Yankees put seal on successful first-half with romp over Red Sox

The New York Yankees wrapped up the first-half of the season by beating the Boston Red Sox last night in the series finale of a four-game set. The Yankees won three out of the four games and put a strangle hold on the AL East lead in the process with a 7-3 victory over the Red Sox.

This series wasn’t exactly the reenactment of Boston Massacre, but the Yankees displayed that they’ll be tough to overthrow in the second half of the season by the Red Sox or any other team in the division.

Ivan Nova (10-3) collected his team leading 10^th victory allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks along with ten strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 3.92 on the season.

The Yankees scored two runs in the first inning off Red Sox starter Jon Lester, marking the fourth straight time they plated at least two in the first. Derek Jeter, who went 3-for-5, leaving him with 3,199 in his career, led the game off with a single. Curtis Granderson followed with a single and Mark Teixeira doubled home Jeter. Granderson would later score on a RBI-groundout by Nick Swisher.

The Red Sox scored in the home half of the first after an error by Jeter on a pop up. The Yankees scored once in the second on Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly. Boston kept it close with a run in the third when David Ortiz ripped a double off the Green Monster, making the score 3-2 Yankees.

Nova’s night was spotless after the third. The Yankees scored two in the seventh on a RBI-triple by Alex Rodriguez and a RBI-single from Andruw Jones. Jones would later homer in the seventh inning, a two-run blast over the Monster and his fourth home run of the series.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi mixed and matched during the final three innings; getting his eighth and ninth inning relievers some work before the break. David Robertson allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings, while Rafael Soriano struck out three batters intermingled with two walks in a scoreless ninth.

The Yankees finish the first-half with a Major League best 52-33 record (.612 winning percentage) and a seven-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox will enter the second-half with an even 43-43 record. They are 9 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the AL East and 2 1/2 games back of the Orioles in the AL Wild Card race.

The Yankees return to the field on Friday as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (48-38) visit Yankee Stadium for a three-game series.

Tonight, Robinson Cano will captain the American League participants in the All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby competition. Cano, Jeter and Granderson will all be starters in Tuesday’s game while CC Sabathia, who was also named, will be on hand, but will not play as he is recuperating from an injury.