Yankees Comeback Not Enough

The New York Yankees spirited effort came up short in an 8-7  loss to the Boston Red Sox in eleven innings at Fenway Park Sunday night. C C  Sabathia gave up his 22^nd and 23^rdhome runs of the season.

Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

“He’s been so good for so long,” manager Joe Girardi said. “To see him struggle a little bit is kind of strange. It’s not something that we’re used to seeing.”

The Yankees offense was led by Brett Gardner, who went three for four with two walks. Robinson Cano went three for five with a walk and two RBI.

In all, the offense produced 14 runs in the three game series. This was without the benefit of a single home run. Trailing 7-3 in the sixth, they battled back with two runs and then added two more in the seventh to tie the score.

The tension mounted in the eighth as Boston mounted a threat against David Robertson. After loading the bases,Boston’s Mike Napoli stepped to the plate with a chance to break the game open. But Robertson got him to ground into a double play to end the threat. Shawn Kelly followed with two superb innings as the game headed into extra innings.

The Yankees had a chance to take the lead in the 11^th, but Boston catcher Jarrod    Saltalmacchia threw out Eduardo Nunez to end the threat. Girardi disagreed with the call.

“Oh yeah,” Girardi said when asked if he thought Nunez was safe. “I could see it from 150 feet.”

It was not until the bottom of the eleventh that Boston’s Napoli homered against Adam Warren to give the Red Sox the 8-7 win and two of the three games in the series.

Sabathia lasted only five innings. He gave up nine hits and seven earned runs. His ERA jumped to 4.37 on the season.

Catcher Chris Stewart was disappointed in the outcome, but still pointed to Sabathia’s greatness.

“He’s a superstar pitcher,” Stewart said. “And any time he goes out there and only goes five innings when we’re used to him going eight or nine innings for us, to not get out of the sixth is something we’re not used to.”