(Photos by Jim Rogash of Getty & Charles Krupa of the AP)
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WP: C. Park (1-1)
LP: J. Papelbon (0-1)
SV: M. Rivera (2)
After two offensively dominated games, the pitchers finally stepped up and stole the show in the rubber game. Both starters, Andy Pettitte and John Lackey, were terrific. Pettitte threw six strong innings, allowing just one run on six hits and three walks, he also struck out four. Pettitte threw 94 pitches on the night, 54 for strikes. He allowed a few too many baserunners, but thanks to two big double plays the Red Sox weren't able to sustain any rally.
Boston's lone run broke a scoreless tie in the 3rd. Dustin Pedroia, who was a pest all series, led off with a double, and then two batters later David Ortiz broke out of his mini slump with a two-out RBI single. That would end up being it for the Boston offense on this night.
Lackey also threw six innings, but did not allow a run. He gave up just three hits and two walks, struck out three, and threw 58 of his 100 pitches for strikes. For a guy who has struggled throughout his career in Fenway, he seemed pretty comfortable.
Eventually the Yankees would break through against the Sox bullpen, tying the game at one in the sixth on a big two-out RBI single by Nick Swisher. Daniel Bard had relieved Scott Schoeneweis and quickly got ahead of Swisher 0-2. But Swisher hung in and lined the third pitch he saw to right field for a single, Posada scored from second, and the game was tied. Luckily for the Yanks, Drew's throw was offline and skipped away from V-Mart, otherwise Posada was a dead duck. After the hit by Swisher, Bard settled down and retired the next four batters he faced.
Chan Ho Park entered the game for the Yanks in the 7th, probably causing many fans to feel a little ill, but Park proved those fans (and me) wrong. He bounced back in a big way from his rough outing on Sunday, and held Boston off the board in the 7th, 8th and 9th.
After throwing a scoreless ninth, Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon stayed in to pitch the 10th. With the day off tomorrow for Boston it was a move that made sense at the time, but it would come back to haunt Terry Francona, because Curtis Granderson would end the series the same way he started it, with a homer. On the second pitch of the inning, Granderson caught up with Papelbon's 94 mph fastball and sent it into the seats in right. Welcome to the rivalry, Curtis. Later in the inning, Mark Teixeira drove in the Yankees third run when he grounded out with the bases loaded. It was too slow to turn two, and the Yankees got that always important insurance run.
(One more thing about the Granderson homer: According to several people, John Sterling changed his call a bit and started singing "The Grandy Man Can". If anyone has the exact quote or the audio, please send it to me.)
That set things up for Mariano Rivera, who made quick work of the Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Victor Martinez in the bottom of the tenth. He needed just 13 pitches--8 strikes--to retire the side in order and pick up his second save.
A Yankees-Sox series could never go by without a few bean balls. Tonight, there were two, and neither was likely intentional. Pettitte hit Kevin Youkilis in the head with a pitch in the bottom of the 5th win a man on first and two out. Lackey then hit Jeter to lead off the top of the 6th, and while the timing was a bit suspicious, it was a one-run game and I strongly doubt Lackey was trying to put Jeet on, especially with a 2-2 count. Both teams were warned by home plate umpire Paul Schrieber (I hate these stupid warnings), and nothing else happened in the final innings.
Winning two of three in Boson is a great way for the Yanks to start their season, especially after losing their first eight to them last year. Now they can enjoy their off day tomorrow before opening up their series with the Rays on Friday. Javier Vazquez will be pitching for the Yankees, with David Price starting for the Rays. Game time is 7:10 pm and the game will be on YES and WCBS.
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Derek Jeter, SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .308 | |
| Nick Johnson, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .000 | |
| Mark Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .000 | |
| Alex Rodriguez, 3B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .133 | |
| Robinson Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .417 | |
| Jorge Posada, C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .417 | |
| Curtis Granderson, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | |
| Nick Swisher, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .364 | |
| Brett Gardner, LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .333 | |
| Totals | 34 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 13 | ||
2B: Posada (2, Schoeneweis).
HR: Granderson (2, 10th inning off Papelbon, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Jeter; Cano; Posada 2; Granderson 5; Swisher.
RBI: Swisher (2), Granderson (2), Teixeira (2).
2-out RBI: Swisher.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gardner; Rodriguez, A 2.
GIDP: Rodriguez, A.
Team RISP: 1-for-7.
Team LOB: 7.
BASERUNNING
SB: Granderson (1, 2nd base off Lackey/Martinez, V), Gardner (2, 2nd base off Papelbon/Martinez, V).
CS: Cano (1, 2nd base by Lackey/Martinez, V).
FIELDING
DP: 2 (Cano-Jeter-Teixeira, Rodriguez, A-Cano-Teixeira).
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Andy Pettitte | 6.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Chan Ho Park (W,1-1) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.91 |
| Mariano Rivera (S,2) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte
Honorable Mention: Curtis Granderson & Chan Ho Park
