Yankee Sweep, Take III by Jared Carrabis
Eighth inning comeback propels Sox to eighth straight over NY; book update!


The date was June 11, 2009. It was summertime in Boston, but with the 55 degree, rain-soaked weather, it felt like October.

"This is baseball," said David Ortiz. "You never know what can happen in baseball. I know we've had years where we've played good against the Yankees, but I don't remember anything like this."

In a month known for barbecues and swimming, the players could see their breath, the Red Sox could see a two-game lead in their division, the fans saw a sweep on the horizon, while CC Sabathia had his eye on the hot dog vendor in the fourth row. In a pitching match up that was heavily (no pun intended) favored towards the Yankees' with Sabathia on the mound, Brad Penny matched the left-hander inning for inning.

In, unquestionably, Penny's greatest start in a Red Sox uniform, the former Florida Marlin who dominated the Yankees in the 2003 World Series picked up right where he left off six years ago. Whether it was intentional or not (I think it was) Penny sent a message to the Bronx Bombers by drilling Alex Rodriguez in the first inning. After warnings were issued to both dugouts, Boston's fifth starter went on to pitch like the ace he was with the LA Dodgers.

In the bottom of the second, David Ortiz provided the Red Sox with their first run by rocketing a Sabathia fastball over the Green Monster. After yet another curtain call by Ortiz, the Red Sox had themselves a 1-0 lead. With a one-run lead and Sabathia getting stronger as the game went on, Penny kept matching his pitching counterpart inning for inning in the goose egg department.

When it was all said and done, Penny had tossed six innings of shutout ball, while scattering six hits, walking one and striking out five. Manager Terry Francona elected to go with Manny Delcarmen as his first weapon out of the bullpen in the seventh. As was the same situation with Ramon Ramirez the night before, it was a situation of "right guy, wrong night." Both Ramirez and Delcarmen have been spectacular out of the bullpen this season for Boston, but the two just simply couldn't get the job done in this series.

In the top of the seventh inning, Delcarmen allowed back-to-back hits to start the inning, including an RBI double by Francisco Cervelli. Later in the inning, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate looking to play the role of the villain, yet again, and like always, he got the part. A-Rod drove a 94 MPH fastball to deep center field that nearly got out of there. As Rodriguez stood at second with his fifth double of the season, two runs had come in to score; 3-1 Yankees.

Delcarmen was charged with a blown save, as Takashi Saito was signaled to the mound to stop the bleeding. Saito pitched brilliantly out of the pen, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings of one-hit baseball with two K's.

Trailing by two runs in the eighth inning with a fully rested Mariano Rivera waiting to be called upon out of the Yankee bullpen, the Red Sox went to work in the bottom of the eighth. With Sabathia still in the game, Nick Green got things off to a good start with a base hit into left field. The next at bat was the difference maker in this contest. Dustin Pedroia battled Sabathia during a grueling ten-pitch at bat that finally came to an end when the Red Sox' second baseman grinded out a free pass to first base.

"Unbelievable," said David Ortiz. "Great at-bat. Pedey was on. I guess that's what made the difference in this game -- that at-bat."

After a visit to the mound, Yankee manager Joe Girardi decided to stick with his man. Oh, karma. With two men aboard, JD Drew ripped a liner back up the middle that brought Nick Green around to score, bringing the Sox within a run. The RBI single by Drew chased Sabathia from the game after 123 pitches, but the hefty lefty departed having left the tying and potential winning run on base.

Alfredo Aceves was handed the responsibility of keeping the Red Sox a run behind, but failed miserably. The first batter he faced, Kevin Youkilis, poked a base hit into right field, but Pedroia was held up at third being that no outs had been recorded. With the bases loaded and no outs, Jason Bay wasted zero time in tying this game up. Bay hammered the first pitch that he saw into left field, as Pedroia scored with ease to tie the game up at three.

The very next batter, Mike Lowell, skied a fly ball to left-center field that was deep enough to plate the go-ahead run in JD Drew who tagged up on the sacrifice fly. An insurance run would have done a world of good, but the Red Sox would record the final three outs of the inning consecutively following Lowell's RBI.

"I would say it's the pitch I wanted to get in that situation," said Lowell. "He threw me a two-seamer down and in on the first one, and with the infield in, I don't want to swing at a pitch that's a possible ground ball. I feel like I took a good swing and just missed it. As he caught it, I was happy Melky [Cabrera] had moved to right. I think it might have been a lot closer. It worked out. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it worked out."

With a one-run lead to protect, Francona called upon his closer once again, Jonathan Papelbon. With no strikeouts, it wasn't his most dominant, but after needing just nine pitches, it was his second quickest outing of 2009. Papelbon needed just eight pitches to toss a scoreless inning against Texas on June 7, but did not earn a save in the process. After slamming the door on the Yankees in the ninth, Papelbon secured save number sixteen of the season, as he ranks first in the American League in saves.

Things you'll need to know to impress your friends:

On Thursday night, Brad Penny recorded his best outing in a Red Sox uniform. Although his victory was snatched from him, he allowed zero earned runs for the first time in 2009 and he set a season high after hurling 117 pitches in his shutout effort.

The Red Sox are now 8-0 against the Yankees this season with three consecutive sweeps of these million dollar babies. The last time the Red Sox swept the Yankees three times in a single season, you have to go back three and a half decades to 1974.

Papelbon's sixteenth save of 2009 was also career save number 129. The Boston closer needs just three more saves to tie Bob Stanley for the most saves in Red Sox history, and four to surpass the Steamer.

I don't think you're ready for this, but I'll tell you anyway: In David Ortiz's last six games, Big Papi is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with 3 HR, and has more RBI than strikeouts (5/4). He's also walked four times in that span and has an incredible OPS of 1.258.

A-Rod hit .100 (1-for-10) against the Red Sox in his first series at Fenway Park since 2008. Sabathia ($161 million) takes the loss and drops to 5-4, while Tim Wakefield ($4 million, 42-years-old) improved to 8-3 during the most recent installment of Red Sox/Yankees action. I know Wakefield pitched on Wednesday night, but my goal is to make the Yankees look pathetic and to make the Red Sox look that much better in any way possible. Facts are facts; get a tissue, New York.

Friday's pitching match up:

The Red Sox now hit the road to take on the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. In the first game of this brief three-game road trip, Jon Lester returns to the mound for the first time since flirting with perfection. In Lester's last outing, the left-hander took a perfect game into the seventh inning before allowing a one-out double to Michael Young. In fact, Young collected the only two hits that Lester would allow in his complete game, two-hit victory, complete with 11 strikeouts. The last, and only, time that Lester has faced the Phillies, he logged a seven-inning shutout performance to earn a victory. His opponent, Joe Blanton, has been mediocre against Boston in his career, going 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA in 8 starts.

Book update:

I promised all the SoxSpace readers an update on my book "One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk" as soon as I had one. Well, the teaser for the back cover is complete and I'd love to share it with all of you. It was written by my editor, Jane Osgood, and I think she did a fantastic job on it.

"One Fan's Story is just that - the story of one Boston Red Sox fan, Jared Carrabis - but it's everybody's story, really. Through Carrabis' experiences we get to live out our fantasies as a fan of the Sox, the game of baseball, and even the game of life. From the first time the author walks up that ramp as an eight year old boy and gets his first view of the green grass and the Green Monster that are synonymous with Fenway Park, right through the 2008 American League Championship Series, we all feel the exquisite thrills as well as every agonizing disappointment that the Red Sox have to offer the Fenway Faithful. But don't be fooled into thinking that this book is exclusively for students of the game of baseball or readers of Carrabis' own generation. This is a coming of age story that goes beyond the confines of any baseball field or age bracket; for Carrabis has a way of creating universal life lessons out of every tale he spins for his readers.

The author was a finalist to become the first President of Red Sox Nation and is the official Massachusetts Governor of Red Sox Nation, appointed by the Rem Dawg himself. Yet whether he is rubbing elbows with Larry Lucchino while the President and CEO is on a cell phone discussing the Manny trade, or simply mingling with the masses at the Bleacher Bar, Carrabis never loses sight of the average baseball fan's perspective in recounting all the joys and sorrows that this great game of baseball has to offer. His multitude of website followers has been clamoring for his titillating tale since December of 2007. Carrabis doesn't disappoint. Not only has he stepped up to the plate in response, he has hit it out of the ballpark."

The book will be ready to hit the shelves by July. There's no set date just yet, but as soon as I have one, you'll all be the first to know. Oh, and one last thing: if you live in the Boston area, I'm hosting a Red Sox Watch Party at the Bleacher Bar in Boston tomorrow (Friday) night. No RSVP necessary, just show up with your friends, eat drink, be merry and watch the Sox take it to the defending champs.

82A Lansdowne Street in Boston, be theah!

Tic tac toe, eight in a row,
-Jared Carrabis

Final Score: Yankees 3, Red Sox 4

Published on June 12, 2009

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