would defy the numbers and hit a soft single to the left side of the infield. Mike Napoli would hit a single through the middle and Sabathia’s former teammate during his time with the Indians, Grady Sizemore, would hit a high-flying three-run home run to right field to give the Red Sox a 4-1 lead. Sabathia would get out of the inning but the damage was done.
In two of Sabathia’s three starts, he reached the sixth inning. He has a 13.50 ERA in that inning.
With two outs in the seventh inning, Ichiro Suzuki would hit a single to right field. Jon Lester and home plate umpire James Hoye wouldn’t see the strike zone the same way and Roberts would walk to put two on and two outs.Kelly Johnson would hit a sharp single to right field and Ichiro would come around to make it a 4-2 game. Junichi Tazawa would come in for Lester and squash the rally with a fly out to right field from Derek Jeter.
Brian McCann, struggling in the early part of this season, got an opportunity to tie the game when he pinch-hit for Francisco Cervell in the eighth inning but Tazawa would get McCann to strikeout swinging at a ball in the dirt. The Yankees would not put up a fight in the ninth inning, even with Koji Uehara unavailable and reliever Edward Mujica closing.
A positive in this game was the bullpen. Despite Cesar Cabral walking the lone batter he faced, Adam Warren would back him up with a scoreless inning and Dellin Betances would be dominant in the ninth inning, striking out all three batters he faced.
Win – Jon Lester (1-2)
Loss – CC Sabathia (1-2)
Save – Edward Mujica (1)
Notables
Red Sox
*Grady Sizemore – 2 for 4, R, Three-Run Home Run (2) in the 6th, 3 RBI (4)
*Jonny Gomes – 2 for 5, R, Solo Home Run (1) in the 6th, RBI (2)
Yankees
*Alfonso Soriano – 2 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (2) in the 2nd, RBI (3)
*Kelly Johnson – 1 for 3, RBI (6)
Current Yankees Record: 5-6
