Red Sox blowout Yankees, win sixth straight against Rival
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz slugged his third home-run of the season, sparking his team past the New York Yankees. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
On a rainy night in Boston, Red Sox designate hitter David “Big Papi” Ortiz stepped into the batters box against New York Yankees starting pitcher A.J. Burnett. The count was 2-2 on the slugger whose batting average hovers around the Mendoza Line. Ortiz, who has been hitting well of late, living up to his promise that he would “be back,” waited impatiently for Burnett’s offering.
This season, Ortiz has had particular trouble turning on fastballs. Prior to the wrist injury he suffered last season, he crushed 95 mile-per-hour fastballs over the fence with regularity, but because of the torn sheath and his ever-so increasing age, his power has since vanished. Entering the at-bat, he only had two home-runs, but once he made contact with Burnett’s high fastball, the paltry number increased to three. Ortiz clocked it into the center-field seats, the deepest part of Fenway Park. The crowd cheered their slugger, hoping this was the beginning of a magnificent turnaround.
Burnett didn’t last too much longer. First baseman Mark Kotsay walked, then Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez helped extend the inning by muffing a groundball by Nick Green. Dustin Pedroia moved them over to second and third, setting the stage for J.D. Drew’s two-run double. The Red Sox, having won the first five games against the Yankees, were in business once again.
New York didn’t have a chance to end the losing streak. Boston starting pitcher Josh Beckett, having turned the page on a slow start, was his usual dominant self, saving his best performance yet for their arch-rival. His fastball, unlike Burnett’s, had a little more pep than usual. He was pumping in 96 miles-per-hour, with movement on both sides of the plate, regularly, blowing away every Yankee he faced. The ace was overpowering, especially when he offset the blazing fastball with his devastating curveball.
Usually, for a pitcher to have continued success, he needs a full repertoire of pitches–a fastball, slider, and changeup–but this isn’t the case for Beckett, who relies strictly on his fastball and curveball and gets away with it. The Yankees lineup full of stars were fooled, flayling at Beckett’s combination, resulting in either a overwhelming strikeout, or weakely hit flyball or groundball.
His outing ended in commanding fashion, epitomizing the dominance of his overall performance. Mark Teixeira, booed heavily, strode to the plate with the Yankees behind by six runs. A home-run would dent the deficit, but have any chance of accomplishing this feat, the exorbitantly paid first-baseman would have to make contact. He could not do this. He took a first-pitch called strike, a fastball that tailed into the zone, then swung right through a second fasball. He didn’t even bother swinging at the third pitch, another fastball, watching it speed past.
The Red Sox offense took pitches. So did the Yankees. The difference was Boston took balls, while New York took stared at strikes. The Red Sox made Burnett work, feasting on his inability to locate his curveball. Because this pitch wasn’t working, Boston made him work, refusing to help him out by taking ill-advised hacks. The Yankee righthander threw a whopping 43 pitches in the second inning, and didn’t make it out of the third inning. In his 2 2/3 innings, he walked five, allowed five hits, while throwing the majority of his 84 pitches for balls. Boston had his number, and continue to have New York’s.
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