Gästeboard » game, just excited to pitch after a month," Skaggs

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Mike Napoli hoped Masahiro Tanaka would make a mistake. The New York Yankees ace sure did — he twice shook off his catcher, then threw a pitch the Boston slugger could handle. Napoli stung Tanaka by hitting a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Jon Lester and the Red Sox over the Yankees 2-1 Saturday night. "What an idiot!" Napoli was heard exclaiming on Fox television microphones as he high-fived teammates in the dugout. Napoli later said he didnt mean any disrespect, adding he was "surprised" Tanaka didnt throw his tremendous split-finger fastball. Napoli had struck out in his previous two at-bats, was down 1-2 in the count this time and was having all sorts of trouble with Tanakas diving splitter. "He had me where he wanted me," Napoli said. Tanaka, however, preferred to throw a fastball. Napoli lined it the opposite way, into the first row of the seats in right field. Napoli, who also homered off Tanaka at Fenway Park in late April, raised his right arm as he rounded first base and clapped his hands as headed for second. Tanaka, the top winner in the majors and the AL ERA leader, turned to watch the ball sail, twisting his body when it cleared the wall. "It was the worst thing I couldve possibly done," Tanaka said through a translator. Tanaka wanted to take a different approach than catcher Brian McCann. "He asked for a splitter and for a slider, and I shook off both of them," he said. Tanaka said he intended to throw a fastball out of the strike zone to set up a breaking ball. Instead, Napoli hit it out of the park. His third home run in five games, and 10th shot overall, flew far enough reach the short porch. "Power hitters are going to have the ability to hit to all fields. We all know that right field here is not very forgiving," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Last night, they hit one in the first row. Tonight, we did." The Red Sox won for just the third time in nine games. The victory made the defending World Series champions 37-44 at the midpoint of the season — its the first time since 1997 that Boston has been under .500 at the halfway mark. Lester (9-7) held the Yankees hitless until the sixth. He gave up an unearned run and five hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking two. Koji Uehara pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances. Tanaka (11-3) allowed seven hits in a complete game, striking out eight and walking one. The Yankees lost for the fifth time in seven games. Tanaka dropped consecutive starts for the first time in the majors. The matchup between Lester and Tanaka shaped up as a pitchers duel, and it certainly was. Lester improved to 13-6 lifetime against the Yankees, including a loss to Tanaka in Boston on April 22. Lester and Uehara came through for a Red Sox team that has scored three runs or fewer in 12 of its last 14 games. Napoli did his part, too, tagging Tanaka. "He pitched pretty well to Nap all night," Lester said. "Im guessing Nap put a pretty good swing on that ball right there. Luckily, were in Yankee Stadium and not anywhere else and that ball goes out." An odd sequence ended the Yankees eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury tried to steal second with two outs and the fans cheered when catcher David Ross throw skipped into centre field. As Ellsbury headed toward third, however, the crowd began to realize strike three had already been called on Mark Teixeira. Earlier in the inning, second baseman Dustin Pedroia made a nifty pickup and glove flip to start a double play on Derek Jeter. Ross homered in his second straight game, launching a drive far over the left-field fence in the third. Tanaka muttered to himself as Ross rounded the bases. Lester, who threw a no-hitter against Kansas City in 2008, held the Yankees hitless until Brett Gardner bounced a leadoff single up the middle in the sixth. Lesters bid was extended with two outs in the fifth when Yangervis Solarte was called out on a video review, taking away an infield single. Pedroia opened the next inning with a single, and tried to test the arm of Ellsbury, his former teammate. The Yankees centre fielder made an accurate throw and Pedroia was called safe, but he was ruled out after New York challenged the umpires decision. The Yankees scored in the third when Brian Roberts reached on shortstop Stephen Drews error, Solarte was hit by a pitch, Gardner sacrificed and Jeter had an RBI grounder. NOTES: Of Bostons last 14 games, 10 have been decided by one run. The Red Sox are 6-4 in those games. ... The Red Sox are 26-26 at the new Yankee Stadium. ... Boston OF-INF Mike Carp (right foot) has started his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (right knee) made his first rehab start, pitching 2 1-3 innings for Class A Tampa and giving up two runs on three hits and a walk vs. Dunedin. 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Buy Shoes Australia . 8 Sergio Parisse for its penultimate Six Nations match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road.CHICAGO -- Leury Garcia did all he could to stay ready, to be prepared when his chance came. When he got it, he sure did deliver. Garcia drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit single off Michael Morin in the ninth inning to lift the Chicago White Sox to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night. The White Sox shook off a doubleheader sweep and finally took out the Angels after dropping their first five games this season and seven straight overall to them. Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 17 games, and Chicago prevailed after blowing a two-run lead on a cool, rainy night. Los Angeles tied it on solo homers by David Freese in the seventh and Josh Hamilton in the eighth, only to lose on Garcias line-drive single in the ninth -- a big hit by a backup infielder with just a .192 average. "Its kind of tough when you dont play every day, but Im still working," he said. "Im still working. Im still trying to get better every day and be ready for situations." Alejandro De Aza, who entered earlier as a runner for Paul Konerko, started the winning rally with a one-out single off Morin (2-2). Conor Gillaspie followed with a broken-bat single past a diving Albert Pujols at first base to put runners on the corners. The Angels then brought in Kole Calhoun to replace right fielder Collin Cowgill and serve as the second baseman as part of a five-man infield. Garcia, batting for Moises Sierra, lined a 2-1 pitch to left to drive in De Aza. That made a winner of Zach Putnam (3-1), who worked 1 1-3 scoreless innings. "We could have folded a lot of times. I feel like we do battle and compete the right way," said Gordon Beckham, who broke out of a 12-for-74 slump with two hits and a run. "Hopefully, a lot more wins (are coming)." Chicagos Alexei Ramirez drove in the first two runs with a bases-loaded single off Tylerr Skaggs in the fourth.dddddddddddd It stayed that way until the seventh, when Freese went deep. Josh Hamilton tied it at 2 with two outs in the eighth when he chased John Danks with his fifth homer and second in three games. That drive came right after Albert Pujols hit a fly to the warning track in centre. The White Sox left Danks in even though Hamilton came into the game with a .438 average against him, and he pulled a pitch out to right. The home runs spoiled an otherwise outstanding performance by Danks, who tied a career high with 10 strikeouts while giving up seven hits and one walk in 7 2-3 innings. Skaggs wasnt bad, either, after missing nearly a month with a strained right hamstring. He also gave up two runs in 7 2-3 innings, scattering just five hits while striking out six and walking one. He threw 87 pitches -- 70 for strikes. "I was kind of locked into the game, just excited to pitch after a month," Skaggs said. "It has been a long time. The team has been winning and I want to be a part of that. I was like a kid in a candy store, I was so excited." Skaggs got a big assist in the first when Hamilton made a leaping catch in left to rob Beckham of a solo homer, but other than a shaky fourth, he didnt run into much trouble. NOTES: The Angels Mike Trout was the AL Player of the Month for June after batting .361 with seven homers. ... Abreu became the first White Sox player to be selected AL Rookie of the Month twice, taking the honour for June after hitting .313 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs. He was also the AL Player and Rookie of the Month for April. ... The White Sox have a day off before opening a three-game series against Seattle on Friday, with LHP Chris Sale (7-1, 2.30 ERA) Roenis Elias (7-6, 3.96). ... RHP Matt Shoemaker (5-2, 4.50) starts Thursday for the Angels against Houston, while LHP Brett Oberholtzer (2-6, 4.40) pitches for the Astros. ' ' '