Yanks Blast Sox Off
Homers Give Yankees a 7-4 Victory over the Red Sox
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK APRIL 13- In a reversal of the circumstances of the previous night’s contest at Yankee Stadium, five Yankee four baggers drove in each of their seven runs and ensured them a Saturday matinee victory over the Boston Red Sox.
The good feeling of sitting under blue skies and mild temperatures in the 60’s was increased for the Yankee rooters in the ballpark by the success at the plate of the Yankee batters. The combination provided a pleasant Saturday afternoon outing for the 48.572 fans in the Stadium, the largest crowd of the season.
In the first frame, a two-out single by the hot hitting former star of the Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury, was followed by Carlos Beltran’s second home run of the 2014 campaign, which gave New York a two run lead.
A lead-off base hit by Xander Bogarts in the second led to a tied score of two as the next batter, AJ Pierzynski blasted the first pitch into the seats in right to drive in two runs.
Two innings later, Brian McCann and Alfonso Soriano connected for back-to-back homers to give New York a 4-2 advantage. The Yankees had last hit homers back-to-back on June 6, 2013 in Seattle.
Two additional Yankee runners crossed the plate in the bottom of the sixth. McCann with his second home run of the game also drove in Beltran, who had doubled to begin the inning. This was McCann’s tenth multi-homer game in his career in the majors. It was the first Yankee multi-home run game since Soriano blasted two round trippers on September 10, 2013.
Despite entering the contest with a batting average of .162, the Yankee skipper was not surprised by McCann’s home runs, “I know he’s going to hit; he’s too good a hitter not to hit.”
Yankee starter Hiroki Kuroda was removed from the game after 6.1 innings after walking two batters in the seventh. A hit batsman and a single by Mike Carp off reliever Matt Thornton allowed the last two baserunners of Kuroda’s outing to score.
Kuroda gave up six hits and four earned runs in his 6.1 inning performance. He earned his second win of the young season, but was critical of his pitching, “Overall, I wasn’t sharp. My command and precise control wasn’t there.”
Kelly Johnson began the eighth frame with a crushing blow that landed in the center field seats. Saturday’s game was the third straight in which Johnson homered. The two rookies, Yangervis Solarte and Dean Anna, followed with a single and a double respectively. They were stranded on second and third when the inning concluded after the next two batters could not move them.
The offensive onslaught was quite pleasing to the Yankee manager, “It definitely helps if you can score runs quickly. I think our offense is much more balanced than last year. I think it is much more explosive too.”
The final game of the series will be played on Sunday night. Ivan Nova will start for New York and Felix Doubront will start for Boston.
