Red Sox split double-header to have chance to salvage Yankees series

The afternoon game pissed me off as a Boston Red Sox fan.

For the second straight game, the Boston Red Sox let the New York Yankees tee off on their pitching and open up to a huge lead in the first inning. Before the Boston Red Sox could blink it was 4-0. Unlike the Friday night game, the Boston Red Sox could not fight back against the New York Yankees and dropped Game 1 of the double header 6-1.

Here was the Boston Red Sox biggest series of the season, the series where they were supposed to turn the tables of the season and start showing that they could compete for a spot in the American League playoff picture and they were in the process of blowing it. When the Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the night-cap, it almost became too much. They were rolling over and letting the Yankees beat them on their own turf and letting the Yankees begin to dig the graves for the 2012 Red Sox to lay their heads.

Something snapped. Maybe the Yankees starting pitcher just couldn’t continue its run or perhaps Pedro Ciriaco kid was more of a boost than we could ever imagine, but the Red Sox began clawing their way back into the night-cap. Sacrifices by Daniel Nava and Nick Punto put the score at 3-2 and set the stage for Ciriaco’s bases clearing double in the sixth inning to give the Boston Red Sox the lead. Then, some smart base-running by Ciriaco allowed him to score on a throwing error in the 7th inning and extended the Red Sox lead to 9-4. It was a game they eventually won 9-5.

In addition, the Sox got a good outing from Felix Doubront after his poor first inning. He gave them 6.1 innings allowing only the three runs on four hits while striking out six. A good performance from a guy that has struggled in recent outings and showed signs that was going to happen again tonight.

Tomorrow, it is Josh Beckett vs. Ivan Nova in an extremely important game for the Boston Red Sox. A split will put them back where they started the series in terms of the division lead, but more important is the momentum. Tonight marked the first time that the Red Sox had beaten the Yankees this season and taking another one into the break would allow the Sox to be two games over .500 at the mid-way point of the season. It may not sound like a big deal, but the Boston Red Sox have been treading water all-season and have managed to stay a float. The reinforcements are on the way, they just need a reason to believe that they can get this done in the second half of the season.