NEW YORK (AP) -- At this rate, the Boston Red Sox will blow the New York Yankees out of the AL East race before summer. Daisuke Matsuzaka overcame control problems to defeat the Yankees for the second time in six days, and Kevin Youkilis and Julio Lugo homered in a come-from-behind 11-4 victory Friday night that improved Boston to 4-0 against its longtime rival this season. New York (8-13), whose April began to unravel with three straight losses at Fenway Park last weekend, has lost seven consecutive games for the first time since the final seven of the 2000 season. The last-place Yankees have fallen 61/2 games back of the division-leading Red Sox. "I wouldn't push a panic button yet," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said before the game. "I don't look at things negatively. I don't look around and say, `Well, if it gets to 30 in a row."' By then, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner surely would make changes. Steinbrenner hasn't commented on the slide. "He won't say anything tonight. We'll see if he has anything to say tomorrow," spokesman Howard Rubenstein said. Trying to end New York's run of nine straight AL East titles, Boston (15-7) is building confidence against the Yankees but also is wary. It's come to this for New York: Mariano Rivera, who doesn't have a save this season, was sent in to get some work in the ninth and allowed four of five batters to reach. He gave up four runs and got just one out, raising his ERA to 12.15. "They are a good team," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "It's early. They have not hit their stride yet, and I hope they don't for the next three games." Given a 4-2 lead after the Yankees scored four in the fourth, Andy Pettitte (1-1) immediately gave it back, forcing in the tying run with a bases-loaded walk and allowing the go-ahead run to score on a wild pitch. Pettitte allowed five runs, six hits and five walks in 4 2-3 innings, making it 11 times in 21 games that New York's starters failed to pitch five innings. Matsuzaka (3-2) beat New York 7-6 in Boston last Sunday to complete the sweep. Making his first appearance at Yankee Stadium, Dice-K wasn't particularly sharp but he got the job done. He gave up four runs and five hits in six innings, striking out seven. Derek Jeter, who returned to the Yankees' lineup after sitting out Thursday with a thigh injury, had three of New York's seven hits. Coco Crisp was in Boston's lineup after missing five starts with abdominal tightness and went 2-for-5 with an RBI single in the ninth. Youkilis' two-run homer put Boston ahead in the third, but the Yankees stopped their scoreless streak at 13 innings in the fourth after Matsuzaka loaded the bases on walks with none out. Jorge Posada blooped an opposite-field single in front of a sliding Manny Ramirez in left, and Johnny Damon hit a soft single on a 3-2 pitch with two outs, a ball that dropped in front of right fielder J.D. Drew. Jeter hit a pitch off the end of his bat past a diving Youkilis at first for a 4-2 lead. Matsuzaka needed 42 pitches to get through three innings, but threw 41 in the fourth. Then it was Pettitte's turn to lose control. Lugo, who had three hits, three RBIs and three runs, walked with one out in the fifth and came home on David Ortiz's single. Ramirez walked to load the bases and, after Drew struck out, Pettitte forced in the tying run with a walk to Mike Lowell. With a 1-1 count on Jason Varitek, Pettitte bounced a wild pitch that hit the glove of Posada and rolled under the catcher as Ortiz came in with the go-ahead run. After Pettitte reloaded the bases with a walk to Varitek, Scott Proctor relieved and got Crisp to fly out on his first pitch. Lugo homered off Proctor for a 6-4 lead in the sixth. He had not homered in 240 at-bats since July 22 against Baltimore, when he connected twice in Tampa Bay's 10-run fifth inning. Against Luis Vizcaino in the eighth, Lugo added an RBI double past a diving Alex Rodriguez at third. Notes: Boston LHP Jon Lester allowed three walks in five shutout innings for Triple-A Pawtucket against Buffalo in what was expected to be his second-to-last rehab outing before he returns to the Boston rotation. Coming back from chemotherapy to treat cancer of the lymph system, Lester was 0-0 with a 2.98 ERA in three appearances with Class-A Greenville. ... Bobby Abreu was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and a double-play grounder and is in a 1-for-23 slide. ... The Yankees had not lost seven straight in April since 1989. --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 219.81.148.64