It’s happening: should the Yankees manage to maintain their three-run lead for the next six innings, the Red Sox will have lost their wild card lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Unfortunately, that’s looking entirely likely right now, since it’s hard to imagine a team playing worse baseball than the Red Sox are right now. After recording the first out in the bottom of the first, the Sox set about their usual circus antics. John Lackey would walk Curtis Granderson, give up a ground ball single to Robinson Cano, and then have Mark Teixeira nearly leave the park, bouncing a ball off the wall in dead center.
With the throw home coming too late to catch the second runner, Jason Varitek fired to third as Mark Teixeira attempted to pick up three bags on his long fly ball. The throw would sail over Mike Aviles’ head and into left field, allowing the New York first baseman to come home with a third run.
Meanwhile, Marco Scutaro’s double is the only black mark on Ivan Nova’s start. Things are looking bad. Very, very bad.