Bronx, N.Y., August 29, 2007 — In perhaps the key contest of this week’s Yankee three-gamer vs. the Red Sox, veteran Roger Clemens bested Josh Beckett, a young hard thrower who idolized the Rocket in his youth. Beckett’s hard heat dazzled at 96-97 mph, and his well-concealed, 20mph slower curve buckled knees. The Rocket got by while not throwing as hard, and he worked deep into counts, but he wouldn’t allow a hit until the top of the sixth.
Playing first base in an attempt to beef up Joe Torre’s lineup this night, Jason Giambi made a diving stab of a Julio Lugo base-hit bid to start matters, and Roger drilled Dustin Pedroia with a 1-1 fastball that may have been an anwser to the welt Matsuzaka raised on A-Rod’s ribs Tuesday evening. Pedroia was cut down stealing on an overslide, and when David Ortiz flied to center, Clemens had used a mere 12 tosses to close the opening frame. It was the first of just two times the Yankee vet would face just three batters in an inning.
The Yanks threatened in the bottom half on a one-out Jeter double to the wall in right center, but Abreu popped to third and A-Rod looked helpless in striking out, flailing awkwardly on a slow bender before taking another on the outside corner for strike three. The Sox made two quick outs in the second, but Clemens then displayed uncharacteristic wildness. Ten straight off the plate had J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek on base via walks. But Coco Crisp broke the pattern with a bouncer to first. Bouts of wildness would would plague Clemens all night, but the only real damage was to his pitch count. None of the five walks he issued would score.
After the dominant first, Beckett would stumble in the bottom of the second, and it would cost him and the Red Sox the game. Things started quietly, and a foul popup and a called strike three around a Posada single to short center left the Yanks with two down and one on. But Robinson Cano took a 3-2 pitch for ball four, and Melky Cabrera put the home team up with a bouncer up the middle and into center. After a short wild pitched moved Cabrera to second, Damon directed a ground ball past shortstop and the Yankee lead was stretched to 3-0.
The three-run second cost Beckett 33 pitches, and the Yanks looked ready to add when A-Rod singled to lead off the bottom of the third. But Alex went too far toward second and was nailed retreating to first, an unfortunate base-running gaffe in light of the Matsui triple that followed. Posada compounded matters by taking strike three with the infield in and one down, and the Yanks failed to add to their lead. Then Beckett turned a corner, and although he surrendered five singles in the next three frames, three were infield rollers. He managed back-to-back, nine-pitch innings, so even though the Yanks stroked three one-base hits in the home sixth while facing 22 tosses, Terry Francona sent Josh out for the seventh with a count of 105.
Clemens, meanwhile, followed the two-walk second by allowing one free pass each in the third, the fifth and the sixth. But his low nineties fastball and a split finger five miles slower kept the Sox off balance, and he carried a no-hitter into the top of the sixth. With one out, and a 1-0 count, David Ortiz lifted a soaring home run into the upper deck near the right field foul pole to end both the no-hittter and the shutout in one fell swoop. Clemens issued a two-out walk to Youkilis, and J. D. Drew singled him to third. But Roger got the game to the seventh and to the Yankee pen by retiring Varitek o a bouncer to second.
Luis Vizcaino held the Sox to the 3-1 score through the seventh, and Beckett got two quick outs in the bottom half. But Rodriguez added a key run by homering to left, and Beckett’s day was done. The Yankees had nickled and dimed, then blasted, him to four runs on an amazing 13 hits, 10 of them singles. Southpaw Javier Lopez was ineffective following Beckett, but veteran righty Mike Timlin retired the last four Yankees to hit.
With no Joba Chamberlain available this day, Torre turned to Kyle Farnsworth for the eighth. A fan pariah weeks ago, Farns has been very good in his last seven outings, during which he has allowed no runs. But after Kyle retired Ortiz, as he almost always does, Lowell reached the hard thrower for a one-out single, and Youkilis turned on a high heater and drilled it over the wall in left. 4-3 Yanks. Kyle struck out Drew but walked Varitek, and Torre brought on Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.
The lineup had turned somewhat, and even one broken-bat hit off Mo would bring Ortiz back up in a one-run game. Fans agonized, but they needn’t have woried. With runners on base most of the time, Roger was a dodger, but Mo was the show. He bounced Crisp back to the box to end the eighth, and got three straight ground ball outs in the ninth, the last a slow roller down third that Mo pounced on to throw Pedroia out to end the game.
Exactly 40 years ago, the Yankees outpointed the Red Sox 4-3 in the second of two games on August 29, 1967. Although it was exhausting rooting the Yanks on to another tight victory this Wednesday night, it paled in comparison to that game. Why? Because that one went 20 innings. It was the Yanks’ third game of at least 18 innings that year, and the double header came in at eight hours and 19 minutes. But all involved now in 2007 may empathize once these two teams and their fans converge in a few hours on Thursday afternoon, with the Yankees going for the much-needed sweep.
The Wednesday contest was about pitching as the Tuesday tilt had been the night before. Young Beckett struck out six and walked one; his fomer idol Clemens fanned two while walking five. Becket threw 20 of 32 first-pitch strikes; the Clemens count of 15 of 25 lagged a bit. Josh had a pretty good 70/44 strikes/balls ratio. The numbers Clemens managed, 56/42, ironically break down to four strikes to every three balls, aping the game’s final score. But with all those Yankee hits, including the infield rollers that Damon, Jeter, Abreu, and Cabrera legged out to reach safely, Josh admittedly threw the better pitches all night. But Roger pitched the better game.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!