The Red Sox have taken a 2-0 lead on the Yankees after three innings, thanks to a rally started by Carl Crawford in the third.
For the first two innings, both pitchers had been exceptional. John Lackey had allowed a lone baserunner on a walk, while Sabathia was off to a perfect start, striking out two of the first six batters he faced. Then came the third. While Lackey was able to work around a one-out single, picking up his own second strikeout to close the frame, Sabathia would not be so successful.
Carl Crawford started the rally by going opposite field on the very first pitch of the inning, planting one off the Monster for a leadoff double. Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew the first Boston walk of the day, and then both advanced as Marco Scutaro laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. The Sox took the 1-0 lead on Jacoby Ellsbury’s sacrifice fly, but that wouldn’t even prove necessary, as Dustin Pedroia finished the rally the same way it started: with a double off the wall, making it 2-0.