GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: BOSTON (80-51) at NY YANKEES (72-59)

AL: BOSTON (80-51) at NY YANKEES (72-59)

<h3>Pettitte, Yankees look to rebound in series opener vs. Red Sox</h3>

Boston (80-51) at NY Yankees (72-59) 7:05 pm EDT


BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees brought inAndy Pettitte to stabilize their rotation. They will rely onthe veteran southpaw more than ever when they square off withtheir bitter rivals.


Pettitte takes the mound Tuesday when the struggling Yankeeshost the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game seriesbetween the American League East Division foes.


Signed to a one-year, $16 million contract this past winter,Pettitte (11-7, 3.69 ERA) has been outstanding since theAll-Star break, going 7-1 with a 2.67 ERA in nine starts.

Pettitte won his fifth straight start last Wednesday, workingseven innings and allowing only one run in an 8-2 victory overthe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.


The 35-year-old Pettitte has struggled in his five appearances -four starts - against the Red Sox this season, posting a 5.01ERA while surrendering 30 hits and 10 walks in 23 1/3 innings.

New York desperately needs a strong outing from Pettittefollowing Monday's 16-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Mike Mussina yielded six runs to drop his third straight outingfor the Yankees, who concluded a 2-5 road trip. But despitetheir recent struggles, the Yankees still trail the SeattleMariners (73-56) by just two games in the AL wild card race.

However, New York has a lot more ground to make up againstBoston, which boasts the best record in the majors and owns acomfortable eight-game cushion atop the division standings.

The Red Sox have won six of their last seven contests and areriding high following their dominant four-game series sweep ofthe Chicago White Sox this past weekend.


David Ortiz and J.D. Drew homered in Sunday's 11-1 triumph forBoston, which outscored Chicago, 46-7, in the series.

Two days later, the Red Sox give the ball to Daisuke Matsuzaka(13-10, 3.76), who has dropped each of his last two decisions.The Japanese rookie worked six innings but suffered the losslast Wednesday in a 2-1 defeat to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Matsuzaka has struggled against the Yankees this season despiterecording a win in each of his first two starts against them.The righthander last faced New York on April 27 and surrenderedfour runs over six innings of an 11-4 victory.


The Red Sox are 7-5 against the Yankees this season and havegone 3-3 here at Yankee Stadium.

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON AT NY YANKEES -- LINEUPS

BOSTON NY YANKEES
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Dustin Pedroia 2B .319 6 42 Johnny Damon LF .264 8 47
Kevin Youkilis 1B .291 13 69 Derek Jeter SS .318 8 58
David Ortiz DH .324 24 87 Bobby Abreu RF .289 15 87
Manny Ramirez LF .290 19 85 Alex Rodriguez 3B .306 43 123
Mike Lowell 3B .323 17 93 Hideki Matsui DH .306 23 90
J.D. Drew RF .262 7 46 Jorge Posada C .329 16 77
Jason Varitek C .264 11 56 Robinson Cano 2B .302 14 74
Coco Crisp CF .273 5 48 Andy Phillips 1B .288 2 25
Julio Lugo SS .240 6 63 Melky Cabrera CF .293 8 57

Daisuke Matsuzaka RHP (13-10, 3.76) Andy Pettitte LHP (11-7, 3.69)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES
WARMUPS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (13-10, 3.76)
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE (11-7, 3.69)

UMPIRES: HP - DERRYL COUSINS
1B - MARK CARLSON
2B - ANGEL HERNANDEZ
3B - TED BARRETT

WEATHER: 79 Degrees, cloudy
WIND: 9 mph, in from left</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES
STARTING BATS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA AND JASON VARITEK
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE AND JORGE POSADA

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D PEDROIA (.319, 6 HR, 42 RBI)
K YOUKILIS (.291, 13 HR, 69 RBI)
D ORTIZ (.324, 24 HR, 87 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J DAMON (.264, 8 HR, 47 RBI)
D JETER (.318, 8 HR, 58 RBI)
B ABREU (.289, 15 HR, 87 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS NY YANKEES (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
M Ramirez lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .323
J Drew rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
J Lugo ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
D Jeter ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
B Abreu rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
H Matsui dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
J Posada c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
R Cano 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .302
A Phillips 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
M Cabrera cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
NY YANKEES - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.76

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.67

Pitches-strikes: A Pettitte 7-6. Ground balls-fly balls: A Pettitte 1-2.
Batters faced: A Pettitte 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Mark Carlson. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted
Barrett.

Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES
CONFIRMED STARTERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
FIELDER'S CHOICE BY HIDEKI MATSUI SCORED JOHNNY DAMON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, H MATSUI ON FIRST, B ABREU ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 0
NY YANKEES 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J POSADA (.329, 16 HR, 77 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JORGE POSADA SCORED BOBBY ABREU.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J POSADA ON SECOND, H MATSUI ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 0
NY YANKEES 2 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: R CANO (.302, 14 HR, 74 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
NY YANKEES 2 2 2 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M RAMIREZ (.290, 19 HR, 85 RBI)
M LOWELL (.323, 17 HR, 93 RBI)
J DREW (.262, 7 HR, 46 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS NY YANKEES (2) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
M Ramirez lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .323
J Drew rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
J Lugo ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
B Abreu rf 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
H Matsui dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .305
J Posada c 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .331
R Cano 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .302
A Phillips 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
M Cabrera cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293

Totals 5 2 2 2 1 0 3

BATTING: 2B - J Posada (36, D Matsuzaka). RBI - H Matsui (91), J Posada (78).
2-out RBI - J Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Cano 2. Team
LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
NY YANKEES - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.84

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.67

HBP - A Rodriguez (by D Matsuzaka). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 26-13; A
Pettitte 7-6. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 2-1; A Pettitte 1-2. Batters
faced: D Matsuzaka 7; A Pettitte 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Mark Carlson. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted
Barrett.

Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY MANNY RAMIREZ (20) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 2ND OFF ANDY PETTITTE.
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 1, NY YANKEES 2

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.323, 17 HR, 93 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 1 0
NY YANKEES 2 2 2 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: A PHILLIPS (.288, 2 HR, 25 RBI)
M CABRERA (.293, 8 HR, 57 RBI)
J DAMON (.266, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON (1) VS NY YANKEES (2) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
M Ramirez lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .292
M Lowell 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .322
J Drew rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .272
J Lugo ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 7 1 1 1 1 1 1

BATTING: HR - M Ramirez (20, 2nd inning off A Pettitte 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M
Ramirez (86). Team LOB - 1.


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .266
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
B Abreu rf 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
H Matsui dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .305
J Posada c 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .331
R Cano 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .302
A Phillips 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
M Cabrera cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293

Totals 5 2 2 2 1 0 3

BATTING: 2B - J Posada (36, D Matsuzaka). RBI - H Matsui (91), J Posada (78).
2-out RBI - J Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Cano 2. Team
LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 01 -- 1
NY YANKEES - 2 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.84

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3.70

HBP - A Rodriguez (by D Matsuzaka). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 26-13; A
Pettitte 32-20. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 2-1; A Pettitte 2-3.
Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 7; A Pettitte 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Mark Carlson. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted
Barrett.

Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 1 0
NY YANKEES 2 0 2 2 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J LUGO (.240, 6 HR, 63 RBI)
D PEDROIA (.318, 0-FOR-1)
K YOUKILIS (.290, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON (1) VS NY YANKEES (2) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .318
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
M Ramirez lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .292
M Lowell 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .322
J Drew rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .272
J Lugo ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240

Totals 7 1 1 1 1 1 1

BATTING: HR - M Ramirez (20, 2nd inning off A Pettitte 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - M
Ramirez (86). Team LOB - 1.


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .265
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
B Abreu rf 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
H Matsui dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .305
J Posada c 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .331
R Cano 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .302
A Phillips 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292

Totals 8 2 2 2 1 0 3

BATTING: 2B - J Posada (36, D Matsuzaka). RBI - H Matsui (91), J Posada (78).
2-out RBI - J Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Cano 2. Team
LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 01 -- 1
NY YANKEES - 20 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.82

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3.70

HBP - A Rodriguez (by D Matsuzaka). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 37-19; A
Pettitte 32-20. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 4-2; A Pettitte 2-3.
Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 10; A Pettitte 8.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Mark Carlson. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted
Barrett.

Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY DAVID ORTIZ SCORED JULIO LUGO.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, K YOUKILIS ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
NY YANKEES 2 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M RAMIREZ (.292, 1-FOR-1, HR, RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 2 2 0
NY YANKEES 2 0 2 2 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: D JETER (.317, 0-FOR-1)
B ABREU (.289, 0-FOR-0, BB)
A RODRIGUEZ (.306, 0-FOR-0, HBP)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">BOSTON (2) VS NY YANKEES (2) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
D Pedroia 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .318
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .290
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .324
M Ramirez lf 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 .291
M Lowell 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .322
J Drew rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
J Varitek c 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .264
C Crisp cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .272
J Lugo ss 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .241

Totals 10 2 2 2 2 2 4

BATTING: 3B - J Lugo (2, A Pettitte). HR - M Ramirez (20, 2nd inning off A
Pettitte 0 on, 0 Out). SF - D Ortiz. RBI - M Ramirez (86), D Ortiz (88). Team
LOB - 2.


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon lf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .265
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
B Abreu rf 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .289
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .306
H Matsui dh 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .305
J Posada c 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .331
R Cano 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .302
A Phillips 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292

Totals 8 2 2 2 1 0 3

BATTING: 2B - J Posada (36, D Matsuzaka). RBI - H Matsui (91), J Posada (78).
2-out RBI - J Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Cano 2. Team
LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 011 -- 2
NY YANKEES - 20 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
D Matsuzaka 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 3.82

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 3.73

HBP - A Rodriguez (by D Matsuzaka). Pitches-strikes: D Matsuzaka 37-19; A
Pettitte 54-33. Ground balls-fly balls: D Matsuzaka 4-2; A Pettitte 3-4.
Batters faced: D Matsuzaka 10; A Pettitte 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Derryl Cousins. 1B--Mark Carlson. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Ted
Barrett.

Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 1 1 2 2 0
NY YANKEES 2 0 0 2 2 0 (TOP 4)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.322, 0-FOR-1)
J DREW (.261, 0-FOR-1)
J VARITEK (.264, 0-FOR-0, BB)</div>