Yankees revival stopped
NEW YORK: The Boston Red Sox ended the Yankees's mini-revival with a 7-3 victory on Tuesday, a day after New York had completed back-to-back wins over their two main rivals to instil a belief they had recovered from a poor start.
Manny Ramirez jolted the Yanks with a three-run homer off starter Mike Mussina in the first inning to fuel a victory that restored Boston's AL East-lead to 10 1/2 games over New York (20-24) and Toronto (20-24).
Boston's Mike Lowell added a solo shot down the leftfield line in the fourth.
Julian Tavarez, Boston's fifth starter in the rotation, celebrated his 34th birthday by improving to 3-4, working 5 2/3 innings and giving up two runs on just three hits.
The Yankees expected better results after beating the New York Mets on Sunday and the Red Sox in Monday's opener of their three-game series.
"We thought 'three runs, big deal'," former Red Sox and current Yankee centerfielder Johnny Damon told reporters about falling behind on Ramirez's blast.
"The past couple of nights we were able to score at least six runs," he added.
"Especially going up against their number five (pitcher), we were hoping to be able to scratch and claw our way back in the game. It seemed like we were close a few times but nothing really materialised."
Agencies
(China Daily 05/24/2007 page24)
