Oh, what could have been.
After letting the Sox load the bases in the bottom of the Second, CC Sabathia seemed to have his back up against the wall. And that’s when Marco Scutaro let him off the hook. Trying to stretch a leadoff single into a double, Scutaro found himself out at second, giving the Yankees starter a chance to breathe. Dustin Pedroia would reapply some pressure with a two-out single, but David Ortiz struck out to end the inning.
Of note is the fact that Sabathia’s pitch count is rather more reasonable now as well. Still, with Sabathia it’s always been the mid-to-late innings that have proved his undoing against Boston this year. So long as John Lackey can keep the lead reasonable, there’s not a ton of reason to worry just yet.
Of course, as I type this, Lackey has allowed a second run and the Yankees are threatening for a bit more. So we’ll see.