G113: Red Sox 3, Yankees 2 (10)

Yankees - 000 010 100 0 - 2  8  0
Red Sox - 010 000 001 1 - 3 11  0

Josh Reddick's line drive single down the left field line off Phil Hughes in the bottom of the tenth scored pinch-runner Darnell McDonald from second base with the winning run. Reddick knew the ball was fair as soon as he hit it. (Jere was there, and has some video of the celebration)

Mariano Rivera blew his fifth save of the year in the previous inning. Down by one run in the ninth, and having squandering scoring opportunities all night (leaving the bases loaded in the second and sixth innings), Marco Scutaro led off against Rivera by doubling off the left field wall. Jacoby Ellsbury bunted Scutaro to third and Dustin Pedroia brought him in with a sacrifice fly to left.

Scutaro was 4-for-4, the eighth four-hit game of his career, and his third with Boston (September 8, 2010 and June 11, 2011). It is only the third time he has had four hits in four plate appearances.

Rivera had thrown only nine pitches, but Joe Girardi went with Hughes in the tenth. Kevin Youkilis flied out to center, but David Ortiz ripped a ground rule double to right. McDonald went in to run, Carl Crawford -- who had already had three hits in the game and was 9-for-his-last-10 -- was walked intentionally. Reddick lined Hughes's first pitch - a curveball - to the opposite field, and McDonald scored easily. Left fielder Brett Gardner, whose home run had given the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the seventh, did not even bother to throw the ball in.

Terry Francona made a few mystifying decisions. In the seventh, Matt Albers allowed a two-out home run to Gardner and then hit Derek Jeter. Desperate to not allow the Yankees to add to their 2-1 lead, Tito went with Franklin Morales against LHB Curtis Granderson. I was hoping for Daniel Bard in that situation. Morales has no real split this year, but has held lefty batters to a .193 average over his career, while Bard has been much stronger against righties this season. Morales got a strike on Granderson, then threw four balls. Then he walked Mark Teixeira on four pitches well out of the zone. And then threw ball one to Robinson Cano. ... But then Cano took a strike and grounded out to second. Inning over.

Francona then went with Dan Wheeler in the eighth, another curious decision. I figured something had to be wrong -- "intestinal distress", perhaps? -- with Bard. Wheeler ended up striking out the side. (After Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth, Bard came out for the tenth. And seemed fine, so who knows?)

The other annoying decision was not pinch-hitting for Jason Varitek in the sixth or eighth inning. Varitek batted in the sixth with runners at first and second and one out. He had popped up and walked earlier in the game. Facing Cory Wade, fresh out of the bullpen, Varitek took three balls - and then chased the 3-0 pitch. The ball was up and away and he popped it up into foul territory where catcher Russell Martin grabbed it. In the eighth, Crawford had singled and gone to second on a wild pitch by David Robertson. With two outs, Varitek batted once again. Another wild pitch put Crawford on third, but Tek again fouled out, this time to third baseman Eduardo Nunez.

As frustrating as the Sox were in the clutch, the Yankees were worse. They were 0-for-10 with runners at second and/or third.

Freddy Garcia / Josh Beckett

Each pitcher has pitched in three games against the other team this year (one of Garcia's games was in relief).

         IP   H  BB   K    ERA   WHIP  BF   AVG   OBP   SLG    OPS
Beckett  21  10   5  25   0.86  0.714  80  .141  .238  .197   .435  
Garcia    8  11   6   6  10.13  2.125  42  .344  .439  .813  1.252

Garcia has allowed 11 hits to the Red Sox: 3 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 home runs.

Garcia has not allowed a dong in his last 59.2 innings (since Jacoby Ellsbury took him deep to begin a game on June 7). I say that streak ends tonight.