Pap rocked in 9th for loss to Yanks

Ty Hampton
Swaggerista

Just as the Sox looked to have pulled off an epic comeback and statement game against their bitter rivals, the Yankees took Papelbon deep twice in the 9th inning to tack on 4 runs in a 11-9 loss in the Bronx.

Dice-K fell behind 5-0 in the second inning as the Yanks strung together a series of singles, walks, and one big double to take a commanding lead. But the thing I like most about the Sox is that they never, ever panic – that’s what makes them the comeback kings after all.

Boston kept up, adding a run here or there to keep themselves in the game: A towering solo shot by Papi in the 4th, a leadoff double by Pedie in the 5th followed by a JD Drew 3-run homer, then followed by back-to-back home runs by Youk and V-Mart in the 8th to take a 9-7 Sox lead.

All in all the Sox had 5 homers of their own in Monday’s contest, but the only 2 longballs in the game that mattered when it was all said and done were those launched by A-Rod and Marcus Thames in the bottom of 9. Papelbon has blown a few games before, but I don’t know if any of those blown saves hurt as much as this one.

After winning 2 out of 3 with the Jays and having a disappointing 1-2 series with the Tigers, the Sox needed to take advantage of their high-profile rivalry to make a statement that they are still on the up-and-up. Instead, they fell a game under .500, dropping to 19-20 as the Yankees continued to live the dream at 25-13.

The Beantown Bombers will get another chance to redeem themselves tonight with a rematch of the season opener – Beckett vs. Sabathia. Beck has had a little more rest than he’s accustomed to lately with back scares encouraging Francona to take him out of the rotation last week to insert Tim Wakefield for an evening.
Beckett is 1-1 with a 7.46 ERA while Sabathia is cruising at 4-2 with a 3.71 ERA. But if the Sox bats give CC the same treatment they showed Yankee young-gun Phil Hughes last night, things could get interesting as long as Beckett keeps things close.

One thing is for sure, now is the time to get on the horse and start winning because the Sox have 2 more games in this series with New York before heading to Minnesota and the Phillies next. So nothing is going to get easier or be handed to them from here on out. It's time to get 'er done.

To HELL with those damn Yanks! Let's GO RED SOX! Let's GO RED SOX! Let's GO RED SOX!