New York Yankees 4 – Boston Red Sox 8
Gritty comeback efforts go for nothing in tonight’s 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
In the first inning, the Red Sox sent John Lackey to the mound and the Yankees took advantage of the defensive alignments. With two outs and a heavily shifted to the right side infield, Robinson Cano dropped the perfect bunt. Yes, I said that. The bunt by the Yankees second baseman would go down the left field line and Cano would hustle into second base for a bunt double. The Yankees would be unable to bring him home but it was worth noticing.
Hiroki Kuroda was called on to open the three-game series and Dustin Pedroia got it started with a single to left field. With one out, David Ortiz would hit a double to left field and the Sox had two in scoring position. Mike Carp would plate the first run with a ground out and Daniel Nava would join the left field attack with a single to bring in the second run. Jarrod Saltalamacchia would walk to put two on base. Stephen Drew would double their lead with a two-run double. When the inning was over, the Red Sox had a 4-0 lead in just one inning.
An unlikely source would get the Yankees on the board. Hitting .190 with three home runs, Brendan Ryan was in for defense. But he would put the first run on the board with a solo home run onto The Green Monster in the third inning.
Robinson Cano got a double on a bunt and a single on a line drive in the fourth inning. Baseball is funny like that. In the sixth inning, Cano would get a more traditional double, on a line drive to right field to get in scoring position. Alfonso Soriano would get Cano to third with a single and Lyle Overbay would fly out to bring home Cano. The Yankees were now down by two.
In the seventh inning, the unlikely source would get things going again. With one out, Brendan Ryan hit a single and Chris Stewart would hit a single too, moving Ryan to third. This would end John Lackey’s night. Lefty Craig Breslow would come on to get Curtis Granderson to strikeout swinging when the lineup turned over. Alex Rodriguez would walk to load the bases for the hottest bat on the team, Robinson Cano. With three hits already, Robinson Cano would get the big hit for the Yankees, a double into the right center gap that brought home two runs, tying the game at four.
You know who started the seventh inning? Hiroki Kuroda.
After four hits and four runs in the first inning, Kuroda gave up no runs on three hits from the second inning to the sixth inning. In fact, he lasted longer in the game than Lackey. A tough single past Eduardo Nunez, at third base, would be the end of the line for Kuroda. Rookie lefty Cesar Cabral would come in for David Ortiz. He would pitch inside and hit Ortiz on the elbow. With the bullpen a little overworked, Preston Claiborne would get the call in this tough spot against Jonny Gomes.
Claiborne would walk Gomes but he got the first out on a strikeout of Daniel Nava. Saltalamacchia would deal the big blow with a grand slam to the bleachers in right center field. The 4-4 tie became an 8-4 deficit for the Yankees. Stephen Drew would hit a double but Claiborne ended the inning. Unfortunately, the damage was done.
In six innings, Kuroda allowed five runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out two. Cesar Cabral was charged with his first career earned run and Preston Claiborne got the brunt of the damage. In one inning, Claiborne allowed two runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara would make quick work of the Yankees in the eighth and ninth inning, respectively.
Win – Brandon Workman (6-3)
Loss – Hiroki Kuroda (11-11)
Notables
Yankees
*Robinson Cano – 4 for 4, R, 3 2B, 2 RBI (102)
*Brendan Ryan – 2 for 4, 2 R, Solo Home Run (4) in the 3rd, RBI (22)
Red Sox
*Jarrod Saltalamacchia – 2 for 3, 2 R, 2B, Grand Slam (13) in the 7th, 4 RBI (59)
*Stephen Drew – 2 for 4, 2 2B, 2 RBI (62)
Current Yankees Record: 79-69
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