Sox lose tough one to Yanks 2-1

July 5. New York, NY. It was a classic pitching duel between Justin Masterson and Mike Moose-ina. But it all came down to Mariano Rivera.


We had him on the ropes in the 9th inning, but Rivera pitched himself in and out of trouble Saturday, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning and preserving a 2-1 victory. After Mike Mussina pitched six shutout innings, Rivera took over in the ninth with a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox quickly scored a run and were poised to get more, but Rivera struck out Coco Crisp, got Jason Varitek on a popup and fanned Julio Lugo for his 23rd save.


Justin Masterson (4-3) hit three batters, threw a wild pitch and walked two, but managed to hold the Yankees in check in his six innings. The rookie right-hander allowed six hits in his first appearance against New York. Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games for Boston, which almost dealt the Yankees a heartbreaking loss.


Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth each worked a perfect inning to set up Rivera, who hit two batters in a game for the first time in his career. He also allowed a run in a save situation for the first time this season. "It definitely was interesting," Rivera said. "You definitely don't want to get into that situation but it happens. You just have to deal with it."

Boston's first four batters reached and Mike Lowell's RBI single cut it to 2-1. Crisp's strikeout was the 900th of Rivera's career, but it was Varitek who was really kicking himself after the game. "He's Mariano Rivera, but in that situation I've got to do something more," said Varitek, who popped out on a 2-0 pitch. Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez was hit three times, tying the major league record, and the teams combined for seven hit batsmen total, matching a modern big league mark, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. So, do you really think that all 3 times were accidental. I did not see the game, but somebody needed to be tossed.