New York Yankees 5 — Boston Red Sox 2
Hiroki Kuroda evens the series with the Red Sox in today’s 5-2 win.
The Yankees would have Brett Gardner reach on an (ill-advised) slide into first for a single. When Ichiro Suzuki lined out to drawn in third baseman, Jose Iglesias, Brett Gardner would get doubled off of first base in the blink of an eye. Then in the bottom half of the first inning, the Red Sox looked to get the first run of the game.
After Daniel Nava got hit by a pitch and advanced to second on the second out of the game, David Ortiz would try to bring him home. David Ortiz hit a single to left field and Vernon Wells would have a play at the plate. The Yankees leftfielder would throw it up the first base line but Chris Stewart would recover and tag Nava out at home to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Eduardo Nunez started the inning with a single and stole second base. Chris Stewart would sacrifice himself to move Nunez to third base. Then, with the infield drawn in, Luis Cruz would hit a ground ball to shortstop Stephen Drew and Nunez would be thrown out at home. But a wild pitch would move Cruz to second base and Brett Gardner would bring in the first run with a single to center field.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes started the inning with singles. With two outs and both Carp and Gomes in scoring position, Kuroda would let loose a wild pitch. Mike Carp hesitated a bit but made a run for home only to be thrown out when Kuroda covered home plate and ended the inning with the lead intact.
Eduardo Nunez started the seventh inning with a double. Chris Stewart productively moved Nunez to third with a ground out to the right side of the infield. Luis Cruz would come through with a single to give the Yankees a two-run lead. Brett Gardner’s single knocked Red Sox starter, John Lackey, out of the game. With the left-handed Matt Thornton in, Robinson Cano and Lyle Overbay would single in a run each and the Yankees were ahead by four.
A sacrifice fly by Jonny Gomes in the bottom of the seventh ended Hiroki Kuroda’s streak of 19 scoreless innings. A wild pitch would score one more run off of Kuroda but he would finish off the inning.
In seven innings, Hiroki Kuroda allowed two runs on five hits.
In the eighth inning, David Robertson would look to setup the save for Mariano Rivera. With one out, Daniel Nava singled and Dustin Pedroia would step up as the potential tying run. On an 0-2 pitch, Dustin Pedroia would hit a pop up back out into foul territory. Chris Stewart would go back and go to the crowd before reaching in and falling into the crowd. Daniel Nava decided to try and advance to second but Chris Stewart popped up from the crowd and threw Nava out at second for an amazing double play to end the inning.
Robinson Cano would get an insurance run in the ninth but it was more than enough for Mariano Rivera. The All-Star closer would give up a single but a pair of strikeouts would end the game and give Mariano Rivera his 31st save of the season.
Win – Hiroki Kuroda (9-7)
Loss – John Lackey (7-7)
Save – Mariano Rivera (31)
Notables
Yankees
*Robinson Cano – 1 for 4, 2 RBI (67)
*Lyle Overbay – 3 for 4, 2 2B, RBI (43)
Red Sox
*Jonny Gomes – 1 for 3, RBI (25)
*Mike Carp – 3 for 4, R, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 52-45
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