Red Sox power out win against rival Yankees
NEW YORK -- Ryan Hanigan, Travis Shaw and Xander Bogaerts each celebrated their return from the All-Star break with homers off Yankees starter Michael Pineda, leading the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
The trio of blasts supported a strong effort by right-hander Steven Wright, who retired the first 14 men he faced and held the Yanks scoreless until the sixth. Wright permitted three runs and three hits over six innings, improving to 4-1 lifetime against the Yankees.
"Very good combination," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Steven came out, was throwing a lot of strikes, there was quite a bit of violence to his knuckleball. We've been swinging the bat better. When we finished out the homestand right before the break, it started to carry through here right in the middle innings."
The win was the eighth in the last 10 games for the Red Sox, who remain two games behind the Orioles in the American League East. New York is under .500 after the All-Star break for the first time since 1995.
• Yanks stumble to open crucial homestand
Hanigan hit his first homer of the season in the third inning, Shaw slugged a two-run blast in the fifth and Boston extended its lead with Bogaerts' two-run shot in the sixth. New York closed the deficit with three runs in the sixth, highlighted by Carlos Beltran's two-run single -- with the right fielder becoming the fourth switch-hitter to reach 1,500 RBIs.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Wright Stuff: Wright (11-5, 2.78 ERA) didn't get to pitch in the All-Star Game, but that allowed Farrell to start him in the first game coming out of the break. Wright was magnificent early before faltering during a three-run sixth. This was Wright's 13th quality start, as he tied David Price for the staff lead. He threw just 77 pitches, 47 of which were for strikes. More >
"The ball was moving," said Hanigan. "It was dancing around. He was throwing a lot of strikes. Really in command there."
Pineda stumbles again: The home run ball has been an issue for Pineda, who has now served up 18 dingers in his 18 starts this season. The blasts from Hanigan, Shaw and Bogaerts were all slugged off four-seam fastballs, and all of them were well-hit. Pineda has now permitted five runs in each of his last two starts, ending a short-lived resurgence that started in early June for the right-hander. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Pineda will remain in the rotation.
"He had a really good month of June," Girardi said. "July has been so-so, a mixed bag. It's who we have, so he's got to get it done."
Ziegler impresses: Brad Ziegler made short work of the Yankees in his rivalry debut, needing just seven pitches -- including five strikes -- for a 1-2-3 seventh inning. This performance followed an eight-pitch debut for Ziegler in a Boston uniform against the Rays on Sunday. More >
"If I'm throwing well, that's the way it usually is because I'm usually pitching to contact," said Ziegler. "I'm not striking out guys most of the time. I'm trying to get contact in the first two or three pitches and just trusting the defense behind me."
Beltran delivers: The Yankees' inconsistent lineup has been able to count on Beltran this season, and the 39-year-old All-Star delivered again in the sixth inning, whacking a high knuckleball down the right-field line to chase home Starlin Castro and Chase Headley with the Yankees' first runs of the evening. Brian McCann knocked home a third run with a fielder's choice, but Wright escaped by getting Mark Teixeira to pop out.
"He's a guy that has a violent knuckleball," Beltran said. "Normally a guy throws a knuckleball, you get around 65, 70 [mph]. But he goes all the way to 78, 77. He was able to mix the knuckleballs and we couldn't do much."
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
With his two-run single, Beltran became just the fourth switch-hitter in history to record 1,500 RBIs, joining Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.
Shaw is turning into a nemesis for the Yankees. In his last 12 games against them, he is hitting .320 with four homers.
WHAT'S NEXT
Red Sox: Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez makes his return from Triple-A Pawtucket to start Saturday's 4:05 p.m. ET game against the Yankees. Rodriguez pitched well against New York in his rookie season, going 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA in four starts.
Yankees: Left-hander CC Sabathia will take the ball on Saturday afternoon, looking to correct a skid that has seen him surrender 21 earned runs and four homers over his last four starts (23 innings) after allowing just 16 earned runs and two homers over his first 11 starts of the year.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.
Ian Browne has covered the Red Sox for MLB.com since 2002. Follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne and Facebook.
Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch, on Facebook and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét