After salvaging a split with the Tribe, the Sox began their battle royale with their archrivals and the division leaders, the New York Yankees with a 6-3 win. Clay Buchholz tosses 7.1 strong innings of 3-run ball and the Sox put up their 6-spot via 2 dingers, a 2-run double, and a bases-loaded walk (but not in that order). Knowing that their season is on life support, the Boston Boys were up to the challenge, at least for tonight. How the rest of the series plays out remains to be seen.
The Sox started the scoring in the top of the 1st, when Papi knocked one over the wall in center. In the bottom half of the inning, however, Buch would find himself in a spot of trouble, having allowed a single by Jeter and Teixeira at the plate. Teix, not to be outdone by Papi's 24th homer of the season, hit his own 24th long ball into the right field seats. Yanks take 2-1 lead.
The lead wouldn't last long, however. Javy Vazquez allowed the Sox to merry-go-round on the bases in the 2nd and they scored 3 runs. After Beltre doubled to lead off the inning, Drew popped out, then so did Lowell--oh wait, no he didn't! Cervelli dropped the ball! Beltre scampers to third and Lowell reaches on the error. (Oh, how I relish Yankee FAIL!) Kalish whiffs, then Lowrie works a walk. Up comes Ells, who is still hitless since his return from the DL. With two outs in the inning, it was critical that he reach base and he did just that, drawing a walk that plated Beltre. Game tied. Then comes Scoots. After walking two straight batters, Vazquez finds the plate--too much of it, as Scoots lines a 2-run double to left, scoring Lowell and Lowrie. With first base open and Papi in the batter's box, the Yanks give him the 4-finger salute and V-Mart comes to the plate. He lines out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.
Buchholz, now working with a 2-run lead holds the Yanks down until the 5th, when he plunks Jeter with one out. Jeter steals second and takes third on Swisher's single. Teixeira pops out, then A-Rod brings the Yanks within a run when his single scored Jeter. Fortuantely for Clay and the Sox, Cano grounded into a force play to end the inning with the lead intact.
That lead would get more comfortable in the top of the 6th. With one out, Lowell singled and Kalish came to the plate. Having struck out twice off Vazquez, he didn't wait around this time. The first pitch he saw he delivered to the Yanks' bullpen for a 2-run dinger, his first ever in the majors! The 22-year-old outfielder from New Jersey who grew up a Yankees fan is quickly endearing himself to Red Sox Nation now that he's helping the Sox beat the team he grew up watching.
Buch, Bard, and Pap keep the score just as it was after Kalish's home run, but Pap makes things interesting in the ninth, when Jeter fouled off a slew of his fastballs and eventually worked a walk (that appeared to me to be strike 3, but I wasn't the one making that decision). All ended well when Swisher flied out to Kalish in left to end the game. New daddy Buchholz did his 2-day-old daughter proud by beating the Yankees for the first time in his career and picking up his team-leading 12th win of the season and Kalish has a night he'll remember for the rest of his life.
Tomorrow--make that later today--Lackey (he who detests the day game and what it does to his ERA) faces off against Yankees ace Sabathia. The Sox would be wise to carry the momentum from the first game into this one because they are going to need to win this series--that means taking at least 3 out of 4--to stay afloat in the playoff race. Splitting the series wouldn't be the final nail in the coffin for this turbulent season, but by doing so, they'd be hanging on by the thinnest of threads. They're going to need to play their best lineup all four games and that means Lowell at first base. Under no circumstances does V-Mart move out of the catching position. It might not be a bad idea to move Ells down in the lineup until he gets his swing back and put Scoots back on top and maybe Lowrie second.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP ON BEATING THE YANKEES!!!
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