One for the ages

Beckett vs. Burnett

Two great pitchers going to battle for their teams against two very strong offensive teams. I hoped that the pitching would dominate and there wouldn't be a repeat of the poor pitching from the night before. I was not disappointed, in fact I was wondering if anyone would ever score.

Burnett pitched 7 2/3 innings of 1 hit ball. The only hit a bloop single to lead off the game by Jacoby Ellsbury. When Ellsbury gets a single it often gets turned into a runner in scoring position because of his incredible talent to steal bases. Sure enough Ellsbury stole the base but was left stranded. AJ bore down and threw a no hitter the rest of the way. He did walk some batters but was able to throw the shutout.

Beckett was equally impressive in his seven innings of work giving up just 4 hits. He had some trying situaions to deal with but pitched like the ace that he is. Both pitchers were not going to give in, and so they left half way through the game handing the important outcome over to the bullpens.

The Yankees used 5 relievers over the next 7+ innings and they only gave up 3 more hits. They seemed to have the Sox number all night. The Red Sox ran 6 pitchers out from the pen over the next 6 innings and Josh Bard was the only one to give up a hit. In the 14th the Sox were in a bind and had to put in Junichi Tazawa for his first appearance in the majors.

Tazawa was in trouble in the 14th, but thanks to a great catch from JD Drew he escaped to the 15th. I was ready to go to bed, and I wrote on my twitter account that I felt the game would end in the bottom of the 15th. We all know how it ended, with 2 outs Alex Rodriguez slammed a 2 run HR over the left field wall to put an end to the game.

The defeat may also represent the end to the AL East crown. It was a game the Sox needed to win. It wasn't so much that the Sox lost it was how they lost. Somehow they need to pull out a victory in this series, but it appears unlikely unless Jon Lester can pull out a victory for his squad.

I will always remember this game. Great pitching, great defense and a 15th inning HR to break a scoreless game. Baseball is an amazing game.