The Red Sox are ready to kick off the first game of their final series of the year. We'll keep you up-to-date as Clay Buccholz takes on CC Sabathia in New Yankee Stadium.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 2, Mid 8th -- Che-Hsuan Lin actually manages another single in the leadoff position, but once again the Sox can do nothing to help move him on home. Thankfully the end is finally in sight.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 2, End 7th -- Pedro Beato thankfully gets the quick hook after giving up a single, allowing Andrew Miller to finish off the side with a couple of strikeouts.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 2, Mid 7th -- The Sox make it "just" a seven run game courtesy of Mauro Gomez, who draws a leadoff walk and then takes second on a wild pitch, third on a ground ball, and home on a sacrifice fly.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, End 6th -- Another scoreless inning for Pedro Beato is highlighted by a strikeout of Alex Rodriguez. His problems have come when he's asked to extend his outings for too long. Hopefully Bobby V will spare both him and us that experience tonight.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, Mid 6th -- The Sox go back to the ol' 1-2-3 with the top of their lineup coming to the plate.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, End 5th -- Pedro Beato avoids the 1-2-3 inning by offering up a walk to Eric Chavez with two down. He bounces back to get Derek Jeter on a fly ball, however, ensuring that nothing comes of it.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, Mid 5th -- Che-Hsuan Lin manages to get decent contact to shoot a ground ball through the left side for a single. A personal victory for a man now hitting .182.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, End 4th -- Robinson Cano doubles, and Mark Teixeira walks, but each comes with two outs, and Aceves is able to strike Nick Swisher out to end the fourth without further incident.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1, Mid 4th -- Daniel Nava actually get the Sox on the board with a solo shot in the fourth. Don't call it a comeback!
...
Because it isn't one.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 0, End 3rd -- Aceves induces three quick ground balls. Hopefully now that the massacre is over the rest of this can at least be hurried along.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 0, Mid 3rd -- And of course the Sox follow up by going 1-2-3. Hard to imagine a more deflated team than this one.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 0, End 2nd -- It's a measure of just how bad this inning was that it's still somehow shocking this deep into the year. Rather than giving Red Sox fans something to dream on going into 2013, Buchholz reverted to his early-season form and then some, providing one of the worst innings of the season. The first pitch resulted in a solo shot to deep center for Robinson Cano, and that just served to set the tone for the frame. Twice more the Yankees would leave the park against Buchholz in the inning, and after a couple more walks and hits he was out of the game.
Of course, that only led to Alfredo Aceves entering the game and surrendering a two-run shot to Mark Teixeira in his first AB. Aceves would finally end the inning after another double, but that still leaves nine crippling runs in. Game over.
Red Sox 0, Yankees 0, Mid 2nd -- The Sox let their first real opportunity of the game go wanting in the second. Mauro Gomez was the one to provide the chance with a double into the gap in left-center. Ryan Lavarnway made excellent contact behind him, but found Nick Swisher's glove on the warning track in right, only managing to move Gomez to third. Still, with one out on the board that run might have been expected to score, but Sabathia got Jarrod Saltalamacchia to pop out, and then battled back from a 3-1 count to strike out Danny Valencia and end the inning.
Red Sox 0, Yankees 0, End 1st -- Clay Buchholz establishes a strong start of his own, striking out Alex Rodriguez to cap off his own impressive 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 0, Yankees 0, Mid 1st -- A predictably slow start for the Red Sox against New York ace C.C. Sabathia, who enjoys a 1-2-3 against the once again weak top of the Boston lineup. Lacking Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, it's Pedro Ciriaco and Daniel Nava leading into Cody Ross. The last two go down on strikes, no less, to give Sabathia an exclamation mark for the frame.