The Red Sox won a game! The Red Sox won a game!
In typical Sox-Yankee fashion, this one was up and down the whole way through. The Sox jumped on CC early, scoring 3 runs in the first thanks to doubled by Gonzalez and Middlebrooks. That was the jump-start Lester needed. He came out of the gates pitching very well. Through the first 4 innings, the Yankees only tagged him for 2 hits (although one of those was a home run). It was a complete 180 from his previous 3 starts.
After the first, CC settled down and was pitching fairly well himself. But both he and Lester ran into some trouble in the 5th. CC gave up a 3-run blast to Gonzalez, putting the Sox up 6-1. Unfortunately, Lester surrendered 3 runs of his own in the bottom of the inning thanks to a 2-run homer from Nix and a stupid fielder's choice grounder from Jeter. Leter took the Yankees down 1-2-3 in the 6th, before departing the game. He finished the night with 6 IP 4 ER 4 hits 6 Ks and 2 walks. I'll take those numbers every time out against this Yankee lineup.
Unfortunately the Sox bullpen, or more specifically, Vincente Padilla, wouldn't let that lead stands. Albers had an easy 7th. Padilla had a not-so-easy 8th, culminating in a 2-run home run served up to Teixeira. Of course it had to be Teixeira. Tied game. Miller ended the 8th, and well, the Sox offense took it from there.
Soriano walked Ellsbury after getting Sweeney to pop out. With Ciriaco at the plate, Ellsbury clearly wanted to steal second and was all up in Soriano's head. Soriano eventually got Ciriaco to fly out to center, but Granderson played the ball about as poorly as he could have, lunged over his wrong shoulder and missed the ball. Ellsbury easily ran home and Ciriaco made it to 3rd with a triple. Pedroia hit a sac fly to drive him home. Sox up 8-6.
Aceves made easy work of the 9th, with one bizarre near meltdown over a call he didn't like. But that was it. The Red Sox won an honest-to-goodness baseball game.
