An excellent seven frames from HIROK and a 4-4 day for Brian McCann put the Yankees back in the win column against the cellar dwellers from Massachusetts.
Hiroki Kuroda looked to pick up the Yankees after a night to forget on Tuesday. He was opposed by Red Sox youngster and local boy Anthony Ranaudo. It was a win from pillar to post for the Yankees who overcame some more silly baserunning errors to notch a pretty easy victory.
After the Red Sox went quietly in the first, the Yankees set themselves up for a nice inning. A Derek Jeter single was followed by a perfect Brett Gardner bunt hit. But because the Yankees still had an empty space on "Stupid Things Done to Not Score Bingo", they executed the world's worst double steal that got Jeter thrown out at third and Gardner at second as they both managed to get caught in their own rundowns. It was quite impressive in its awfulness. Things would turn out much better in the second as Brian McCann hit a seed into the second deck with Mark Teixeira aboard to grant the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
It was easy going for both pitchers until the bottom of the fifth. The Yankees loaded the bases with one out against Ranaudo for Jacoby Ellsbury who managed not to RISP-fail by hitting a flyball far enough that Chase Headley was able to score from third to make it three to zilch for the Yankees. Kuroda was rolling along with virtually no resistance until the sixth when he hit Jemile Weeks and allowed a long double to Brock Holt that Gardner badly misplayed. The lead had been cut to two.
The Yankees got that precious run back in the bottom of the seventh. A triple to deep center by Ellsbury was followed by a Jeter walk. Gardner brought in Ellsbury with a single through the drawn-in Red Sox infield. Carlos Beltran grounded into a fielder's choice and then Mark Teixeira walked. This brought up McCann again as he notched his fourth hit of the night, scoring Jeter. It was not all fun however, as possible blind person Rob Thomson inexplicably sent the speed-impaired Beltran home even though he hadn't even touched third by the time Daniel Nava was up and throwing home. Needless to say Beltran was out by a country mile and Thomson had once again endeared himself to us with an awful send. 5-1 Yankees.
Seems like sound advice to the #Yankees baserunners. pic.twitter.com/LwkGLh63Es
— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) September 4, 2014"Don't give me that card, Carlos."
That would be all that was required, with Kuroda having finished seven lovely innings and being relieved by Dellin Betances in the eighth and David Robertson in the ninth. No muss, no fuss and a win to keep the Yankees one more game away from extinction. It looks like Kuroda is doing the opposite of his late season collapse from 2013, which is certainly fortunate for a team barely clinging to its playoff lives.
The Yankees and Red Sox conclude their three game set tomorrow at 7:05. Brandon Workman and Chris Capuano are your probables.