Final
Varitek, Lowell lead comeback win over Yanks
Apr 26, 2009 - 2:06 AM BOSTON (AP) -- It was three hours into the game, and Mike Lowell was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while stranding five baserunners.The next two at-bats changed everything.
The former World Series MVP hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give the Red Sox the lead, then added a three-run double in the eighth in Boston's 16-11 victory over the New York Yankees. It was Boston's ninth straight win, and its biggest comeback victory against the Yankees since 1968.
"It was going back-and-forth; it seemed like whoever was up last was going to win," Lowell said. "You've got to be mentally prepared for every pitch."
In all, 12 pitchers threw 385 pitches and managed to retire the side in order just twice -- once for each team -- in a 4 hour, 21 minute game that tied for the sixth-longest nine-inning game in baseball history. The two longest also were between the Yankees and Red Sox.
"Lot of pitching changes. Lot of runs. Lot of commercials," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "There's that many pitches thrown, and it seems like every one is of consequence. It can drain you."
Boston was trailing 6-0 before Jason Bay singled in a run and Jason Varitek hit a grand slam to make it 6-5 in the fourth. The Yankees led 10-9 in the seventh when they intentionally walked Bay -- Friday night's star -- to face Lowell, and he homered off Jonathan Albaladejo (1-1) to make it 12-10.
The Yankees again walked Bay to get to Lowell in the eighth, and he drove in another three runs with a double off the Green Monster.
"His RBIs in the last few innings were the difference in the game," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "In the first couple of at-bats, we weren't able to get Bay out. That combination has really hurt us in this series so far."
Hideki Okajima (1-0) got two outs for the win, then Ramon Ramirez got out of the eighth after putting runners on second and third with one out. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and Jacoby Ellsbury hit his first homer of the year for Boston.
Robinson Cano homered twice and drove in five for the Yankees.
Yankees star Jorge Posada was called for catcher's interference and a passed ball in the same inning; Pedroia -- the 2008 AL MVP -- had a two-run error and got thrown out on a baserunning bungle. The teams swapped leads four times in fifth, sixth and seventh innings as Johnny Damon tied it with a two-run homer, David Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly put Boston on top and then the Yankees took the lead when Damon hit a hard grounder through Pedroia's legs at second base.
The Yankees intentionally walked Bay, whose two-run homer with two out in the ninth helped Boston win the night before. Lowell homered off Albaladejo inside the foul pole to make it 12-10.
The Red Sox last rallied from six runs down to beat the Yankees on May 16, 1968, when they trailed 9-3 after four innings but came back to win 11-10.
"They never quit over there," Damon said. "Score a run here, score a run there, and then Varitek hits a big grand slam. Then they ended scoring every inning after that."
Notes: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, wearing a Red Sox jersey with No. 9.69 on the back for his record time in the 100 meters, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Boston ace Josh Beckett and New York's A.J. Burnett, teammates on the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, were the starters and neither made it past five innings after giving up eight runs for a no-decision. ... Cano has hit safely in 12 straight games. ... New York's Mark Teixeira walked five times, once intentionally.
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 1 0 11 15 1
BOSTON 0 0 0 5 3 1 3 4 x 16 13 1 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: NYY - A.J. BURNETT, JOSE VERAS (6TH), PHIL COKE (6TH), JONATHAN
ALBALADEJO (7TH), EDWAR RAMIREZ (7TH), DAMASO MARTE (8TH),
DAVE ROBERTSON (8TH) AND JORGE POSADA
BO
Apr 25 8:32 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MIKE LOWELL SCORED DUSTIN PEDROIA, KEVIN YOUKILIS
AND JASON BAY.
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, M LOWELL ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11
BOSTON 16 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J VARITEK (.234, 1-FOR-4, HR, 4 RBI)
Yankees 11, Red Sox 16 Bot 8, 0 OutsApr 25 8:07 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DUSTIN PEDROIA SCORED JACOBY ELLSBURY.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D PEDROIA ON FIRST, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11
BOSTON 13 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.221, 1-FOR-3, SF, RBI)
Yankees 11, Red Sox 13 Bot 8, 0 OutsApr 25 7:59 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY ROBINSON CANO (5) TO RIGHT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 8TH OFF HIDEKI OKAJIMA.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 11, BOSTON 12
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J POSADA (.298, 2-FOR-4, RBI)
Yankees 11, Red Sox 12 Top 8, 0 OutsApr 25 7:39 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY MIKE LOWELL (4) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 7TH OFF JONATHAN ALBALADEJO SCORED KEVIN YOUKILIS AND JASON
BAY.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 10, BOSTON 12
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J VARITEK (.239, 1-FOR-3, HR, 4 RBI)
Yankees 10, Red Sox 12 Bot 7, 0 OutsApr 25 7:20 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY DUSTIN PEDROIA ALLOWED ANGEL BERROA AND BRETT
GARDNER TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J DAMON ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 10
BOSTON 9 TOP, 7TH
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: M TEIXEIRA (.235, 0-FOR-1, 3 BB)
Yankees 10, Red Sox 9 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 25 7:10 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY DAVID ORTIZ SCORED NICK GREEN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, 1 LEFT ON, 3 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 8
BOSTON 9 END BOTTOM, 6TH
Yankees 8, Red Sox 9 Bot 6, 0 OutsApr 25 6:49 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY JOHNNY DAMON (3) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 6TH OFF JOSH BECKETT SCORED DEREK JETER.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 8, BOSTON 8
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: M TEIXEIRA (.240, 0-FOR-0, 3 BB)
Yankees 8, Red Sox 8 Top 6, 0 OutsApr 25 6:19 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JASON BAY SCORED DAVID ORTIZ AND KEVIN YOUKILIS.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J BAY ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 6
BOSTON 8 BOTTOM, 5TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.311, 0-FOR-2)
Yankees 6, Red Sox 8 Bot 5, 0 OutsApr 25 6:09 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY JACOBY ELLSBURY (1) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF A.J. BURNETT.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 6, BOSTON 6
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D PEDROIA (.294, 1-FOR-1, BB)
Yankees 6, Red Sox 6 Bot 5, 0 OutsApr 25 5:57 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
GRAND SLAM BY JASON VARITEK (4) TO RIGHT WITH 2 OUT IN THE
4TH OFF A.J. BURNETT SCORED KEVIN YOUKILIS, J.D. DREW AND JASON
BAY.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 6, BOSTON 5
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: N GREEN (.324, 0-FOR-1)
Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 Bot 4, 0 OutsApr 25 5:45 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JASON BAY SCORED DUSTIN PEDROIA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J BAY ON FIRST, J DREW ON SECOND, K YOUKILIS
ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 6
BOSTON 1 BOTTOM, 4TH
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.317, 0-FOR-1)
Yankees 6, Red Sox 1 Bot 4, 0 OutsApr 25 5:42 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY ROBINSON CANO SCORED DEREK JETER AND MARK
TEIXEIRA.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R CANO ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 6
BOSTON 0 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J POSADA (.309, 2-FOR-2, RBI)
Yankees 6, Red Sox 0 Top 4, 0 OutsApr 25 5:26 PM - AL
AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY ROBINSON CANO (4) TO RIGHT WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 3RD OFF JOSH BECKETT SCORED MARK TEIXEIRA.
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 4, BOSTON 0
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J POSADA (.296, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
Yankees 4, Red Sox 0 Top 3, 0 OutsApr 25 5:01 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 2 2 3 0
BOSTON 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - A.J. BURNETT
BOS - JOSH BECKETT
DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J ELLSBURY (.275, 0 HR, 5 RBI)
D PEDROIA (.284, 1 HR, 6 RBI)
D ORTIZ (.215, 0 HR, 8 RBI)
Yankees 2, Red Sox 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsApr 25 4:29 PM
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