Who Needs Ellsbury or Uehara When You've Got Sizemore and Mujica, Wait What?

Does it get any better than Red Sox-Yankees in April? The cold temperatures, empty seats at Yankee Stadium and games that really don't mean that much. With that said, Boston's (5-6 overall, 3-2 away) 4-2 win over New York (5-6 overall, 2-3 home) tonight in the Bronx sure was pleasing. Jon Lester (1-2) had his worst (6.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) of three starts this season but at least the Red Sox won for a change.

Hey gang, did you know that CC Sabathia (1-2) lost a ton of weight? 'Tis true, he also has a dead arm and is a sliver of what he used to be on the mound (literally and figuratively). For a while it looked like the ghost of CC would get the win as Alfonso Soriano's (2 hits) solo homer in the second was the only run through five innings. Boston's bats finally woke up in the sixth thanks to Jonny Gomes' (2 hits) solo homer, his first of the season.

That was nothing though compared to Grady Sizemore's (2 hits) three-run blast later in the inning, his second homer of the season. Sabathia went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. Boston still needs to improve its hitting with runners on base: they were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

Lester was cruising until the seventh when a tight strike zone caught up to him. Kelly Johnson's RBI single cut it to 4-2 Red Sox and ended Lester's night. Junichi Tazawa got four outs then turned it over to Edward Mujica. Yes, the guy that was so shaky in the home opener got a chance to close since Koji Uehara's shoulder was stiff. Yikes!

Naturally, Mujica had a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout on 13 pitches. Why did we ever doubt him? After splitting the first two games, the teams meet tomorrow afternoon (1:05, NESN) as John Lackey (2-0) takes on Hiroki Kuroda (1-1).

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Yankees Crush Red Sox 10-2, Only 2 More Games Left Of This Nightmare

I bet that the last start of 2012 will leave a bad taste in Clay Buchholz's (11-8) mouth for much of the winter, well in addition to the rest of the crap sandwich from this tour of misery.

Tonight, he was shelled (1.2 innings, 8 earned runs, 6 hits) in his worst outing of the year as the Yankees (93-67, 49-30 home) blasted the Red Sox (69-91, 35-44 away) 10-2 at Yankee Stadium in the series opener. The Orioles lost 5-3 to the Rays so the Yanks reclaimed a one-game lead in the AL East with two games remaining in the regular season.

New York didn't waste any time as they scored nine of their 10 runs in the second inning to take a 9-0 lead, giving that much more of a Spring Training feel with a fall breeze in the Bronx. I'm sure the leaves are beautiful there. New York improved to 11-5 against Boston this season and they have hit an incredible 38 home runs in that span.

Robinson Cano started it off with a solo homer (his 32nd of the season) then Curtis Granderson (2 hits) hit a two-run shot (his 42nd of the season) and Russell Martin (21st of the season) went back-to-back. The Yanks weren't even halfway through the ridiculous frame as A-Rod had a sacrifice fly then Cano (2 doubles) added a two-run double and Mark Teixeira (24th of the season) hit a two-run shot in his first game back in nearly a month. Mercy.

CC Sabathia (15-6) pitched eight routine innings (2 earned runs, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk) to notch the win. Daniel Nava had a solo homer in the fourth (his 6th of the season and 2nd in as many days) while Jarrod Saltalamacchia tallied a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Something called Melky Mesa had an RBI single in the eighth for the Yankees. He must be the love child of Jose Mesa and Melky Cabrera that we just found out about.

Nick Swisher was 3 for 4 with a double and run. Since he is set to be a free agent in a few weeks, can I start the campaign to bring him to Boston? You might hate him (I used to) but he'd be a great fit since he's a proven and dependable winner.

Che Hsuan-Lin was 2 for 3 in the loss. Dustin Pedroia is missing the last two games of the season with a broken finger. No worries, he served his time on this prison team.

Jon Lester (9-14) faces David Phelps (4-4) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN).

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CC Sabathia Finally Solves The Red Sox In 2011

It's almost impossible to win at any level of baseball when you leave 16 runners on base. Even more so when you face CC Sabathia and your team counters with John Lackey.

Sabathia (18-7) finally got over his funk against Boston (0-4) coming into tonight as the Yankees (81-52) climbed within half a game of the Red Sox (82-52) with a 5-2 win at Fenway Park.

The series opening win gave New York some early momentum heading into the last series at Fenway in the regular season between the rivals while also cutting the season series to 10-3 in favor of Boston.

It made sense that after struggling so much against the Red Sox that Sabathia would eventually pitch as well against them as he does vs. the rest of MLB. It took a season-high 128 pitches just to get through six innings. He allowed two earned runs on 10 hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts (including Adrian Gonzalez three times) in a bizarre outing.

Lackey (12-10) threw nearly as many pitches (119) in one more inning of work. That amount of pitches from the starters alone is the main reason why this contest took place at the standard glacial pace for Red Sox-Yankees (3:59). Lackey allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Eric Chavez and Francisco Cervelli were unlikely heroes that turned in nice performances in the win. Chavez had RBI singles in the second and fourth (sandwiched around an RBI double by Robinson Cano) for a 3-0 Yankees lead.

Two equally unexpected guys cut it to 3-2 for the Red Sox in the fourth. Carl Crawford (2 hits, walk) hit a solo homer (his 10th of the season) and Marco Scutaro (2 hits) had an RBI double.

Cervelli hit a solo bomb in the fifth (his second career home run) and was going crazy around the bases which led to Lackey plunking him to start the seventh. Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild was tossed after the benches cleared (but nothing happened) and manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the ninth for arguing about Jarrod Saltalamacchia swinging when he got hit by a Mariano Rivera pitch.

It was a testy night as Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by Sabathia and Matt Albers plunked Jorge Posada.

Jed Lowrie had three hits and David Ortiz had two hits in the loss.

Cory Wade got an out in the seventh and Boone Logan had the last two outs in the frame, paving the way for Rafael Soriano (scoreless eighth) and Rivera who got his 35th save thanks in part to a bogus strikeout of Lowrie (two ultra shaky called strikes).

Albers was a bright spot as he got the last two outs of the eighth to keep Boston within three runs. He needed a positive outing like that since he's gone off a cliff in August. Alfredo Aceves also had a 1-2-3 ninth in four pitches.

Phil Hughes faces Josh Beckett tomorrow night in a matchup that clearly favors the Red Sox. Beckett has owned the Yankees this year although as Sabathia showed, things can change when you face a team so much.

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Red Sox Own That Fat Blob CC Sabathia This Season

I had to make a cameo appearance at an engagement party so I missed most of the Red Sox-Yankees game yesterday afternoon, except for the first couple innings on the radio and a couple frantic checks of my Droid.

So while I didn't see much of it (I did watch the highlights last night), I felt it my duty to report on the result since it was rather insane.

The Red Sox (69-43) beat CC Sabathia (16-6) for the fourth time this season in a 10-4 romp at Fenway Park over the Yankees (69-43).

It's hard to gauge which is more unlikely, that Boston has owned Sabathia (the AL Cy Young favorite) so much or that John Lackey (10-8) beat him yesterday. The win meant that the teams have the same exact record and therefore tonight's game (weather permitting) will determine who leaves town in first place in the AL East.

The other huge storyline was the continued ascendancy to superstardom of Jacoby Ellsbury. He had a career-high six RBIs (first Red Sox leadoff man to do that since Ellis Burks (!) in 1987) in the win.

Some other wacky stats from this weird game: Carl Crawford was 4 for 4 with three runs, an RBI and a stolen base (he's reached base in six straight at bats) while Francisco Cervelli led the Yankees with three hits.

In six innings, Sabathia was tagged for seven earned runs on nine hits with a walk and six strikeouts. He'll likely face the Red Sox a few more times in the regular season (2 more series) before the playoffs but it has to give Boston plenty of confidence knowing they can beat New York's ace.

Lackey or Big Hoss as El Pres has dubbed him went six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It was the fifth straight decision that he's won.

The Red Sox went up 2-0 in the third on Ellsbury's sacrifice fly that scored Crawford and Dustin Pedroia's RBI double off the Monster that plated Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 runs, 2 walks).

New York tied it up with a pair of runs in the fourth. A run scored on Nick Swisher's double play grounder and Eric Chavez (still alive and sporting a ridiculous moustache) hit an RBI single.

Boston scored five more times in the fourth. Crawford and Marco Scutaro had RBI singles which set it up for Ellsbury's big fly, a three-run bomb (his 19th of the season) to the first row of seats in right field.

The Yankees cut it to 7-4 as Derek Jeter had an RBI single in the fifth and Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer off Daniel Bard in the eighth.

Ellsbury added an RBI single in the eighth and Pedroia capped it off with a sacrifice fly.

If the rain lets up, Josh Beckett will face Freddy Garcia tonight in the series finale on Sunday Night Baseball. Beckett has absolutely owned the Yanks this season while Garcia has gotten roughed up in both his starts against the Red Sox this season. Boston looks to win the series and improve to 10-2 in 2011 against their biggest rivals.

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Ho hum, another Red Sox sweep at Yankee Stadium

There was a three hour and 27 minute rain delay before last night's series finale for the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. At this point, it doesn't matter what obstacle the Yankees (33-27) throw at the Red Sox (36-26) because the Bombers are running out of answers.

The Yanks scored twice in the first inning and led 2-0 heading into the seventh inning but CC Sabathia (7-4) couldn't hold it as the Red Sox erupted for seven runs in the seventh on their way to an 8-3 victory. Boston is now 8-1 against New York this season with the Red Sox leading the American League East by two games.

After this series, the second straight sweep at Yankee Stadium, it looks like the two teams are going in opposite directions.

Josh Beckett (5-2) gave up a two-run homer to Curtis Granderson in the first but after that, he completely shut down the Yankees. He lasted seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Sabathia was on point until he completely unraveled in the seventh. He went 6.2 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Jed Lowrie kicked off Boston's rally with an RBI triple (driving in David Ortiz) in the seventh. Mike Cameron tied it up with an RBI double. Then Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base), Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Kevin Youkilis had RBI singles. David Ortiz closed out the seven spot with a two-run double. He was meakly hit on the hip by a Sabathia pitch earlier in the game but he currently owns the Yankees and baseball. He's hitting .326 with a .394 OBP and .612 slugging percentage.

Gonzalez added an RBI double in the ninth before Derek Jeter drove in a meaningless run with a ground out.

From here, Boston's road trip continues with three in Toronto and three in Tampa Bay. Clay Buchholz opposes Jo-Jo Reyes tonight at the Rogers Centre.

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Josh Beckett owns the Yankees (at least so far this season)

It's funny how in a couple days, the New York Yankees have become a complete mess with a legendary player (Jorge Posada) removing himself from the lineup while the Boston Red Sox look like a team that has underachieved so far this season but is built for big things in 2011.

The Red Sox (19-20) shut out the Yankees (20-17) 5-0 last night at Yankee Stadium with Josh Beckett (3-1) outdueling CC Sabathia (3-3) for the second time in a month.

It was the second straight win for Boston in the Bronx and they'll go for the sweep tonight on Sunday Night baseball.

Beckett went six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks with nine strikeouts.

Sabathia matched Beckett for the first four innings before giving up two runs in the fifth and four in the seventh. The big lefty went 6.2 innings, allowing seven hits, six earned runs, three walks with six strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 RBIs) got the Red Sox on the board with a two-run double in the fifth.

Boston benefited from a missed strike call on Jason Varitek in the seventh. On the next pitch, he laced an RBI single which scored Mike Cameron. Later in the frame, Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer (his ninth of the season and fourth in his last four games).

Dustin Pedroia added three hits, a run and a stolen base in the win.

Curtis Granderson was the only Yankee with multiple hits. He had two hits and a stolen base.

The two most pleasant surprises in the Boston bullpen continued to get it done. Matt Albers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth with two strikeouts while Rich Hill threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts of his own.

Tonight is the fifth time that the Red Sox have a chance to get to the .500 mark. Jon Lester will take on Freddy Garcia as Boston goes for the three-game sweep.

Josh Beckett brings you back from the edge of the Tobin Bridge

After Saturday's latest pathetic loss, the Boston Red Sox were in desperate need of a quality start from a starting pitcher.

Shockingly, it came from former ace Josh Beckett, who turned back the clock last night and was lights out in a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.

I don't think anyone in world expected Beckett (1-1) to deal like he did. It was incredible especially after a middling performance last week in Cleveland. He went eight innings, allowing only two hits with a walk and ten strikeouts.

Boston (2-7) won two out of three against New York (5-4) and fingers crossed, now they can put their miserable opening week behind them. This team is way too good to be as awful as they've been for the first nine games by and large.

CC Sabathia (0-1) was effective but couldn't get out of the sixth inning. The big lefty went 5.2 innings, giving up nine hits, one earned run, four walks and four strikeouts.

The Red Sox were a mind-numbing 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 16 on base and yet, they won.

Dustin Pedroia led Boston with three hits while David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro had two hits.

Boston scored its first run in the third inning. It came by way of an infield single by Mike Cameron.

Scutaro had the most important hit, a two-run double in the seventh, which scored Ortiz and J.D. Drew.

Ortiz added an RBI double in the eighth for some valuable insurance.

At only 103 pitches, Beckett could have started the ninth but why push him in April? Jonathan Papelbon came on for the second time in the series and was great (two strikeouts, no hits or walks).

So yeah, who knows what to expect from Beckett next time out. At least we don't have quite bury the guy yet since he couldn't have done more in one outing to prove that he can still be Josh Beckett circa 2003 or 2007 when he wants to be.

Tampa Bay (1-8) comes to town for three games starting tonight. Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Jeremy Hellickson in game one. The Red Sox should take advantage of a team that's playing even worse than them and cannot score any runs with Evan Longoria out.

Goodnight and Good luck (not really) Yankees

8-0 in 2009. The Boston Red Sox continued their incredible stretch against the New York Yankees with a come-from-behind 4-3 win last night at Fenway.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia (5-4) threw 123 pitches over seven plus innings in a very impressive effort but New York (34-26) was done in by its sub par bullpen. I seem to remember saying back in April that the bullpen was the difference between these teams (pats self on back).

Brad Penny in a likely job audition for the Mets, Phillies, etc. was great as he threw six scoreless innings. Penny gave up six hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

David Ortiz continued to return to life as he hit an opposite field homer in the second to give Boston (36-24) a 1-0 lead. It was Big Papi's third bomb in the last five games.

Yanks rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli tied it with an RBI double in the seventh off Manny Delcarmen. Later in the inning, A-Rod delivered with a two-run double off Delcarmen to make it 3-1 New York.

In the eighth, the Red Sox do what they do best: wear out pitchers. It all started with Dustin Pedroia's 10-pitch at bat (resulting in a walk) against Sabathia that pushed him closer to leaving the game.

J.D. Drew singled home Nick Green to cut it to 3-2 Bombers. Jason Bay tied it with an RBI single which scored Pedroia and Mike Lowell got the job done with a sacrifice fly that brought home Drew.

Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save and the Sox took a two-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees and Red Sox won't meet again until August 6th.

Starting tonight, Boston travels to Philly to meet the World Champion Phillies. Citizens Bank Park is a glorified little league park and the Phillies can crush the ball, plus they're one of the National League's best teams, so it should be a fun three game series.