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Jeter's blast leads Yankees past Red Sox

Sep 17, 2007 - 5:15 AM By Mike Salk PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BOSTON (Ticker) -- With a pair of aging aces on the mound at Fenway, the pitchers ruled the day for seven innings. But with the game on the line in eighth, it was New York Yankees' captain Derek Jeter who stole the show.

Jeter hit a three-run blast and Roger Clemens turned in a gutty performance against his former team to lead the Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

"(Jeter) took care of it tonight," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I have been here 12 years and he has been here 12 years and when he was really young I used to marvel at it but after the first couple years, it isn't a shock anymore."

With runners on second and third in a 1-1 game, Jeter hammered a hanging splitter from Boston starter Curt Schilling (8-8) over the wall in left to put the Yankees on top, 4-1, and ultimately earn a victory in the final regular-season meeting between the storied rivals this season.

"It feels good," Jeter said. "But it was only the eighth inning and you know the game is never over here so it feels good to contribute. But we still had a long way to go."

In his first start at Fenway Park since Game Three of the 2003 American League Championship Series, Clemens was effective through six innings.

"It was a great ballgame," he said. "It was well played on both sides."

With the crowd derisively chanting his name, the seven-time Cy Young award winner who spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the Red Sox, allowed only two hits and one unearned run.

"Roger was great. He was absolutely great," Torre said with a smile. "If Johnny (Damon) doesn't lose that ball in the lights in the first inning, he doesn't give up anything."

The Sox struck for that unearned run in the first after Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a line drive to left that was dropped by Johnny Damon. He proceeded to steal second and later scored on a single by Mike Lowell.

Damon, who played center field for Boston for four seasons, had not played left field here since he was a member of the Oakland Athletics in 2001. He rebounded to make a stronger play in the sixth, diving to take a hit away from Jason Varitek with runners on first and third.

Boston's 1-0 advantage held up for five innings until Robinson Cano led off the fifth with a home run into the Monster seats in left field. It with his 18th of the year, and his fifth in 18 contests against the Red Sox.

While Clemens was out after six, his counterpart kept his pitch count down and lasted into the eighth. But after striking out Melky Cabrera to start the inning, Schilling allowed consecutive hard singles to former teammate Doug Mientkiewicz, and pinch hitter Jason Giambi.

Schilling caught a break as Mientkiewicz stayed at third on Damon's groundout to first, but after throwing five pitches to Jeter, he left a splitter over the plate for the three-run blast.

"We were on the same page," explained Schilling of his communication with catcher Jason Varitek. "We called the right pitch. I just hung a (splitter)."

Schilling was charged with four runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings, while striking out two and not issuing a walk. The 41-year-old missed his location very few times, throwing 65 of his 90 pitches for strikes.

"He got through the lineup until Jeter's homerun," reasoned Francona, who has drawn criticism twice this series for sticking with pitchers too long. "It was such a low pitch count, he was getting eight pitches an inning, using all his pitches, locating. He looked really, really good."

The Red Sox got a run back in their half of the eighth when Lowell hit a solo blast off Yankees rookie Joba Chamberlain (1-0). It was the first earned run allowed by the 21-year-old righthander in 18 career major league innings.

New York closer Mariano Rivera made it interesting in the ninth, allowing a run and loading the bases, but he got Boston slugger David Ortiz to pop out to shallow center field to end the game and earn his 28th save of the season.