The Red Sox hoped to be able to sweep the Yankees to start the 2013 season. Ryan Dempster took the mound for the Sox and Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yanks. Dempster was a new sign for the Sox this offseason and there were some high hopes however he struggled in his debut.
Dempster gave up two quick runs in the 2nd inning when he gave up an RBI single to Overbay, the guy the Sox just recently released. Sox 0-2. In the 3rd, Dempster gave up a leadoff HR to Brett Gardner. Sox 0-3. Dempster pitched a scoreless 4th and 5th and was done for the night. Dempster didn't pitch lights out, but it also wasn't a horrible outing. It was okay. His pitching line for the night was 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB and 8 Ks. If Dempster had gotten the run support that either Lester or Buchholz got, there would probably be a different reaction to his start.
For the Yanks, Andy Pettitte gave them just exactly what they needed. Pettitte pitched 8 innings and the Sox were not able to get much going against him. The Sox had a chance to get something against Pettitte in the 1st when Cervelli lost the ball and Victorino tried to make it from 2nd to home, but Cervelli beat him back to the plate and he was out. Pettitte gave up his one and only run in the 7th inning. The Legend that is Jackie Bradley Jr hit an RBI double to score Will Middlebrooks. Sox 1-3.
Unfortunately, the Sox gave that run right back. Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 6th inning and then handed it over to Clayton Mortensen. Mortensen gave up a leadoff HR to Cervelli to give the Yanks a 4-1 lead. Morty did come back out and pitch a scoreless 8th inning and then we were on the 9th inning. Mariano Rivera took the mound for the first time this season. Pedey started the inning off with a walk and got to 3rd with one out on a Gomes double. Middlebrooks gets an RBI groundout to score Pedey. Sox 2-4. It was all down to Jackie Bradley Jr. who struck out to end the game.
No sweep for the Sox, but I'll happily take the series. Dempster just got outpitched by Pettitte and then Mariano Rivera does what he does best. Off to Toronto we go….
Red Sox 2 Yankees 4 BOXSCORE
WP: Pettitte (1-0) LP: Dempster (0-1) SV: Rivera (1)
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