The way things are going around here lately, that little NFL-record winning streak the New England Patriots are enjoying looks sure to end Sunday.
The New York Yankees are making this a miserable weekend in the Boston area. They banged out 22 hits to put the Boston Red Sox on life support with a 19-8 rout Saturday night at Fenway Park in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
At 4 hours 20 minutes, it was the longest nine-inning game in postseason history.
If there ever were a need for a slaughter rule, Saturday was it.
“When you have two days off, you never know what to expect,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “We had a lot of determination tonight.”
Boy, was he right on both counts.
“I think we have to keep it simple [Sunday],” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “We need to show up Sunday, and our only goal is to win tomorrow. It’s too daunting if you look at too big a picture.”
The Yankees lead the series 3-0 and appear to be toying with the Red Sox. No team ever has come back from an 0-3 deficit in 25 postseason series.
After managing just one hit through the first six innings of Games 1 and 2 combined in New York, the Red Sox knocked out Yankees starter Kevin Brown after just two innings Saturday.
The only problem was the Yankees were knocking around Boston starter Bronson Arroyo, scoring three in the first inning on an RBI double by Alex Rodriguez and a two-run home run from Hideki Matsui.
Boston responded with four of its own in the second inning against Brown to take the lead for the first time in the series. It lasted all of three pitches.
Rodriguez, having a torrid postseason in general and ALCS in particular, jumped on a 2-1 pitch from Arroyo and launched it far into the Boston night, clearing the Green Monster with plenty to spare.
Francona finally went and got Arroyo after he walked Gary Sheffield, and Matsui doubled.
The middle of the New York order–Rodriguez, Sheffield, Matsui and Bernie Williams–wore out the Red Sox, going a combined 16-for-22 with 14 runs scored, 15 RBIs, four home runs and six doubles.
Matsui was 5-for-6 with two home runs, two doubles and five RBIs. Matsui’s five hits tied an LCS record. Matsui had five RBIs in Game 1 as well.
Former Yankee Ramiro Mendoza came in for Arroyo and immediately gave up an RBI single to Williams. Then, while facing Jorge Posada, he backed off the rubber but decided to throw a pitch anyway, which was a balk that scored Matsui and made it 6-4.
Boston responded with a pair of its own in the bottom of the third against Javier Vazquez, who relieved Brown, to tie the game 6-6.
That would be the highlight for the Red Sox, though.
The first three innings took nearly two hours to play, with a combined 171 pitches thrown.
Mendoza hit the ninth-place hitter, Miguel Cairo, to start the New York fourth.
Francona brought in Curtis Leskanic who, after getting Derek Jeter to line out, walked Rodriguez and gave up a three-run home run to Sheffield to make it 9-6.
Matsui then doubled, and that was it for Leskanic. Tim Wakefield, who was scheduled to start Game 4 Sunday, came on and retired Williams on a popout, then walked Posada intentionally.
Like everything else the Red Sox have tried, that didn’t work either as Ruben Sierra tripled home Matsui and Posada.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Rodriguez and Sheffield in the fifth made it 13-6, and Fenway, raucous all season, took on the air of a funeral for yet another Red Sox failure.
After being shaky when he first came in–the Yankees actually had Esteban Loaiza throwing in the bullpen in the third inning–Vazquez settled down and restored some order.
After giving up the two runs in the third, Vazquez pitched three shutout innings before giving up a two-run home run to Jason Varitek in the Boston seventh.
