The Red Sox have taken all five of their games against the Yankees this year, but it would be a mistake to assume that a sizable gap exists between the two clubs. The Yankees could have - and, in some cases, should have - won each of those five contests.
On Tuesday, the Sox claimed a 7-3 win that, like their four prior triumphs against the Yankees, was about the details.
There were several moments in which the game hung in the balance. In each, the Sox did what was necessary to keep the Yankees at bay.
Most notably, there were two moments when the Yankees seemed ready to thrust themselves back into last night's game. Josh Beckett had been stung for three runs on a Johnny Damon homer in the bottom of the third and New York again sensed an opportunity to pounce in the fourth.
Melky Cabrera ripped a one out liner down the right field line. The Yankees' centerfielder sniffed a triple.
But a perfect relay from right-fielder J.D. Drew to second baseman Dustin Pedroia to third baseman Mike Lowell saved the Sox. Had the ball touched the ground once, Cabrera would have been safe. But the two clothesline throws were just enough to clip Cabrera at third by inches.
Then, in the sixth, Beckett was once again in trouble. This time, Cabrera sliced a one-out double down the left-field field line that hopped into the stands to put runners on the tying run on third and Cabrera right behind him at second. Beckett had to bear down.
That he did. After falling behind Ramiro Pena, 2-0, Beckett asked the grounds crew to repair a mound turned to mud.
“For me, I think I really throw against my front side. Not that I come down with a stiff leg, but I end up with a stiff leg. For me, footing is pretty key,” said Beckett. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a grounds crew come out to fix the mound. This one, I was dealing with three or four pitches in a row where my footing slipped. So I had to do what I had to do.”
The hill rebuilt to his liking, Beckett then struck out Pena on his next three pitches (two curves and a fastball) and got Jose Molina on an inning-ending grounder to short. The Sox did just enough to ensure that their lead stood up, a common element to their victories and a common shortcoming of the Yankees in their five losses.
“I thought there were a lot of big plays,” Sox manager Terry Francona said afterwards. “After a miserable night out there, we ended up feeling good about ourselves.”
Here are five other things we learned from the Sox' completion of a two-game sweep in the Bronx:
1) The Sox are Just Fine at Cleanup
After Manny Ramirez was traded, and again this spring, questions were asked about whether the Red Sox featured a legitimate cleanup hitter. The answer is now in: they have two.
Kevin Youkilis, of course, has been a one-man wrecking crew from that spot this year. He entered last night leading the American League in average (.393) and OBP (.505) and second in slugging (.791).
But Youkilis was unavailable last night due to stiffness in his left side. That opened the fourth spot in the batting order to Jason Bay, who more than lived up to the responsibilities of a cleanup hitter.
After the Sox opened the game with three straight hits, Bay jumped on a 91 mph cookie from Joba Chamberlain, sending it into the first row beyond the left-field stands for a three-run blast, his seventh of the young season, and his third in five games against the Yankees.
“Wherever we hit him, we all think he’s a good player,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “That’s part of what makes this team, I think, have a chance to be good: some flexibility.”
Bay clearly won the attention of Chamberlain and the Yankees, getting drilled by a 93 mph fastball in the fifth. That was part of a night in which he went 1-for-3 while reaching base four times, courtesy of the homer, a walk, the plunking and an error.
In his career as a cleanup hitter, Bay is a .287 hitter with a .388 OBP, .526 slugging mark
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