Jacoby Ellsbury led a Sox speed outburst with four of the team's six stolen bases, and Jon Lester silenced the Yankees into the seventh inning as Boston beat New York 2-1 Monday afternoon. Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon teamed up to record the final eight outs. The Red Sox split the four game series with their rivals, staying five games behind the AL East leaders.
More importantly however, they managed to gain some ground on the now struggling Tampa Bay Rays who were swept in Toronto over the weekend. With today's win, the Sox have a chance to be within three games of the wild card leading Rays, pending their result tonight in Detroit. To earn the split, Boston went with a gameplan rarely seen, speed.
Even though Ellsbury had been hitless since returning from a prolonged stint on the disabled list, he showed today that he is still capable of being a major factor in games. He not only picked up his first base hit, but also walked once, swiping a career high four bases. Ryan Kalish and J.D Drew also had steals as the Red Sox exploited Jorge Posada's diminished throwing ability to set themselves up for scoring opportunities.
Those chances were at a premium for both sides today. The Sox picked up both of their runs in the second inning off New York starter Phil Hughes. The young righty was tagged with the loss, but held down Boston after that inning. Lester was just as tough on the other side, limiting the Yanks to three hits until the seventh inning.
The lefty departed with two on and one out, but Daniel Bard came in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. The flamethrower had a hiccup in the eighth when Mark Teixeira launched a home run deep into right field, but Bard and Papelbon combined to finish off the victory for the Sox.
Boston now moves on to take on the same Blue Jays team that swept the Rays and has won eight of their last ten. Daisuke Matsuzaka starts the three game series off north of the border tomorrow night. Dustin Pedroia continues to work out and hopes to be back at some point during the series.
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