Yankees 10, Red Sox 8, Mid 9th -- Mark Melancon continues to show why the Sox got him in the first place, getting a ground out and two strikeouts to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.
Yankees 10, Red Sox 8, End 8th -- Adrian Gonzalez had been having a very good night to this point, but sadly he cannot come through in his biggest moment. With runners on first and second and two outs, Gonzalez gets ahead 3-1 against Rafael Soriano, but tops off the fifth pitch, sending an easy ground ball to first to end the inning.
Yankees 10, Red Sox 8, Mid 8th -- Mark Melancon works around an Alex Rodriguez single to record a scoreless eighth, but it's all about the offense right now for the Sox.
Yankees 10, Red Sox 8, End 7th -- The Sox grab one back on Cody Ross' homer to start off the bottom of the seventh, but they waste a big opportunity with two on and one out as Mike Aviles grounds into a fielder's choice and Nick Punto strikes out to send the game to the 8th.
Yankees 10, Red Sox 7, Mid 7th -- Once again, the Sox find themselves in line for a heart-breaking loss if things don't change soon. A leadoff walk to Curtis Granderson balloons on Andrew Miller as a ground ball to shortstop goes for a poorly-ruled single when Mike Aviles has it bounce off his glove. The ball was not particularly difficult to play, Aviles just did a bad job with it.
Regardless, though, after a relatively big strikeout, Vicente Padilla is called in to face Mark Teixeira, who takes a fairly good pitch--a low fastball that's sinking lower--and sends it all the way into the triangle in a rare instance of Teixeira playing like the old Teixeira. The triple scores two, putting the Yankees ahead 8-7 before a Raul Ibanez double scores Teixeira and puts a runner in scoring position for Eric Chavez, who cashes in to make it 10-7.
Red Sox 7, Yankees 6, End 6th -- Hiroki Kuroda records a couple of outs, and then gives way to the bullpen for the third in a 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 7, Yankees 6, Mid 6th -- The difference between Matt Albers in the sixth and Hiroki Kuroda in the fifth? Daniel Nava. With Albers giving up hard contact to the leadoff batter in Eric Chavez, Nava is forced to play a ball off the wall. He gets the carom just right, however, and fires a bullet back in to second, where Punto makes the tag and keeps Albers out of a jam. A walk follows, but a come-backer to the mound helps the Sox start a double play that ends the inning.
Red Sox 7, Yankees 6, End 5th -- Mauro Gomez' first major league RBI is a big one. After a single and a wild pitch puts Adrian Gonzalez on second, Gomez leans out to hook a slider into left field. While Gonzo is hardly a speed demon, the throw from left is weak, and the Yankees cut it off before it reaches the plate, allowing the Sox to actually take a lead in the fifth.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, Mid 5th -- Beckett gets out of a big jam in the fifth thanks to Nick Punto. After a leadoff single and two stolen bases from Alex Rogriguez ended with him on third and just one out, Nick Punto snagged a quick ground ball to second and, despite playing deep at the position, fired home, where Jarrod Saltalamacchia put down a block and applied the tag on A-Rod for the big out. Raul Ibanez managed to hit his offering a long way, but with Ryan Kalish tracking it down in dead center, the inning ended mercifully uneventfully.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, End 4th -- After a leadoff double from Nick Punto, Robinson Cano makes a diving grab on a hard shot to second off the bat of Ryan Kalish with one out, Punto at third, and the infield in to save a run in the fourth.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, Mid 4th -- Good luck and bad luck mix for Josh Beckett in the top of the fourth, as he likely prevents an out by getting his glove on a come-backer to put a runner on, and then has Curtis Granderson hit the ball hard, but right at Mike Aviles, who's able to double Jeter off of first to end the inning.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, End 3rd -- The copycatting has gotten ridiculous now. After being hit hard in both innings, Kuroda also responds with a 1-2-3 third, striking out both Mauro Gomez and Mike Aviles to keep the Sox off the board for once.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, Mid 3rd -- Josh Beckett gives the Sox a reason to stick with him in the third, striking out the side on just 12 pitches in the third. It's an almost unbelievable turnaround given the first couple of innings. Jet lag, maybe? Who can say.
Red Sox 6, Yankees 6, End 2nd -- Things don't go as smoothly as they could in the second for the Sox, as three leadoff baserunners lead to just one run thanks to a wall ball single from Papi that results in an out as he tries to stretch it to two. Still, even the outs were relatively loud contact for Kuroda, meaning the third could be more of the same.
Yankees 6, Red Sox 5, Mid 2nd -- The way this inning is going, giving up one run on a triple and sacrifice fly (really a double and error by Cody Ross, but it hardly matters since a double would follow after the bases were cleared) is a rousing success. Josh Beckett should either be proud of himself, or pulled immediately for Justin Germano. Probably the latter.
Red Sox 5, Yankees 5, End 1st -- And suddenly that hole is gone. It's been an absolutely bizarre first inning in Fenway Park. Amazingly, Hiroki Kuroda comes out as completely inept as Josh Beckett, leaving pitches high to Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish, allowing Nava a double and Kalish a sacrifice fly after a wild pitch allowed the former to move to third. Now trailing 5-1, the Sox received a single from David Ortiz laced into left and a double very high off the wall from Adrian Gonzalez to put two men on for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Getting ahead 0-1, Kuroda never-the-less fed a fastball a little down, a little in, but not nearly enough of both. Taking a golf swing, Saltalamacchia cleared it out and put it five rows deep to right, leaving the game at a remarkable five-all after one.
Yankees 5, Red Sox 0, Mid 1st -- We are twenty minutes into the game and Josh Beckett has already put the Red Sox in a massive hole. Coming out of the gate with absolutely nothing, Beckett proceeded to give up two hits and then caught Alex Rodriguez with an inside curveball to load the bases without an out on the board. A walk to Robinson Cano brought in the first run of the night for the Yankees, and a line drive single from Mark Teixeira was good for two more. Add in a pair of sacrifice flies around a Raul Ibanez single, and you've got a 5-0 lead after one terrible inning.