Today's game started with the Yankees scoring five first inning runs against Josh Beckett. They batted around in the inning before Kuroda even threw a pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, the Red Sox offense came back with five unanswered runs. The game would remain a see-saw affair until a pivotal at-bat for Mark Teixeira in the seventh inning. Facing a nemesis in Vincente Padilla, Teixeira hit a clutch two-run triple into the triangle in center field to give the Yankees a three run lead at the time. In the bottom half of the inning, Boone Logan would allow a solo home run to Cody Ross but the Yankees would escape the first game of four with a 10-8 victory over the Red Sox.
Hiroki Kuroda was vastly ineffective tonight, giving up six earned runs in just under six innings of work. He fell behind in counts and none of his pitches were hitting spots. Kuroda was lucky the Yankees caught Beckett on an off-night where they would already have runs on the board to make it easier later in the game. Rafael Soriano took one for the team with two outs in the eighth for a four out save. The four out save was his first since 2007 when he pitched for the Braves. Soriano has been an invaluable piece for the Yankees since Mariano went down in early May. Without Soriano, the bullpen would have a completely different look and games would not have been as easy as they are knowing there is a great closer in the bullpen. With tonight's save, Soriano now has twenty saves on the season with a sub two ERA.
Tomorrow will be a test for the Yankees bullpen and manager when they play a double-header against the Sox. Garcia will get the start for the afternoon game and Phil Hughes will start the second game at 7:15. The Yankees need length out of their starters tomorrow because of the over-load on the bullpen in tonight's game.
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