Jason Varitek and Johnny Damon hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning to rally Boston.
BOSTON (AP) – Jason Varitek hit a tying three-run homer and Johnny Damon followed with a go-ahead shot as the Boston Red Sox scored six times in the seventh inning to beat the New York Yankees 6-4 Sunday night.
Jeff Weaver took a 3-0 lead and a two-hitter into the seventh before he walked Trot Nixon and hit Bill Mueller with one out. Chris Hammond, who had allowed one homer all season, relieved and Varitek homered over the Green Monster as a disgusted Weaver threw a towel in the Yankees dugout.
Damon came up next and hooked a shot inside the foul pole in right on Hammond’s 10th pitch, putting the Red Sox ahead 4-3. Damon pumped a fist in the air as he rounded first.
Casey Fossum (5-4) allowed one hit, striking out one in one inning of relief of Derek Lowe. Byung-Hyun Kim pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven tries, allowing an RBI fielder’s choice Hideki Matsui. With a runner on second, he retired Jorge Posada on a game-a flyout down the left-field line, with Manny Ramirez stretching to make a sliding catch.
The victory gave the Red Sox the edge in the tightly contested three-game series and moved them 1 games behind the Yankees in the AL East; Boston is two games ahead of Oakland in the AL wild-card race. New York is 7-6 this season against the Red Sox, with six more games between them this season.
Fenway Park was filled for the 20th consecutive time – 104,016 came for the three games against the Yankees – for a series finale that matched the intensity of the first two games. Those were decided in the ninth inning, but this seemed to be going all New York’s way before Boston eruptedh.
Jason Giambi hit a solo homer with two out in the first. New York added runs in the third and sixth on an RBI single by Matsui and a runs-scoring groundout by Raul Mondesi.
It was 3-0 in the seventh, and Weaver appeared to be cruising. He had allowed just two hits and two walks and hit a batter, but Trot Nixon walked with one out and then Weaver hit Bill Mueller.
While the Red Sox trainers were attending to Mueller’s leg, Yankees manager Joe Torre took Weaver out and replaced him with Hammond. But Hammond, who had not pitched in a week, gave away the lead, and the next two pitchers didn’t fare much better.
Todd Walker singled off Armando Benitez, and one out later pinch-runner Damian Jackson took second on a steal attempt when second baseman Alfonso Soriano couldn’t handle the throw from the catcher.
Jesse Orosco replaced Benitez and intentionally walked Ramirez, then gave up a triple to David Ortiz. Millar was intentionally walked before Nixon popped up to end the inning.
Notes: Giambi and Matsui were a combined 0-for-14 in the first two games of the series. They each had a pair of hits on Sunday. … Torre said LHP David Wells, who experienced some back discomfort after throwing 109 pitches in 5 2-3 innings on Friday, was fine on Sunday. … With his 20th steal on Saturday, Damon became the 13th player in club history to have at least two consecutive seasons with at least 20 steals, but only the 4th since 1919. The previous was Ellis Burks, who did it three consecutive years in 1987, ’88 and ’89. Tris Speaker holds the club record with seven consecutive seasons with at least 20 steals from 1909-15. … Actor James Earl Jones recited the national anthem. Jones was the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies, and Red Sox president Larry Lucchino has called the New York Yankees, “The Evil Empire.” … Former Red Sox OF Fred Lynn was in the crowd. … It was the ninth time this season the Red Sox have hit consecutive homers. Varitek has been involved in six of them.
AP-ES-07-27-03 2333EDT
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