The Yankees dropped the second game of their weekend series against Boston by a 7-5 score on Satuday at Fenway Park. The defeat clinched Boston a series win in the first meeting between the rivals in 2007. For the second straight day, the loss was on the pitching. There really was no culprit this time. The Yankees put a young guy into a very difficult spot.
Jeff Karstens’ 2007 debut was one to forget. The righty gave early 2-0 and 4-2 leads right back to the Sox. He finished with a 4.1 inning, 7 run, 9 hit, 2 walk line. He made mistakes, and Boston made him pay all day long. Karstens was in a tough situation. Coming off an injury, he was bound to be rusty. He had not faced Major League hitters in a real game situation since March. He was bound to not be sharp. Fenway Park against that lineup with that kind of pressure is not the place for a young pitcher to get his sea legs. Jeff had to go longer than he normally did because Joe Torre could not ask his bullpen to give 7 or 8 innings a day before Chase Wright started at Fenway. Karstens took one for the team. Once he settles down, he should help stabilize the back of the rotation. It was unfortunate that the team could not break him in with an easy opponent before sending him out against the Sox, but injuries made this start a necessity. With Carl Pavano gone until who knows when, a starting slot is his to lose. He pitched poorly against the Sox, but most youngsters would have in the same spot as well. It is tough to get too upset with him.
A silver lining is that the offense hit another one of Boston’s frontline starters hard. The Yanks hit Josh Beckett hard early in the game, scoring 4 in the first 2 innings. Beckett did settle down for a bit in the middle of the game, but an Alex Rodriguez RBI single knocked him out for good in the 7th and put the Yanks back in the game. A-Rod, Robinson Cano, and Derek Jeter had multi-hit games.
Kevin Thompson made a great baserunning play in his first start of the year that helped the 2 run 2nd inning develop. After he lead off with a double, he came far enough off second on a bouncer by Wil Nieves to draw a throw. The throw went wild, and both runners were safe and eventually would score. K.T. might have made it back even had the Sox not made an error. In that situation, the runner’s job is to try and bait a risky throw. Thompson did it to perfection. Even though it did not affect the outcome, small moves like that often do make the difference in Yanks-Sox games.
The bullpen did its job. Brian Bruney, Sean Henn, Kyle Farnsworth, and Scott Proctor shut Boston out over 3.2 innings, giving the offense a shot. Had Chase Wright not been listed as Sunday’s starter, Joe Torre would have been able to call on his vaunted relievers earlier in the contest, and New York might have won the game. However, Joe had to leave something in reserve for a AA starter pitching on national television. That factor will never show up in the boxscore, but it played a large role in the outcome.
A-Rod had a pair of hits, but the Yankees could not get him an at bat against Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th. Derek Jeter struck out, and Bobby Abreu flew out to end the game. Alex would have stepped to the plate as the go ahead run. This was going to be a tough game for the Yanks to win, but leaving the hottest hitter in baseball on deck with a chance to make a difference is frustrating.
The Yankees dug themselves a hole by losing on Friday night. Karstens coming out with a win was a lot to ask. They left it up to Chase Wright, who was pitching at A ball a year ago on national television to salvage a game in the most hostile environment he will ever face. That is a heck of a spot for a team to leave itself.
