As the title suggests, the Red Sox cut this game way too close. They scored quite a few runs early on, then just watched as the Yankees came back all the way– however, they still managed to pull off the win and that’s ultimately what counts. They did start off very hot though, putting runners at first and second with an out way back in the first inning. They would score three runs on doubles by Adrian Gonzalez (one RBI) and Will Middlebrooks (two RBIs) and leave the first with a 3-0 lead.
The Yankees would finally get on the board in the third inning on a Chris Stewart home run to make it 3-1. However, after a couple more scoreless innings, the Red Sox came out on fire in the fifth inning. After two quick outs to start the frame, a single by Pedro Ciriaco and a walk by Dustin Pedroia set up a three-run home run for Adrian Gonzalez– his 10th of the season to make it 6-1. However, the Yankees came back from that storming and put together a rally of their own in the bottom of the fifth.
A leadoff walk by Andruw Jones turned into a two-run homer for Jayson Nix to cut it to 6-3. Two more singles and then a sacrifice bunt would put two runners in scoring position with one out for Derek Jeter. Jeter would get the job done in a relatively unsatisfactory way as he grounded out to drive in a run but basically conclude the Yankees’ chances of further scoring– however, they did cut it to 6-4. And they would cut it further in the eighth, as a leadoff single by Raul Ibanez plus two strikeouts put Ibanez at first with two outs for Mark Teixeira. Teixeira did what he does best, absolutely crushing the ball to right field, to knot things up at 6-6.
However, the Red Sox weren’t done after a one-out walk for the speedy Jacoby Ellsbury. Pedro Ciriaco came up and hit what looked to be a routine fly out to center field. But center fielder Curtis Granderson committed the outfielders’ cardinal sin of taking the first step in, thus misplaying the ball and allowing it to fall behind him for an RBI triple. Ciriaco himself would score on a sacrifice fly by Dustin Pedroia. This gave the Red Sox an 8-6 lead, which quickly became a win with a shutdown ninth by Alfredo Aceves.