When the Yankees play the Red Sox, one never knows what to truly expect, but on the whole it is reasonable to assume that the quality of play will be high. The matchup Friday night at Fenway was nothing short of an offensive bonanza, with some of the sloppiest, most ineffective pitching either team has displayed all season. The Sox and Yankees combined for 31 runs on 35 hits in the contest as New York came out on top 20-11.
For Boston, it was clear early on that things were not going to go well for starter Brad Penny. When he was able to find the strikezone the Yankees' lineup lashed his pitches around Fenway park, touching him up for 8 runs on 10 hits, with 6 coming in the first two innings. Penny seemed to regain some composure in the 3rd — throwing two scoreless innings — but he imploaded in the early stages of the 6-run 5th that put the game out of reach for Boston. After Brad allowed Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to reach base, Terry Francona had seen enough. After 85 pitches in only 4 recorded innings, he was lifted for Michael Bowden, and Boston's total collapse was officially in full swing.
Hideki Matsui struck the first big blow of the inning, welcoming Bowden into the game by crushing a soaring home run to right field that scored Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Then it was best friends Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera up next, with a double and single respectively, earning an RBI a piece.
Teixeira then pumped in the final run of the inning — as the Yankees' batted around — with his own RBI single to right field. Bowden only lasted two innings but his stat line looked strikingly similar to Penny's, reading a bruising seven runs on eight hits as he proved totally ineffective and incapable against the red-hot Yankee lineup.
New York starter Andy Pettitte began the game strong but it wouldn't last the span of his start. Through five innings Pettitte allowed only one run, but in the sixth he seemed to lose his command, giving up three runs and prompting manager Joe Girardi to yank the veteran from a game that was well in hand as a gift wrapped victory for the Yankee hurler.
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