Let me Pitch to Manny

It was words to that effect that doomed the Yankees yesterday. Clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the 6th, Joe Girardi went out to the mound speak with Mike Mussina (1-2). The Red Sox had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and Manny Ramirez at the plate. Ramirez had already homered in the 4th inning, but with 1st Base open and Kevin Youkilis on deck, Mussina chose to pitch to Ramirez. It was a big mistake.

Ramirez's 2-run double to right-center put the Red Sox ahead for good and they want on to a 4-3 win in Fenway Park. But not before a 2-hour and 11-minute rain delay interrupted the 8th inning. Hideki Okajima retired the first two men he faced in the inning, but walked Melky Cabrera and gave up a first pitch single to Bobby Abreu. Terry Francona called for his closer, Jon Papelbon, to face Alex Rodriguez. But the rains came to stop play.

The tarp was initially taken off after a short delay, but quickly put back on when radar showed more storms in the area. A game that had started at 3:55 p.m. EDT, finally resumed at 8:31. After much speculation over who had the bigger advantage, pitcher or batter, Papelbon blew A-Rod away on strikes with 3 pitches. The Yankees went down in order in the 9th, but not without a little non-game related drama.

The rocket scientists over at the FOX network switched to the start of a NASCAR race in the middle of Robinson Cano's 2-out at-bat. It sent viewers scrambling to find the FX network, and many missed the end of the game.

Josh Beckett (1-1), making his 2nd start of the season, was spot on for much of the game. He allowed just one hit through the first 5 innings, and it could very well have been an error on Dustin Pedroia instead. The Yankees finally got to him in the 6th when Jose Molina lead off with a single. Rather than bunt, Girardi had Alberto Gonzalez swing away, and the shortstop rewarded his manager's confidence with a single to left field.

Johnny Damon's sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, and both came home on Melky Cabrera's sacrifice fly and Beckett's wild pitch for a 2-1 lead. But then not all decisions work out well.

News and Notes

For the 2nd straight season, Johnny Damon is struggling at the plate. His 0-3 yesterday left him just 8-41 (.195) on the season.

David Ortiz's frustration was evident on his face yesterday. The Red Sox slugger went 0-4 and is just 3-43 (.070) with 1 home run and 3 RBI. Terry Francona has not ruled out a day off to try to get Ortiz going.

Derek Jeter has resumed baseball activities, but is not close to returning to the lineup. He took grounders yesterday, but they were hit right to him.

Jorge Posada isn't ready to get back behind home plate either. He feels better, but is only throwing every other day.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.195
Cabrera, CF	2	0	0	1	1	1	0	.267
Abreu, RF	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.310
Rodriguez, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.289
Giambi, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.080
Posada, DH	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	.250
Cano, 2B	4	0	2	1	0	1	0	.188
Molina, C	3	1	1	0	0	1	2	.345
Gonzalez, SS	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	.364
Totals	30	3	6	2	2	9	7
BATTING 2B: Cano (2, Beckett). TB: Abreu; Posada; Cano 3; Molina; Gonzalez. RBI: Cabrera (5), Cano (2). 2-out RBI: Cano. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon; Molina; Rodriguez. S: Damon. SF: Cabrera. GIDP: Giambi. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING Outfield assists: Abreu (Varitek at 2nd base). DP: 2 (Mussina-Gonzalez-Giambi, Cano-Gonzalez-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 1-2)	5.2	8	4	4	0	1	1	4.15
Bruney	1.1	1	0	0	2	1	0	0.00
Hawkins	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.60

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Ellsbury, CF-LF	3	1	2	0	1	0	0	.250
Pedroia, 2B	4	1	2	0	0	0	2	.271
Ortiz, DH	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.070
Ramirez, LF	4	2	2	3	0	0	1	.277
Crisp, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.296
Youkilis, 3B	4	0	2	1	0	0	0	.317
Drew, RF	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	.387
Varitek, C	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.270
Casey, 1B	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	.263
Lugo, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.256
Totals	30	4	9	4	2	2	10
BATTING 2B: Pedroia (3, Mussina), Ramirez (6, Mussina). HR: Ramirez (2, 4th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Ellsbury 2; Pedroia 3; Ramirez 6; Youkilis 2; Varitek. RBI: Ramirez 3 (11), Youkilis (6). 2-out RBI: Ramirez 3; Youkilis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ramirez; Drew; Pedroia. GIDP: Ortiz; Drew. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Ellsbury (1, 2nd base off Mussina/Molina). FIELDING DP: (Pedroia-Youkilis-Casey).

Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Beckett (W, 1-1) 6.2 5 3 3 1 5 0 6.35 Delcarmen (H, 2) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.68 Okajima (H, 3) 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 Papelbon (S, 4) 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.50

WP: Beckett 2. Pitches-strikes: Mussina 71-51, Bruney 25-15, Hawkins 6-6, Beckett 88-55, Delcarmen 4-3, Okajima 9-4, Papelbon 26-19. Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 9-6, Bruney 1-2, Hawkins 1-2, Beckett 7-8, Delcarmen 0-0, Okajima 1-1, Papelbon 1-0. Batters faced: Mussina 22, Bruney 7, Hawkins 3, Beckett 25, Delcarmen 1, Okajima 4, Papelbon 4. Inherited runners-scored: Bruney 1-1, Delcarmen 1-0, Papelbon 2-0. Umpires: HP: Paul Nauert. 1B: Jerry Crawford. 2B: Tom Hallion. 3B: Brian O'Nora. Weather: 57 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 12 mph, R to L. T: 2:49 (2:11 delay). Att: 37,461.

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