With the help of three errors by the Red Sox, the "Evil Empire" vanquished their most hated rivals last night, 11-3 (box score). The Yankees may not have needed the unearned runs because since the Yankees were swept by the Sox in April, things have turned around and the pecking order atop in the AL East has been restored. Since the series in April, the Yankees have a 40-15 record and an 11 game swing in the standings has put them 6 1/1 games ahead of the Red Sox.
Despite three solo home runs by Johnny Damon in the 1st and 3rd and David Ortiz in the 6th, the Red Sox could not hold off the Yankees. Derek Lowe's sinker was done in by the poor play behind him (errors on Nomar Garciaparra and Kevin Millar), the power in the Yankee bats, and speed on the base paths.
Gary Sheffield hit lucky number 13 off of Lowe in the 4th inning with 2 on and 2 out after an error by Garciaparra. If Garciaparra would have fielded Jeter's ground ball correctly, Sheffield's home run should never have happened. Tony Clark hit a home run into the black seats after Pokey Reese booted an opportunity for a double play. Because a double play can never be assumed, there was no error on the play, but the miscue cost the Red Sox another three runs. The Yankees also had four steals on the game. Jeter led the way with two including a double steal with Alex Rodriguez.
Vice President Dick Cheney was also at the game, meeting players before watching the game. Cheney watched most of the game in George Steinbrenner's box with two prominent New York Republicans, Rudy Guliani and George Pataki. There were no reports of Mayor Bloomberg in sight. During a brief appearance on the jumbotron, Cheney was booed by the partisan Yankee crowd. Welcome to New York, Mr. Vice President.
