Mike Napoli, Daniel Nava power Red Sox rout of Yankees
NEW YORK — The Yankees did what looked like a smart thing against the Red Sox in the third inning on Saturday night when they intentionally walked David Ortiz to get to Mike Napoli.
There was no lack of respect for Napoli; it was more recognition of how good Ortiz has been this season. But the strategy failed miserably.
Napoli’s grand slam got the Red Sox going. Home runs by Daniel Nava and Stephen Drew followed in an 11-1 thumping of the Yankees before a sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd of 48,784 on Saturday night.
Felix Doubront (4-2) went six strong innings for the victory. But this game was about offense as the Sox pounded three Yankees pitchers for 18 hits, seven for extra bases.
Nava had a three-run homer in the eighth inning. He was 4 for 6 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
Jose Iglesias was 2 for 5 with one RBI and two runs scored. He is 11 of 20 against the Yankees this season with multiple hits in all five games he has played against them.
Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. was 3 for 5 with two doubles and two runs scored. He is 5 of 18 against the Yankees this season with three doubles and six runs scored.
The teams have split the first two games of the series. Clay Buchholz (7-0) faces Hiroki Kuroda (6-3) on Sunday night. The Sox are 3-2 against the Yankees this season and have a two-game lead on their rivals in the American League East.
Red Sox pitchers retired the final 10 Yankees in order. The Yankees have lost six of their last seven games. Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara each pitched a perfect inning of relief.
With Jacoby Ellsbury sitting out another game with a groin strain, Red Sox manager John Farrell manufactured a unique lineup.
Nava hit leadoff again despite going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts on Friday. Mike Carp hit second and played right field.
How unusual was that? Carp last hit second on June 18, 2009, for Seattle in his first start in the majors. His experience in right field consisted of three innings as a replacement in 2011.
But it worked out as the Sox built a 5-0 lead in the third inning against Yankees starter Phil Hughes.
Bradley started it with a double that soared over the head of Brett Gardner in center field. Nava then singled to left field.
Carp doubled down the line in left, scoring Bradley and sending Nava to third.
Hughes came back to strike out Dustin Pedroia. Yankees manager Joe Girardi then played the percentages and had Hughes intentionally walk the lefthanded-hitting Ortiz to get to Napoli.
There was sound reasoning behind it. Ortiz was 9 of 21 against Hughes in his career with five extra-base hits. Ortiz also has hit close to .400 against righthanders this season.
But the percentages backfired this time. Hughes went after Napoli with mostly high fastballs and the fifth one was driven over the fence in right-center.
It was Napoli’s second grand slam of the season and the fifth of his career. Napoli has had four plate appearances following intentional walks to Ortiz. He has driven in eight runs with two home runs and a sacrifice fly.
Napoli has nine home runs and 44 RBIs this season.
Hughes did not allow another run. But he lasted only 4⅓
innings, giving up the five runs on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. Hughes was 3-1 with a 2.03 earned run average in four starts against the Red Sox last season.
Doubront had an eventful game as he allowed six hits and walked three, while striking out six. The Yankees had runners on base against him in every inning but the fifth. But the lefthander allowed only one run, and that came in the fourth inning.
Jayson Nix and David Adams started the inning with singles. When Ichiro Suzuki grounded to first, Napoli got an out at second but there was no time to turn a double play.
Chris Stewart’s sacrifice fly to center drove in Nix.
Doubront retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced and left after throwing 103 pitches on a humid night.
Doubront had a 6.40 earned run average in his first six appearances of the season. He has pitched well in the four starts since, posting a 2.74 ERA.
Doubront does not yet have the giddy up on his fastball that he showed last season. But his secondary pitches, especially the curveball, have more depth and sharpness to them.
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