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Pedroia, Red Sox push Yankees further away from postseason

Aug 28, 2008 - 3:58 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The Boston Red Sox have spent virtually the entire season ahead of the New York Yankees. Two of their newest acquisitions played a role in widening that distance on Wednesday.

Jason Bay drove in four runs and Paul Byrd pitched six effective innings to lead the Red Sox to an 11-3 rout of the Yankees.

Dustin Pedroia highlighted a seven-run eighth inning off the Yankees' bullpen with his first career grand slam - a shot that sent many at Yankee Stadium to the exits.

If what they did in the first seven innings did not ensure it, the blast by Pedroia made certain that the Red Sox (77-55) moved seven games ahead of the Yankees (70-62) in the wild card race.

Before Pedroia's blast, Bay drove in four of Boston's first seven runs, equaling his biggest run-producing night for his new team. He had a two-run double in the first, a sacrifice fly in the fifth and started the seven-run outburst with an RBI triple.

"He's awesome," Pedroia said of Bay. "He plays the game hard, plays good defense. He's always in the right spot for us. He's been huge for us."

Boston improved to 6-2 on its nine-game road trip and continued its hold on the top spot in the American League wild card race. The Red Sox also remained 3 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East Division.

But the more damaging blow was to the Yankees, who have 30 games remaining to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 1993, when they finished seven games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. They have dropped 12 of their last 21 games.

Despite what looks like a dire situation in the standings for New York, manager Joe Girardi continued to express optimism.

"I've said all along that I believe in this team," Girardi said. "I believe in the guys on the field and I believe that they can get it done. I believe as a team we can get this done."

Boston spent most of this season without Bay and Byrd, who were on non-contenders Pittsburgh and Cleveland, respectively, prior

to their arrival in Beantown. Those acquisitions have allowed two more experienced players to blend into the clubhouse mix for the defending World Series champions.

"He's been tremendous," Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek said. "He plays really good defense. He's a good baserunner, and it's allowed him to come into his own and he's swung the bat extremely well for us since he's got here."

Bay was days away from being part of the three-team trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers when the Red Sox lost two of three to the Yankees at Fenway Park. Boston won big in the series finale, roughing up Sidney Ponson for seven runs and 10 hits in four innings.

They did not quite batter Ponson around this time but did enough to chase him after 4 2/3 innings. The righthander allowed four runs and seven hits while walking four and striking out three.

Bay played a part in that with a two-out, two-run double that scored Pedroia and David Ortiz just five batters into the contest. He also added a sacrifice fly and an RBI triple before the game became one-sided.

Bay's second game in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry was his 10th multi-hit game with his new team, and it also raised his batting average to .347 and gave him 24 RBI, which has been aided by his teammates' ability to frequently get on base.

"They've been so good," Bay said. "That's a credit to your teammates. I've got guys on all the time."

Byrd is no stranger to closing out the Yankees. He started for the Indians here in Game Four of last season's AL Division Series, which marked the last game for New York under manager Joe Torre.

The Yankees struggled offensively in that series and have done so for most of the year under Girardi. They managed just RBI double by Alex Rodriguez in the first and a run-scoring hit from Robinson Cano in the fourth among five hits off Byrd, who threw 106 pitches, mixed in roughly 15-20 curveballs and improved to 6-1 in his last seven starts.

"In the last month, I think I've had a better curveball, so it helps me out with lefthanders," Byrd said.

Six days after allowing seven runs and eight hits in two innings at Toronto, Ponson never had a lead and quickly fell behind. He gave up a one-out single to Pedroia and a double to Ortiz. Boston scored when Bay's double deflected of Xavier Nady's glove after the left fielder attempted to make a diving catch.

Rodriguez, who was 0-for-5 in the series opener, got the Yankees on the board with a line-drive double to left. He was stranded when Byrd struck out Jason Giambi. New York tied it in the fourth when Rodriguez led off with a double and scored on Cano's single that deflected off Pedroia's glove and into right field.

That was the closest the Yankees got to the lead as they stranded runners at first and second, falling behind for good in the fifth when Ponson lost command of the strike zone. He threw seven consecutive balls against the Red Sox, who went ahead when Kevin Youkilis worked a bases-loaded walk and added another run when Bay drove in Pedroia.

New York did not score again until Giambi led off the ninth with a solo home run and that came after relievers Jose Veras and David Robertson were roughed up.

Veras gave up Bay's triple, Alex Cora's sacrifice fly and Coco Crisp's RBI base hit. Robertson surrendered Pedroia's grand slam over the left-center field wall.

"It was a bad day for me," Veras said. "I rushed a little bit. I don't know why."