Yankees’ Moseley and Jeter trash Red Sox
There is no love lost between the New York Yankees and their American League East division rivals, the Boston Red Sox. Their battle for supremacy in the majors goes way back, but once again, the Yankees proved to be too much for the Sox to handle, cruising to a 7-2 victory on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
The win gives the Yankees a seven game lead over third seeded Boston in the AL East. Dustin Moseley got off to a fantastic start and made a highlight defensive play to set the tone in the first frame. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a bouncer to the third-base, but Moseley sprinted from the mound to intercept the ball and threw it to first base to retire Ellsbury, who was shocked by the athleticism shown by the pitcher.
But manager Joe Girardi did not share Ellsbury’s disbelief, and expects more great plays from Moseley, who moved up in the rotation after projected starter A.J. Burnett was sidelined with back spasms. "He attacked the zone and he allowed his defense to play behind him," manager Joe Girardi said. "He made some great plays himself -- the first play of the game. I'm not sure we have another pitcher that makes that play. He set the tone early and attacked the hitters."
In only his third start of the year, Moseley appeared to be in control striking out five batters and was solid for 6 1/3 innings. "You want to smile, but I try to stay calm with everything, good or bad," said Moseley. "I just stay the same guy. But it meant a lot for the fans to do that and welcome me early on as they have. It'll be a memory, for sure, for a long time."
Derek Jeter also had a memorable night as he passed Yankees’ legend Babe Ruth on the all-time hits list with a RBI single in the second inning. “Anytime your name is alongside some of those past Yankees greats, it's a special moment," Jeter said. "It's not like it was a goal of mine, but it feels good."
Jeter had another strong performance and put the game out of reach in the fifth inning with a double to right field that scored two runs and gave New York a 7-1 lead. The Yankees’ captain finished the night with 3 RBIs.
With the number of starters on the disabled list for the Red Sox, they can’t afford to drop too many games, as they risk falling out of contention. Boston is currently 4 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card standings.
“This was a huge opportunity for us, trying to gain some ground on these guys and Tampa Bay," said third baseman Adrian Beltre. "But unfortunately it didn't work out the way we wanted. Now the best we can do is try to win tomorrow and just start playing better."
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