Yankees Throttle Red Sox, 10-3

After losing five of seven games on their west coast swing, the Yankees returned home to open a series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. They took advantage of the familiar surroundings, defeating the Sox by a score of 10-3

Boston drew first blood on a two out solo home run in the top of the first by Dustin Pedroia, off of Yankees starter Phil Hughes.

In the bottom of the inning, the Yankees drew level as Mark Teixeira hustled to first to avoid a double play, allowing Curtis Granderson to score. They grabbed the lead one batter later, when Raul Ibanez blasted a two run shot to right field.

The Red Sox drew one back in the top of the third, when Carl Crawford hit a solo shot, just his second home run of what has surely been a disappointing season for both him and the Sox.

In the bottom of the third, Mark Teixeira picked up his second RBI of the game, knocking in Derek Jeter with a sacrifice fly to make the lead 4-2 in favor of the Bronx Bombers.

That two run lead was short lived, as Hughes gave up his third solo shot of the game in the top of the fourth, this time to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, cutting the Yankee lead down to 4-3.

Because Yankees/Red Sox games are where pitching and defense go to die, the Yankees extended their advantage in the bottom of the fourth, when Russell Martin sent a two run home run to left field, knocking home Ichiro, who singled earlier in the inning. For those of you scoring at home, that was the fifth home run in four innings of play. The Yankees led 6-3 at that juncture.

Hughes settled in nicely for the next few innings, not giving up a run for the rest of his outing, going seven innings in total.

After David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth inning, the Yankees put the game away. After loading the bases, Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam to right center field, making it a 10-3 game. At this point in the contest, 11 of the game’s 13 runs were scored via the long ball. Cody Eppley finished the game with a scoreless ninth.

The game lasted just 2 hours, 41 minutes, which was the shortest game between the two teams since 2005.

Both teams square off tomorrow at 4 p.m. and you can catch every pitch on 104.5 “The Team” ESPN Radio.

Player of the Game: Curtis Granderson (3-5, 2B, Grand Slam, 2 R, 4 RBI)

With the game still in reach for the Red Sox, Granderson put it away with his grand slam in the eighth. He also scored the game’s first run and paced the Yankees offense throughout the night.

“Good Job, Good Effort” Player of the Game: Mark Melancon (1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 ER)

Your only job as a pitcher is to get guys out. As a starter, percentages state that one will give up more runs than a relief pitcher simply based on the sheer number of batters faced. However, Mark Melancon challenged the conventional tonight by giving up four runs before getting three outs. Good job, good effort, Mark Melancon.