Mood Music - Light My Fire by The Doors
In a game where both starting pitchers were victimized by shoddy defense and an ever-shifting strike zone, neither Ivan Nova of the New York Yankees or Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox were able to complete the fifth inning. Fortunately for the Yankees, however, the trio of David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and Luis Ayala were able to toss 4.2 scoreless innings, sealing the Yankee victory.
Offensively, the big hero was Russell Martin, who continued to impress, belting two home runs, including a three-run shot off of Buchholz. In addition to Martin, both Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano hit home runs, and Alex Rodriguez chipped in two singles.
While Nova permitted far too many base runners (7 hits and 3 walks in 4.1 innings and retired the first batter of an inning only once), he was able to escape some early jams. A big turning points for him seemed to be Robinson Cano booting what should have been an inning ending double play ball that would have allowed him to escape the fourth inning.
In addition to jumping out and scoring runs early in the game, the Yankees were able to add tack on runs against the Red Sox bullpen and cushion their lead, something that have struggled with in the early going in 2011.
The Yankees will go for the series win tomorrow with CC Sabathia facing off against Josh Beckett.