Chien-Ming Wang Throws a 2-Hit Complete Game As the Yankees Top the Red Sox 4-1
By HOWARD ULMAN | Associated Press | Apr 11, 08 9:28 PM CDT in
Sports
Chien-Ming Wang added an outstanding pitching performance to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry _ a two-hit complete game. In the teams' first meeting of the season, Wang gave up only a home run by J.D. Drew that was nearly caught and a bunt single Friday night as New York beat Boston 4-1.
Wang (3-0) allowed only one other runner, on an error. In his previous start, he went six innings in the Yankees' 2-0 win over Tampa Bay.
A struggling Jason Giambi gave New York a 2-1 lead with a leadoff homer in the seventh inning off Mike Timlin (0-1). Jose Molina then doubled, took third on Alberto Gonzalez's sacrifice and scored on Melky Cabrera's sacrifice fly.
Bobby Abreu singled in the final run in the ninth.
Wang retired the first 10 batters before Dustin Pedroia hit a hard grounder down the third-base line. Alex Rodriguez made an outstanding backhand stop, but his off-balance throw was high, forcing Giambi to jump for it and allowing Pedroia to cross the bag just before the first baseman landed on it.
It was ruled an error and Wang got David Ortiz, the next hitter, to ground to Rodriguez for the start of a double play that ended the fourth.
The first two batters in the fifth flied out to Abreu in deep right. Drew followed with another high fly to right and Abreu kept drifting back.
Abreu reached back with his right hand for the low wall in front of Boston's dugout, touched the top, then bumped into it with his body. He jumped, and the ball appeared to graze his glove and land in the Boston bullpen for Drew's third homer of the year.
Wang retired the side by getting Jason Varitek to hit a long fly to center, then breezed through the next three perfect innings and set down the first two batters in the ninth. After Coco Crisp reached on a two-out bunt single, Pedroia lined out to left to end the game.
The traditional powers in the AL East were missing some significant figures in the rivalry.
For the Yankees, Joe Torre had ended 12 years as manager when he walked away from a one-year offer, and captain Derek Jeter was sidelined with a strained left thigh. For the Red Sox, 2004 World Series star Curt Schilling and 2007 Series MVP Mike Lowell are on the disabled list.
And Ortiz is off to a horrible start. The DH went 0-for-3, with a strikeout, double play and ground out and is in a 1-for-25 slump.
Giambi also got off to a terrible start, going 1-for-22 so far this season, before hitting his first homer of the year.
New York took a 1-0 lead on Molina's RBI double in the fifth off Clay Buchholz.
Notes:@ Varitek turned 36 Friday. ... Drew has hit in all eight of his games. ... The crowd of 37,624 set a single-game record for Fenway Park since World War II. The previous record of 37,612 was set one night earlier against Detroit. The capacity of the park was expanded in the offseason. ... Exactly one year earlier, Seattle's Felix Hernandez pitched a one-hitter in Daisuke Matsuzaka's first start at Fenway Park, a 3-0 Mariners' win.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.