The Red Sox took their series against the Yankees with a 3-2 win in extra innings Sunday night thanks to a go-ahead bloop from Pedro Ciriaco.
While the Red Sox would see all of five pitches in producing three outs in the first, they would do a lot more to Kuroda in the second. An Adrian Gonzalez single around the shift, Jarrod Saltalamacchia walk, and Ryan Sweeney double into the gap would produce a pair of runs, giving them an early lead for the second straight night.
Kuroda would rebound impressively from there, but would be matched for much of the game by Felix Doubront. Early aggression from the Yankees would cost them, leading to a 1-2-3 first and plenty of strikeouts for Doubront, who would struggle with control as the game went on. A pair of walks in the fourth left him with five free passes early on before he settled down with four strikeouts between the fifth and the sixth.
It would not be until the seventh that the Yankees managed anything off of Doubront. A leadoff homer from Russell Martin cut the lead in half, and Ichiro Suzuki grabbed an infield single to put the tying run in scoring position. Jayson Nix would strike out after failing to get a bunt down, but Ichiro managed to snag second all-the-same. Ultimately, it was the threat of Ryan Sweeney's arm which would save a run, as Ichiro stopped rounding third on a single to right off of Matt Albers, and then only bluffed on a shallow fly ball to left induced by Andrew Miller--Carl Crawford's throw home would have nailed him--before a Mark Teixeira ground ball ended the threat.
Still, in the eighth the Yankees would finally manage to equalize things. After four strong outs from Andrew Miller, the lefty surrendered a two-out double to Andruw Jones (why he was left in to face the lefty-masher we'll likely never know) before Russell Martin lined a single up the middle off of Alfredo Aceves to make it 2-2.
The teams would end up going into the tenth, but it wouldn't last beyond that. Trying to drop a bunt down with Jarrod Saltalamacchia on first, Will Middlebrooks was hit on the hand while pulling the bat back--an event that normally would give him first base. This time, however, the umpire went down as well, unable to make the right call. Bobby Valentine and Josh Beckett would both get ejected in the ensuing shouting, but Middlebrooks made everything better by singling through the left side of the infield to move Saltalamacchia into scoring position. Up came Pedro Ciriaco, the King of Clutch from the preseason, and once again he was able to come through. His hit wasn't hard, or impressive, but it was a well-placed bloop, and in the end the run on the board was all that mattered. Alfredo Aceves came back out to end things in the tenth, and the Sox left New York with a series win.
For more on the Red Sox stay tuned to Over the Monster and SB Nation Boston. Visit Pinstripe Alley and SB Nation New York for everything about the Yankees. Check out Baseball Nation for even more news around the Major Leagues.