Over the past two weekends the Boston Red Sox have won five out of six games against the New York Yankees, sweeping the first weekend and winning the second series. The Yankees came into the first series with a record of 8-7, ranking them third in the American League East. Ranked first in the American League East with a record of 10-5 were the Red Sox as they entered the first weekend.
On April 20, 2007, the biggest rivals in baseball once again faced each other at Fenway Park in Boston. The Red Sox kicked off the series with a 7-6 win, scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The next night the Red Sox captured the series with a 7-5 win. Last Sunday they sealed the sweep winning 7-6. The Yankees started off stable with two runs in the first inning and one in the third. The Red Sox came back though in the bottom of the third in an amazing rally. Manny Ramirez hit a solo home run with two outs. J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek followed in suit, all off of Chase Wright. The 1963 Cleveland Indians are the only other team in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a row off of the same pitcher. The Yankees came back with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Red Sox put themselves up again with three runs in the seventh. This was the Red Sox first sweep over the Yankees at Fenway since 1990.
The Red Sox kicked off the series in the Bronx Friday night with an 11-4 win over the home field Yankees. Kevin Youkilis grabbed the early lead for the Red Sox hitting a home run with Julio Lugo on base in the third. The Yankees came back in the fourth with their only runs of the game. The Red Sox came back hard, though, with three runs in the fifth and one in each of the sixth and the eighth. They sealed the win with four runs in the ninth.
On Saturday the Yankees ended their seven-game losing streak by beating the Sox 3-1. The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when Yankees’ catcher Jorge Posada hit a home run with Hideki Matsui on base. Posada then scored again in the sixth off a ground-rule double from Melky Cabrera. Youkilis scored the Red Sox’ only run in the eight inning on a single from Mike Lowell.
Boston came back to clinch the series with a 7-4 win in the last game of the weekend. David Ortiz started the game off with a bang with a home run in the first inning. The Red Sox scored again in the third when Alex Cora grounded out allowing Coco Crisp to make it home after he had tripled on a line drive to center. In the bottom of the third Julian Tavarez walked Posada and Robinson Cano, with both men on base Doug Mientkiewicz hit a home run. The top of the fifth inning started out with Crisp being hit by a pitch, and with him on base Cora bashed a home run to center field. In the seventh inning Cora tripled with no one on and one out. Julio Lugo brought in Cora on a sacrifice fly to right field. With no outs and Ortiz on base, Ramirez brought in the final two runs of the game for the Red Sox in the eighth. Derek Jeter attempted to start to bring the Yankees back with a home run in the bottom of the eighth. This wasn’t enough, however: the Yankees fell, ending the series 1-3.
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