Red Sox - 310 020 000 - 6 7 0 Yankees - 100 020 001 - 4 9 0Jacoby Ellsbury slammed Freddy Garcia's fifth pitch of the evening deep into the right-center bleachers for his 7th home run of the year. Dustin Pedroia walked, Adrian Gonzalez tripled (!) and Kevin Youkilis delivered a sac fly. Boston led 3-0 after only 15 pitches.
Lester (6-8-3-1-5, 112) threw 53 pitches in the first two innings, but was not seriously threatened, despite the pronouncements of impending doom from both Don Orsillo (TV) and Dave O'Brien (radio). Lester left the bases loaded in the first, allowed a two-out single in the second, gave up a leadoff single in the third but did not allow the runner to advance, stranded two in the fourth, and one in the fifth. His only 1-2-3 inning was the sixth.
Lester has received credit for a win in his last five starts against the Yankees (dating back to May 2010). It's the longest streak since Roger Clemens had five from June 1986 to June 1988. The club record is eight, by Tex Hughson (1942-43); Bill Lee had seven.
David Ortiz crushed a no-doubt, two-run dong (#14) in the fifth to give the Sox a 6-1 lead (which is also Boston's record against the MFY this season) and although New York answered with two runs in their half of the inning, there was not much real worry. After the Sox's lead was cut to 6-3, the Yankees brought the potential tying run to the plate only once - and that was the final batter of the game, Alex Rodriguez, who struck out against Jonathan Papelbon.
Bobby Jenks took over for Lester and threw only four pitches to Jorge Posada to start the seventh before having to leave the game because of back pain/tightness. ... Mark Teixeira was hit flush on the right knee by a pitch in the first inning and left the game in considerable pain. X-rays were negative.
Hector Noesi threw six innings of relief for the Yankees. It's not as rare as I thought.
The victory puts the Red Sox (34-26) into a first place tie with the Yankees (33-25), though New York's winning percentage is actually .002 better than Boston's. We'll deal with that tomorrow.
Jon Lester / Freddy Garcia
W L PCT GB RS RA DIFF PYTH Yankees 33 24 .579 --- 293 222 + 71 36-21 Red Sox 33 26 .559 1.0 290 262 + 28 32-27 Rays 31 29 .517 3.5 248 238 + 10 31-29 Blue Jays 30 30 .500 4.5 292 265 + 27 33-27 orioles 27 31 .466 6.5 233 276 - 43 25-33PYTH is each team's expected record, based on their runs scored and runs allowed.
The Post's George King writes: "Welcome to the real start of the baseball season." King says these games mean "a lot more than the seventh, eighth and ninth games of the season did."
But do they mean more than the 38th, 39th, and 40th games of the season, i.e., Boston's three-game sweep in the Bronx on May 13-15? King grudgingly mentions those games, in which the Yankees were 3-for-22 (.136) with RATS, towards the end of his article. Anyway, no matter when the games are played, each one "means" the same thing in the standings. Perhaps King means the anticipation is higher for this series.
Mike Lupica says this series is the start of "baseball summer ... a perfect time to find out what it looks like when the Red Sox are finally playing the way they are supposed to and the Yankees are doing the same."
The Red Sox are 5-1 against the Yankees in 2011, out-hitting them .292 to .216 and posting a better ERA, 3.67 to 5.37. ... Alex Rodriguez is only 6-for-29 (.207) against Lester, but has two doubles and three home runs. ... Among David Ortiz's 11 hits against Garcia are four doubles and three homers.
On this date in 2007, Curt Schilling was one out away from a no-hitter when Oakland's Shannon Stewart singles to right field. Schilling completes his one-hit, 1-0 win two pitches later.
AL East: Blue Jays/Royals at 8 PM and Rays/Angels at 10 PM.
331 comments:
1 – 200 of 331 Newer› Newest»The home team has won all four June 7th Yanks-Sox matchups. The road team is due!
Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Youkilis, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Crawford, LF
Saltalamacchia, C
Drew, RF
Scutaro, SS
Scutaro is back. Lowrie is hitting .222/.293/.299 vs RHP this year and is 12-of-53 (.226) in his last 14 games.
"with RATS"
They're all rats!
Allan,
Long time reader of your blog, but I've never posted before. I just wanted to thank you for your review of Knocking on Heaven's Door. My wife recently got it for me for my birthday, and I have been thoroughly enjoying it.
-Ryan
Chas, SC
Ryan: You're welcome! I think Amy is also reading it, or ordered it.
Jeter, DH
Granderson, CF
Teixeira, 1B
Rodriguez, 3B
Cano, 2B
Martin, C
Swisher, RF
Jones, LF
Nunez, SS
Nationals prospect Bryce Harper blew a kiss toward Greensboro Grasshoppers (Marlins) pitcher Zachary Neal after hitting a home run off him on Monday. ... Harper better not dig in too deep the next time he faces Neal (or any 'hopper pitcher), me thinks.
I just finished it! I really enjoyed it also---thanks again for the recommendation. I will never look at a minor leaguer the same again.
BTW, rml, although I did not know it when I bought the book, Jim Masteralexis is actually a colleague of my husband. It made it especially interesting to read the book!
I don't know how long I will be threading tonight. Laptop is too HOT for my lap! I probably will chime in now and then.
LBJ says "PLAY BALL!!!!!!!!"
YES!!!!
L: "THAT"S MY BOY!!!!!!!!!"
Awesome!
Damnit, Ellsbury, you're supposed to set the table, not destroy it!
Lead off fucking dong right at the culmination of the Bleacher Cretins' Prick-Call, perfect!
OB: "First 2 have reached"
well, yes, but ..........
PIANO CARRYING TRIPLE!!!!!!!!!!!
don't stop. i want this game out of reach before an out is made
OMG!!!
My gf on Freddy Garcia: "what a chump"
MAKE TITO APOLOGIZE!!!!!!!!!!
Don was truped on Youk's fly-out
so was I, thanks to OB's WAYBACK call. plus it looked like the LF gave up on it.
then after the catch, OB says he just missed a dong. no. not even to the track.
They're under our spell
you can't teach that kind of near infield hit
That was a sweet curve for strike 2.
Heidi Watney.
Papelbon is so eloquent.
got the mfy feed. slo-mo of HBP - OUCH!
"that's a shame"
Crap.
Over/under on the percentage of Yankees fans that will believe Lester was aiming for his knee there?
OB: "Posada is going to run for him". I burst out laughing.
That did look painful.
NESN's first gratuitous Jeter shot of the night.
Dude drinking the red wine in a glass!
laura you have to put "run" in quotes.
Nice start in the top of the inning. Now finish this off, Lester.
Dude drinking the red wine in a glass!
That reminds me...
Good thing Dumbo agreed to play today, I guess.
Allan I saw that Harper video on Jim Rome (which I never watch) today. Hilarious. Here's the quote:
"Check out my man, styling and admiring that shot like he’s Reggie Jackson or something. Needless to say, the pitcher Zach Neal doesn’t care how big Harper’s signing bonus was or that he was taken first overall; he didn’t like being shown up and let him Harper know it. So Harper blew him a kiss. Can’t wait until he tries that with Kyle Farnsworth or (Brett Myers). ...You just went yard on some dude from the Greensboro Grasshoppers not Tim Lincecum in the NLCS. If pulling that garbage in the low minors doesn’t fly it’ll probably get you killed in the majors.
Nothing like a Single A style job. Because if you can’t check yourself, and your manager and teammates can’t, the game will."
Damn, Lester, cut it out!
Reminds you to open a bottle? Let us know what you pick.
That Yankee fan screaming "you bum!" indignantly is an idiot.
He is own worst enemy
Nine HBP this year. Wow. That seems like a lot.
lester is a "knee hunter"
wine? cheap white in a big box
That's how you take one in the knee, Tex, ya big wuss.
NESN showing a total douche in the stands calling for Lester's head. Dumb as a bag o' rocks.
Lester up to 30. How many were strikes?
cheap white in a big box? That was college days, in the sorority, watching Magnum P.I.
long wait for garcia, i assume ....
Yeah, that guy was hollering, 'you bum'
22 minute wait for Fred. WINS 1010-style
We did not have wine in a box when I was in college. We had Boone's Farm Apple Wine. True rotgut for a dollar a bottle.
I could use some to get through this half inning.
Finally...
This game is on a 5 hour pace.....
YOOUUUUKKK!! Looking like FY!
Hey, Jere, great photos in the Knocking on Heaven's Door book!
on pace for a 27-9 final.
So Dumbo can play first?
Thanks Amy. Was glad to help the guy out.
"So Dumbo can play first?"
Yeah I think he can paint too
BP continues.
I can't believe you are drinking wine from a box. Though it is cost effective!
Bert's gotta hit for the cycle tonight. A player like that gets a triple in the 1st, I'm thinking cycle.
Does NESN really need to play a New Kids song during the inning just because they're doing the spot for the New Kids concert? (Do they really need to do the spot during the inning at all?)
I turned on the TV on a hopeless whim and wadya know. I've got the game on the --is it a Fox affiliate?. Cool!
Checking back...Posada as PR in the first is pretty damn funny.
It gets to feel like a small world when I recognize both one of the individuals in the book and one of the photographers!
Brand is Colio. (I call it Coolio)
I need a white that is drinkable but cheap. And the box is a much better value than 2 big bottles. So ...
This white wine is not as bad as college stuff, not even close. In my day that was Fetzer. The Dreaded Fetzer.
The box is easier to store and carry also, I assume.
MFY pen up - Ayala
LBJ needs a B2B dong.
Dr Jeff, here in Ontario all kinds of wine comes in a box, some of it pretty good!
"is it a Fox affiliate?"
Some Yanks games are on "My9," usually Friday night, but they'll show special games like Sox. Same announcers and everything, but just a chance for non-cable people to see a game. (Like the Red Sox were doing with Fox 25 until they finally went all NESN)
"There's a laser!"
We have the Channel 9 feed tonight.
Naturally we have MLB Audio on.
Yook HR would be awesome.
It's Sweat Machine Time!
I'm going with scotch and soda tonight.
C'mon, he can't hit for the cycle if you're walking him.
Whoa, nice start Freddy!
Freddy's Dead
neeev zneeev, freddy is the devil.
Nice try, Freddy.
Nice, use up the pen the first game of the series.
Bases loaded... I guess they can't plunk Youk now. My father was predicting he'd get hit next time up. Or are they saving him for Joba?
Maybe Gonza will get a Cycle with a twist o'walk.
12 batters faced for Garcia.
yup it's "my9" on "my4" on my8.
Shoulda left him in at least through the 4th.
I miss Benny Ayala
Nunez: .255 OBP!!!!
Cycle with a walk should be called something extra. I think Jayson Stark calls it a... perfect cycle? (?)
I am slow getting here and getting caught up on the thread. But "piano carrying triple" made me actually LOL.
oh that is a guaranteed hit. easy grounder to SS, throw in dirt. guaranteed hit. Yup. So fucking ridiculous. There are no errors anymore.
I have my usual red wine. From a glass bottle, not a box. :)
They just want to help Jeter improve his batting average.
How is getting 3000 of what Jeter just got an accomplishment?
The breast shots in this Adirondack Tire are not remotely subtle.
And Don and Jerry will continue using fielding % as the sole measure of defense. "Boston is 3rd the league in defense with x errors." God, I HATE that. It's more Remy than Don.
But Jeter, with 2986 hits, playing at home? Scutaro could air mail into the 2nd deck and CI would get credit for a hit.
I think he may have gotten a few other type of hits.
I've heard people (rightfully) say that they think Jeter's 3,000th will be a bloop to right. I think it'll be a grounder through someone's legs.
SSalty.
Granderson is good.
I'm genuinely glad that early scans of Teixeira's knee are negative. I remember back in the days when I was actually a physically active human being I had a few incidents where I hit my kneecap and ended up writhing on the ground for minutes afterwards. Hopefully today's incident was similar to my experiences, putting aside the fact that he's a high-profile multi-millionaire of course. The bastard.
Drew! WOW!
Great catch, JD!
DREW CARES!!
Allan and Laura, did you see the article in today's NYTimes about noise in sports arenas? The article is mostly about basketball, but speaks generally about increased noise in sports events.
drew able to save his own ass there.
he's got some vertical, eh?
Amy: No, will check it out after the game. Thanks.
Jonathan just recalled a similar catch Drew made in an extra innings game against the Yankees last year, 16th inning or so? Sox ended up losing that game, though.
now on pace for 12-3 win.
The NBA's ridiculous because they actually play loud drumbeats and music during play. Even the worst baseball park doesn't have music while pitches are being thrown or when the ball is in play.
I'm gonne get me a pair of Air Drews.
"now on pace for 12-3 win."
--> Relevant.
Thanks, Amy. I'll take a look. I don't see anything in the Times anymore except book reviews. So I'm glad you alert me!
I have a sudden inexplicable urge to visit Hanes.com.
Girardi to pitcher: Throw over to first a few times. In the dirt. {makes evil glance toward Posada}
That was a pretty nice throw.
You're welcome. I try to keep a lookout for articles you two might find interesting. :)
Yes, Jere, they talk about how they even amplify the sneaker squeaks. I always wondered whether the floors had microphones in them or something.
I have a gut feeling that the huge noise assault at NBA games has undoubtedly leaked over into baseball games, where baseball teams think they need to do some watered down version.
The great Yankee fan Paul Simon gets up to leave at the START of the inning.
I can't imagine what it must be like at a basketball game---all that noise INSIDE.
But I find basketball so boring that even if it were quiet and outdoors, I'd never go to a game.
I find any live sport fun. I'm not a basketball fan at all, but the few games I've gone to (either women's pro or men's college), I've really enjoyed. I *hate* football, but the two NFL games I've been to, I had a great time. But I'd do just about anything rather than watch a football game on TV.
I'd love to see a really good rugby game, on the national level.
I have only been to one Celtics game and one Bruins game, and both times I was appalled at the constant noise and gimmicky stuff that goes on every time there's a pause in the play. Not so much because I hate the noise - and I do hate it - but because I fear it creeping into baseball.
Even watching sports I know nothing about, it's so distracting. The hockey game was actually a good game - why not let us appreciate the beauty of whatever sport it is.
*what RSD said*
And yeah, WTF with the giant freaking Hanes ad in the middle of the inning! Should I just be glad it was quiet?
lester got curt
Houdini strikes again
The silver lining to having the My9 feed: no ads.
I don't follow football, but find it okay to watch on TV. I have no interest in being out in the freezing cold, however, to watch a game.
Basketball I just find repetitive and dull. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Tennis also.
Anyway, is Lester the new Houdini tonight?
Lester was the original Houdini (at JoS, anyway).
Really? Why did I think it was DiceK?
My memory sucks.
Lester got good and then Dice came to town. ... Now Dice is gone and Lester is roughing it a bit this year, so he's the old new 'dini.
I hate tennis. Most people seem to really enjoy it. I draw a complete blank. To me it's like watching paint dry.
And yet I find soccer very pretty to watch. Despite being back and forth.
No rhyme or reason, I guess.
flipped the bat like he was blowing a kiss.
Papi!!!
FloMo
PAPI!!!!! <3
Let me dispose of this bat before I take this trot, says Papi. :)
CRUSH!
then look away and toss the bat into the trash!!!!!!!!!!!
Large Father!
Don, when David does that, you can assume it "has enough", no need to ask.
Amy, when you described your take on basketball, I was going to say, that's how I see soccer, a bunch of people running back and forth, back and forth.
Cabin Mirror in the house.
Does it have enough?
Will Don be hitting the dessert cart a second time?
...
MILLAR!
I was told I'd like hockey if I just saw it live. I did and I came out un-liking it even more.
Rob/Ish, how are you feeling about your Bruins? Must be a relief it didn't go to 0-3.
Emma and I were talking about Kevin Millar a bit ago (reading the 1-a-day trivia calendar she got me at christmas).
What was the scenario when he was playing for the O's and high-fived a Sox fan?
Millar!
Nice try!
posada safe by an ear.
They're really hitting this Scutaro is a slacking fielder thing.
I love hockey live. But then, I do really enjoy hockey, I just don't follow it.
Laura, I find the kicks, passes and head shots aesthetically pleasing in soccer. That being said, I do not think I have ever watched an entire soccer game. Except when my daughter played, and that was NOT pretty! :)
Hockey for me is the ultimate back and forth, back and forth---even worse because nothing much happens until...BOOM! Score! and then it's over before I even saw it. Skating is nice, but not in circles over and over.
What is Lester's pitch count at this point?
Oh, never mind...90. Stupid question.
1st pitcht o swisher was 91
The thing I hate more than any of these sports is when people try to make a case for a certain sport being superior to any other - not that they like it more, but that the sport itself is somehow objectively better. As if it's something you could prove.
That was not a cheap hit.
Thank you Russel Martin! I always say fielders should step up onto the wall if it's low enough to try and make the catch. But I never actually see it. Glad he didn't catch it though.
That was a sweet catch by Cano, I have to say.
You know I wasn't saying any sport was better than any other, just stating my personal preferences, right?
Except baseball, of course, is the best sport. Hands down.
I've been watching, but was distracted from threading looking for a hotel in Philly. I give up right now.
Papi!!
Regarding sports...I love just about any sport, except the NBA. I don't think you could pay me to watch an NBA game.
Jere, I have told many people the same thing about hockey. I like it on TV, but LOVE it live.
How many will Lester throw tonight?
I wasn't talking about you or anyone here! We are just talking about personal preferences.
I mean (eg) soccer fans who have tried to explain to me why soccer is the highest level of sport.
There's that blazing speed from EB!
A graphic on our feed had the name Bubba Starling, former KC player. How many others on the bird team, I wonder?
Mark Fidrych, of course. Hawk Harrelson. Who else?
Robin?
Crow(e)?
I'm too lazy to look them up now, I'm just thinking of birds.
Fidrych is a bird??
Robin Yount
Doug Bird and Marlon Byrd come right to mind. And Birdy Tebbets.
Hey this sounds familiar.... not that I wouldn't play this game every night....
Robin Yount, very good.
Mark Fidrych's nickname was The Bird.
Jay Payton
I love Marlon Byrd's name because he's both a fish and a bird.
Were you doing a bird team recently? I don't thread every day, so I must have missed it.
What about everyone who's ever played for the O's, Jays, or Cards...
John Sterling???
Jay! I never would have thought of that.
Good call on guys named Jay.
Robin Roberts.
No, haven't done it recently but I'm definitely getting a deja vu feeling about this one.
Oh never mind, it's starling not sterling.
My brain has been fuzzy all night, even during Zumba.
Where's Benjamin when you need him? He is always good for searching BRef for names.
Finch is a good bet.
Does Jose Cardenal count?
this just in, Bubba Starling is a draft pick, not a former player. Sorry Bub.
Trevor Crowe (never heard of him, I admit)
Kerry Woodpecker
I'm starting from memory, have not called to the BR pen yet.
Sid Finch!!!!!
What about everyone who's ever played for the O's, Jays, or Cards...
Oh come on! :)
There were two players named Sparrow.
Jose Cardenal definitely counts.
Sparrow Morton and Sparrow McCaffrey
Turkey Mike Donlin
"Turkey Mike Donlin"
haha, shoulda had that one!
Rory Sparrow....for the NBA version
Kerry Woodpecker
Ha, I started to look him up before I caught on. Did you add *pecker* for a reason (other than it's a bird)?
Amy, you might remember this magazine cover? Very famous.
Ducky Medwick
Goose Gossage
Sidd Finch, let's stick to nonfictional players. :)
I maintain that nicknames (Donlin, Hunter, Gossage) should not count.
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