Almonte Injured As Yankees Fall to Red Sox

It’s a new start, but the results are the same. A sputtering offense spoiled a solid outing from Andy Pettitte as the New York Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox 4-2 at Fenway Park Friday night in the first game after the All Star break. 

Pettitte surrendered home runs to Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonny Gomes, but then settled in to give the Yankees a quality start.

“It’s got to change,” Pettitte said. “I can’t keep going out there and giving up two, three, four runs in the first inning and second inning. I feel too good.”

Perhaps the biggest concern of the night came when Zoilo Almonte sprained his ankle while running to first base. Indications are that Almonte is on his way to the disabled list.

“It started hurting right away after the play, but I did try to run on it to see if it would get better,” Almonte said with the aid of an interpreter.

Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

And the Yankees struggled to get to Red Sox starter Felix Doubront. They managed only two runs before Doubront left in the seventh inning.

Frustration mounted in the fifth when Brett Gardner was called out by home plate umpire Mike Everitt. Gardner slammed his batting helmet to the ground in disgust. Everitt, with all of the professionalism of a minimum wage department store security monitor fresh out of training, ejected Gardner without hesitation.

Manager Joe Girardi objected vehemently.

“Come on. We’re not playing here for giggles,” Girardi said. “We’re playing to win a division and players are going to get frustrated.”

Gardner was dumbfounded at the quick hook. But he admits he should have held back his emotional reaction.

“This is a big game, it’s the middle of the game, it’s a one-run game, and I’ve got do a better job of keeping my emotions in check,”Gardner said. “But today I didn’t. I wish I had done things differently and stayed in the ballgame.”

It was Gardner who almost single- handedly produced the Yankees first run in the fourth inning, He stole both second and third base and then scored on a wild throw by Boston’s catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

The Yankees added their second run on doubles by Lyle Overbay and Chris Stewart in the fifth. With the loss, Pettitte’s record goes to 7-7 on the season.