Salvaging the Split

Jon Lester pitched a thrifty six inning game of four hit ball to win his 12th game of the season for the Boston Red Sox. Lester, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon were an overpowering pitching trio Monday afternoon in the Bronx as the Sox split a four game series with the Yankees. Boston defeated the Bronx Bombers 2-1 to take the middle two games of the set and remain within six games of the division leaders. New York finished 3-4 on their recent home stand and next head to Texas to battle the first-place Rangers.
Phil Hughes was tagged with his fifth loss of the season for New York. Hughes allowed a pair of runs in the second inning, and was essentially blemish-free the rest of the game. The Yankees’ offense did not give their starter much run support, stranding 11 total base runners in the loss. Mark Teixeira drove in the only Bomber run on his team-leading 26th long ball of the year. Teixeira’s crush came in the bottom of the eighth off Daniel Bard. The Red Sox did all their scoring in the top of the second, pounding out three hits and capitalizing on a Jorge Posada throwing error. Lester tossed 6 1/3 innings, limiting the Yankee bats and fanning six. Newly-acquired Yankee, Austin Kearns, was first to break out against the tough Lester. Kearns’ one-out base hit in the fifth was one of six Bomber hits on Monday. Boston also banged out six hits during the contest, struggling after Hughes’ shaky second inning in which he threw over 40 pitches.
The Yankees had an opportunity in the seventh frame after Lester loaded the bases. Lester buckled down to strike out Curtis Granderson for the first out before being replaced by Bard. Bard needed just six pitches to get Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher whiffing on his 98-plus mph heaters to keep Boston clinging to a two-run edge. Teixeira put the Yankees on the board with a towering leadoff homerun in the eighth and pitted runners on first and second with two outs. Papelbon induced a Kearns ground ball to end the threat and struck out the side in the ninth for the save. Boston continues their road trip when they head to Toronto tomorrow, knowing the Yankees squandered a chance to put them in a deeper division hole.

Parting Points: Buck’s birds? Buck Showalter certainly has a way of motivating an underperforming ballclub. Perhaps he should take over the Seattle job too.

I don’t understand NFL players who hold out and don’t show up at camp. Aren’t these guys making enough money?