Sabathia and Yanks Too Good For Lester and Sox, Yanks win 4-1

Jon Lester pitched a pretty good game Friday night in Yankee Stadium. Over 6 1/3 innings he gave up just six hits. He had two problems though. He gave up four walks, two runs in the second and four runs overall. His other problem was CC Sabathia.

May 31, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester (31) is removed from the game by Boston Red Sox manager

(53) against the New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Sabathia was dominant. He struck out 10 Red Sox hitters, walked none and after a steamy day in New York obviously liked the heat. His velocity was higher than it has been all season and he mixed his pitches like a pro; inside and outside while changing speeds and eventually got the Sox upside down.

It wasn’t like Boston didn’t have their chances. They stranded runners aplenty. David Ross was left on second base in the second inning on a Jackie Bradley Jr. K. The Sox grounded into two rally killing double plays and Mike Napoli was marooned at second base after doubling home Dustin Pedroia for Boston’s only run in the seventh.

The Bombers got two in the second after Lester walked just activated Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira to open the frame. That opened the door for a Vernon Wells double that pushed Teixeira to third, followed by a Jayson Nix single that scored Teixeira and an Ichiro Suzuki single that scored Wells.

To be frank, Bradley should have caught the Wells double. Yes, it was tagged but Bradley got a bad break, couldn’t pick up the ball and got turned around. Three muffs in one play. Oh, to add insult to injury Kevin Youkilis, fresh off the DL, singled in the fifth to score Ichiro.

"How many times has this scenario played out in the storied history of the two franchises? Boston arrives in New York two games ahead of the Yankees in the Al East and drops the first game. Come on man!"

Boston’s loss allowed the Yankees to pull within one game of first place and the Orioles to gain ground to 1 1/2 back after a walk-off homer to win 7-5 against the Tigers at Camden Yards. In an increasingly crowded field the Rays are just 2 1/2 back with their Friday night fate in the balance after a long rain delay in Cleveland.

It’s starting to feel like real baseball. Don’t despair Nation. Your team is competing. Rewind to 2012 and things look pretty damn good even in the face of a loss in the Bronx.

Felix Doubront (3-2, 5.29 ERA) squares off against Phil Hughes (2-3, 4.97 ERA) in game two of the set at 7:15 Saturday evening.