The Yankees had Good CC and a lead for a while. Suddenly, they had neither.
The Yankees got a strong performance out of CC Sabathia for six innings, holding the Red Sox lineup scoreless while they held on to a narrow one-run lead until the sixth inning. Unfortunately, that was when the wheels fell off for CC after he allowed a home run to Jonny Gomes to lead off the inning that tied the game at 1-1. Grady Sizemore capped off the inning with a long three-run home run that put the defending World Series champions up 4-2.
Sabathia stayed in for the seventh inning before departing for the night after 111 pitches. He allowed six hits and two walks and struck out nine batters. The few mistakes CC made, however, proved to be very costly which seems like a bit of a trend with him. The mistakes haven't been going for singles as much as they have been finding the seats.
Alfonso Soriano gave the Yankees a lead when he led off the second inning with a home run to left field. With rain in the forecast and Sabathia and Jon Lester dueling on the pitching side, getting a lead and holding onto it until the game was official seemed important. The rain held off but the Yankees' lead obviously did not hang on. The team scratched out another run in the seventh inning when Kelly Johnson singled in Ichiro Suzuki with two outs. Johnson's hit broke a 0-14 streak against Lester. That brought Derek Jeter to the plate with runners at first and third but a flyout ended the threat and the inning.
Cesar Cabral, Adam Warren, and Dellin Betances got some work out of the bullpen after Sabathia left the game. Cabral walked the only batter he faced in David Ortiz while Warren allowed a hit and tallied a strikeout to conclude the eighth. Betances got two quick strikeouts looking in the top of the ninth before getting Gomes to strike out swinging in the ninth.
The Yankees offense threatened again in the eighth inning when Soriano singled and Brian McCann pinch hit for Francisco Cervelli. McCann swung at a ball obviously outside the strike zone for strike three to end the inning. Suzuki and Jacoby Ellsbury each reached base twice in the game with Suzuki singling twice and Ellsbury working a walk to go along with a single. He also stole his fifth base of the season. Derek Jeter singled and Brian Roberts as the only remaining signs of offense. The team went quietly in the ninth with outs by Yangervis Solarte, Suzuki, and pinch hitter Brett Gardner.
Hiroki Kuroda tries to secure at least a split of the series in tomorrow afternoon's game against Red Sox starter John Lackey. That game begins at 1:05 pm.