New York Yankees 6 Boston Red Sox 7 (April 23, 2007)
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0 comments| W: | Daisuke Matsuzaka | (2-2, 4.00) |
| L: | Scott Proctor | (0-1, 4.91) |
| S: | Jonathan Papelbon | 6, 0.00) |
Red Sox' lucky numbers: 4, 7
Mike Lowell led the way as the Boston Red Sox (12-5, 1st in AL East) finished their first sweep of the New York Yankees (8-9, 3rd in AL East) at Fenway Park since August/September of 1990. Daisuke Matsuzaka (W, 2-2) picked up the win in 7+ innings, despite being charged with all 6 Yankee runs and raising his ERA to an even 4.00 in the process. He struck out 7 (including Alex Rodriguez twice and Bobby Abreu three times), walking only 1.
The big story in this game though came in the third inning, as Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Lowell, and Jason Varitek hit four straight home runs off of Yankees rookie starter Chase Wright, tying a major league record. Harmon Killebrew' Minnesota Twins were the last AL team to do it over 40 years ago; Drew and the Los Angeles Dodgers did it last year. Lowell added a second shot in the 7th inning, a 3-run job off of Scott Proctor (L, 0-1), who pitched to three batters and did not get any of them out.
Rodriguez failed to homer for the second straight game, dropping the Bombers' record to 0-7 when he does not go yard. Derek Jeter did go yard, jacking his first of the year off of Matsuzaka to tie it leading off the 5th inning. Jason Giambi added 3 RBI's to the cause, but it was not enough this day. Pinch-hitter-turned-emergency-catcher Josh Phelps almost gave the Yankees the lead in the 8th against Brendan Donnelly, but he was robbed by a fantastic catch from rookie 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia.
Notes... Jonathan Papelbon worked a hitless 9th for his 6th save in as many chances; he has yet to allow a run... This was Lowell's first multi-homer game as a member of the Red Sox... Ramirez had 3 hits to raise his average above the Mendoza Line... The first four hitters in the Yankee lineup (Johnny Damon, Jeter, Abreu, and Rodriguez) have only one hit combined (Jeter) against Papelbon in their careers... Pedroia had two hits, including his first extra-base hit of the year... Hideki Okajima pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up only his 3rd hit of the year... The Red Sox scored 7 runs in each of their wins this weekend against New York... Boston also celebrated their Jackie Robinson day today, with David Ortiz, Coco Crisp, and third base coach DeMarlo Hale wearing #42 in his honor.
Coming Up Next... The Red Sox welcome in the Toronto Blue Jays for a quick two game set. Boston won 2 of 3 last week against them. Tim Wakefield (2-1, 1.35) takes the mound in a rematch against Tomo Ohka (0-2, 7.02).
The Yankees head down to the Trop and try to save face against Manny Stiles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Kei Igawa (1-0, 6.06) starts the first game against Casey Fossum (1-1, 6.11). Mr. Stiles will be in attendance, giving ArmchairGM it's very first live blog from a game.
Date
April 23, 2007
