The comeback kings take care of biz in NY

Ty Hampton
Sox Swaggerista

Hallelujah, it looks like the old Boston Red Sox are BACK! At least they’re never going down without a fight this season.

Last night’s down 5-0 comeback stand against the Yankees, the second in their two nights in the Big Apple, could not be interpreted as anything other than a team that is not rolling over and will not be dominated by their bitter rivals no matter what kind of adversity they’ve faced in early 2010.

Monday night’s comeback to fall short on a blown save in the bottom of the 9th was gut wrenching and depressing for Sox fans everywhere -- but Tuesday’s glorious come from behind victory was a welcome feeling of redemption no doubt.

CC Sabathia looked dominant early, throwing some serious smoke and building a 5-0 lead that was still a 5-1 buffer when he left the game after 8 innings. Then Jaba Chamberlain took the mound in the top of 9 and let’s just say things didn’t work too well for him.

The comeback surge began with a 1-out single by the ever-so-clutch Darnell MacDonald. But the key turning point was when NY right-fielder Marcus Thames, the hero from Monday night, lost a routine fly ball by Marco Scutaro the next at bat. Then Dustin Pedroia got on base, followed by a clutch RBI-single from JD Drew and a 2-RBI bloop hit by Youkilis.

The second out of the top of the 9th came only when Big Papi drove a deep fly ball to center for a sac-fly. Then Jeremy Hermida came up big with his league-leading 16th and 17th RBIs in a 2-out situation for the Sox to take a 7-5 lead.

Jon Papelbon then came in looking still a bit shaky, but slammed the door after giving up one run -- ending the game with a powerful 94-mph slider for the game-sealing strikeout.

The Sox are still 5-½ games behind the second place Yanks (8-½ behind the Rays), but these head-to-head matchups are important not only for momentum’s sake, but when it comes down to the AL wildcard race--which appears to be a huge factor for the top 3 teams in the AL East these days.

Tonight Clay Bucholz takes the mound in Fenway versus the Twins’ Scott Baker. The Sox need to play stronger against the Twins after getting shellacked their first series in Minneapolis.

Red Sox Record: (20-20)