Make no mistake, the Yankees needed this one. After Javier Vazquez got shelled Friday night in game one of this four game series, and with Alex Rodriguez sitting out after getting hit in the leg by a ground ball during pregame warm ups, the Yankees did not want to drop the first two games to Boston at home.

C.C. Sabathia was solid, shaking off a second inning home run by Victor Martinez to register his 14th win of the season. Mariano Rivera retired the Red Sox in order in the 9th to notch his 23rd save.

Rodriguez was struck in the leg by a sharply hit ground ball off the bat of Lance Berkman during pregame warm ups and scratched from the lineup. X-rays were negative, but the Yankees were not saying when Arod would return to the lineup.

Ramiro Pena filled in for Rodriguez and was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI and a stolen base.

The Yankees will start the enigmatic A.J. Burnett tomorrow against Josh Beckett and the Red Sox, making Sabathia's bullpen-saving eight inning performance today even more vital. You simply never know what you'll get out of Burnett.

Regardless, Boston will pick up a maximum of two games because of the Yankee win today.