Finally Figuring

It won’t be remembered as a classic, but last night’s ball game was probably the last of John Smoltz’s stellar career and the first time the Yankees beat the Red Sox in 2009. New York’s Joba Chamberlain was not the lights out pitcher he’s been since the All-Star break, but he was effective enough to plow through the pesky Sox at the plate.
All the emotion leading up to the game created the perfect atmosphere for another heated horde of hyped-up players. Two edge-of-your-seat innings were followed by a third inning Dustin Pedroia homerun to right field off Chamberlain. Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis drew back-to-back passes from the Yankees hurler. Chamberlain doubled up “Big Papi” David Ortiz on a ground ball to second base and induced J.D. Drew into flying out to centerfield to escape the jam. Boston was on board first, but the Yankees would counter in the bottom half of the frame. Johnny Damon planted a 2-1 Smoltz pitch just over the right field fence to even the score at one.
In an eventful fourth inning, Boston added two more runs. Casey Kotchman provided the goods in his first start for Boston. He smothered the third long ball of the game, a two-run shot to right. The hits just kept coming in the bottom of the fourth. Jorge Posada led off the inning with a double, somewhat making up for a missed slide in the first inning. (Jorge would later completely make up for that gaff) Robinson Cano singled to center, scoring Posada, on the next play. Nick Swisher followed Cano with a walk on four pitches. Then, Melky Cabrera belted a bomb into the second deck on a 1-2 count to give the Bombers a 5-3 lead. A Damon base hit and Mark Teixeira double preceded an intentional walk to Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees padded the lead with the bases juiced and Billy Traber pitching. Jorge Posada’s second plate appearance signaled the Yankees batting around in the inning. Posada, hitting from the right side, connected courageously by clipping the ball into the stands for a 9-3 Yankees advantage.
Martinez crossed the plate for the visiting Red Sox in the top of the fifth after reaching base on his second walk of the night. The Yankees collected two of their own runs in the bottom of the fifth. Hideki Matsui slapped a double to score the speedy Damon and Rodriguez and clear the bases. Matsui made it to third base on a Nick Green error but Posada was fanned to end the threat. Jerry Hairston, Jr. was driven in on a Derek Jeter RBI single in the sixth to give New York an eight run cushion. The Yankees weren’t done scoring just yet. The final notch came in the seventh on Teixeira’s 28th dinger of the season.
Thursday’s opening game of the four game set was not without controversy. Yankees reliever, Mark Melancon, lost control of two pitches to Pedroia. He was accused of intentionally tossing at the former MVP. Posada walked Pedroia down the line as Boston manager, Terry Francona came out to talk to the home plate umpire. The game resumed and the Red Sox would have to endure some of the suffering New York has experienced in this version of the rivalry.
Smoltz was lit up by the Yankees’ offense and was designated for assignment by the Sox this afternoon. It is likely the last we will see of the future Hall-of-Fame pitcher. Boston left 15 men on base last night and were unable to capitalize on 12 walks by New York hurlers. Chamberlain allowed seven of the 12 passes and went just five frames but has not lost since June 18 against the Nationals. He still did a better job than his opposition. Smoltz gave up eight earned runs, nine hits and two homeruns in just over three innings on the hill. His batterymate Martinez was walked three times in his first glimpse of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. But the second baseman, Pedroia, had the best evening of any Red Sox player. He seems to own Yankee pitching this year and added another three hit affair Thursday night. The bottom of New York’s order was extremely productive, in racking up 11 of the 18 Bomber hits.
A sweep might not be realistic but it is possible the Yankees take three of four this series.
Parting points: Sad news about John Hughes passing away. He directed some of my favorite 80’s movies. I can never watch “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, “Planes, trains and automobiles”, “The Breakfast Club”, and “Ferris Buhler’s Day Off” enough.