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DRAKE BRITTON |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Kuroda holds the Sox in check
July 20, 2013 ...
John Lackey and Hiroki Kuroda are in the middle of career years. And the matchup was every bit as exciting as their 2013 numbers suggested. Kuroda dealt mid-90s heaters and Lackey matched him for much of the game. Each seemed in total command at times. But three runners were nailed at
home plate, Daniel Nava was gunned down trying to tag from first in the eighth inning and the Yankees used one solid inning off Lackey to take the second of a three-game set, 5-2.
Nava was thrown out at home in the first inning when third-base coach Brian Butterfield gave him the go signal even though Nava had yet to reach third base by the time Vernon Wells collected the ball in left field. Mike Carp was then nailed at home on a
passed ball in the fifth. And Nava's baserunning blunder came when Chris Stewart made a diving catch into the stands in the eighth and Nava was thrown out trying to tag up from first. T here were two outs with David Ortiz on deck and the Red Sox were down
two at the time.
Against a team that has given Lackey fits throughout his career (he entered Saturday with a 4.68 ERA lifetime against the Yankees), Lackey pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs while striking out seven and walking none. The only other time Lackey had
ever gotten through a start vs. the Yankees while allowing four earned runs or less without walking anybody was in 2007, the only season Lackey was an All-Star as he finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting. The righty played the part of
hard-throwing veteran well, while his defense played just as hard behind him.
Jose Iglesias, playing third base for the first time in weeks with the return of Stephen Drew to shortstop, snagged a hard liner off the bat of Ichiro Suzuki in the first inning and gunned it to first base, where the ball beat Brett Gardner back to the bag for a
double play.
The Yankees threatened in the fifth inning, when Eduardo Nunez reached base on a single, stole second and moved to third on a bunt by Stewart. Dustin Pedroia nearly prevented the run from scoring, but a diving attempt at a ball off the bat of Luis Cruz landed
inches short.
The Red Sox offense was lifeless for much of this one, as Kuroda tossed seven innings of two-run ball.
The Sox added two runs on a sacrifice fly and wild pitch in the bottom of the inning, but the sturdy veteran combination of David Robertson and Mariano Rivera shut the door in the eighth and ninth.
Drake Britton made his Major League debut for the Red Sox, pitching a scoreless inning of relief. The 24-year-old lefty had a 3.77 ERA in 102 2/3 innings between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. After a two-game rehab assignment with the
Double A Portland Sea Dogs, shortstop Stephen Drew returned to the Red Sox lineup and went 0 for 2. |
