The Red Sox will wrap up their road trip to New York Sunday night as they face the Yankees in the rubber game of their three-game set.
We'll keep you up-to-date on all the action as it goes down in New Yankee Stadium.
Red Sox 3, Yankees 2, Mid 10th -- The most unlikely King of Clutch continues to earn his title: Pedro Ciriaco has delivered again. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia walking to start the inning, Will Middlebrooks squared down to bunt, and was promptly hit in the hand by the pitch. The umpire, however, went down too, and was unable to make the call that Middlebrooks had been hit trying to pull the bat back, which should have given him first. Bobby Valentine came out to argue, and found himself headed back to the locker room along with Josh Beckett, ejected from the bench.
Middlebrooks, however, was not to be denied. A single through the left side put the runner in scoring position all-the-same, and a ground ball only led to one out, moving Salty to third. Up came Pedro Ciriaco, and the shortstop did what he does best: found the grass. It wasn't a hard hit, but it was perfectly placed, a bloop into right field that brought Saltalamacchia home from third and gave the Sox the lead.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 2, End 9th -- Curtis Granderson gives one a ride with two outs, but the Sox are able to survive the inning nonetheless, leaving them headed to extra innings.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 2, Mid 9th -- The Red Sox are given an absolute gift when Rafael Soriano hits Carl Crawford to lead off the inning, but waste it with three outs from some of the best hitters in the lineup. The Yankees will have a chance to walk off in the bottom half.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 2, End 8th -- And of course the game is tied. Andrew Miller continues to pitch well while recording two outs, but for some reason is left in to face Andruw Jones, who has become a designated lefty-masher. The result is a double, and when Alfredo Aceves comes in, Russell Martin comes to the plate and smacks a single up the middle, bringing Boston's lead to an end.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 1, Mid 8th -- Kuroda manages his sixth straight scoreless inning, retiring the Sox in order in the eighth. It's been an uninspiring offensive night for Boston, but they've still got the lead with just two frames to go.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 1, End 7th -- The Red Sox survive a tense seventh inning by the thinnest of margins. A leadoff homer from Russell Martin quickly cuts the deficit to one, and Ichiro Suzuki beats out an infield single to put the tying run on first without an out on the board. Jayson Nix ends up striking out after failing to get a bunt down, but with Matt Albers in the game, Ichiro manages to snag second base all-the-same.
A Derek Jeter single could have meant the end for Boston's lead, but it went to Ryan Sweeney in right, and with Ichiro not willing to test his arm, the Yankees were forced to settle for runners at the corners with one out. The hit also prompts Andrew Miller's entry into the game. A shallow fly ball to Carl Crawford led to just a bluff from Ichiro (which proved to be the right move, as Crawford got the ball home in a hurry), and with Mark Teixeira grounding out, the inning was over.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 7th -- You'll never guess how the Yankees got out of this inning. It was cra--
Oh, yeah, a double play, how ever did you know?
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, End 6th -- A two-out single breaks up a streak of four straight strikeouts for Felix Doubront, but a pop-up from Andruw Jones keeps the Yankees scoreless through six innings in Yankee Stadium.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 6th -- Somehow, a leadoff double from Jacoby Ellsbury does not end up scoring, even with Carl Crawford picking up a hit behind him. Derek Jeter manages to get to a low line drive off Crawford's bat, if not grab it, keeping Ellsbury at second. A fly ball would move him along to third, but Adrian Gonzalez hit a ground ball leading to yet another double play to end the sixth.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, End 5th -- Doubront recovers from his fourth inning difficulties by striking out two men in his first 1-2-3 frame since the first inning.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 5th -- The bottom of the order goes down in rapid fashion in the fifth, leaving Kuroda with nine men faced in three innings, albeit thanks largely to a pair of double play balls.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, End 4th -- Felix Doubront is putting on one of the most laborious shutout appearances you'll see tonight. Two more walks in the fourth leave him at five free passes so far, but with the Yankees' swings not producing any hits, he's surviving so far.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 4th -- The parade of double plays continues, as the Yankees turn two after Adrian Gonzalez leads off the fourth with another hit to make it another 1-2-3 frame.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, End 3rd -- Doubront ends up giving up two more walks--a concerning sign from a guy who struggles with efficiency--but picks up a double play in-between and gets a fly ball from Mark Teixeira to end things without too much difficulty.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 3rd -- Jacoby Ellsbury manages to beat out a throw to first to get the Red Sox off to a good start in the third, but Dustin Pedroia grounds into a double play with one down, leaving the team unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, End 2nd -- A seeing-eye single from the returning Nick Swisher and a walk to Russell Martin cost Felix Doubront his first two baserunners, but Dustin Pedroia gets an Ichiro Suzuki ground ball to first in time to end the inning without a run coming in.
Red Sox 2, Yankees 0, Mid 2nd -- Once again, Sox fans are treated to a rare early lead, this time coming in the second. Adrian Gonzalez gets things started with a leadoff single, taking advantage of the shift by grounding through the left side of the infield. While Hiroki Kuroda manages to surround a walk of Jarrod Saltalamacchia with strikeouts from Cody Ross and Will Middlebrooks, he falls victim to the third left-handed hitter of the inning, with Ryan Sweeney smacking a double into the gap in left field to give the Sox the 2-0 lead.
Red Sox 0, Yankees 0, End 1st -- Is this Red Sox - Yankees? Less than 15 minutes in, and we're through the first. While Felix Doubront doesn't feature quite the ruthless efficiency of Kuroda, it's only because strikeouts to Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson require at least three pitches a piece. Mark Teixeira does manage to put the ball in play, but he finds the glove of Ryan Sweeney in right, ending the inning without incident.
Red Sox 0, Yankees 0, Mid 1st -- Before you can so much as blink, the Red Sox are gone in the first. Jacoby Ellsbury hits a fly ball which doesn't require any real movement from Andruw Jones to make the grab. Three pitches and two ground balls later, and Hiroki Kuroda is headed back to the dugout with just five pitches on his arm.