BOSTON – Since George Steinbrenner told us what Hideki Irabu is all about, Irabu getting spanked by the Red Sox last night at Fenway Park wasn’t the most disappointing thing that happened to the staggering Yankees.
No, watching Brian Rose become the latest pitcher to turn their bats to dust was the hardest thing to swallow and the main reason the Red Sox handed the Yankees a 6-0 defeat in front of a Fenway Park gathering of 32,091 which told the Yankees more than once they “stunk.”
Rose, a 23-year-old righty who was recalled from Triple-A yesterday and made his first start of the year, turned in a Greg Maddux-like performance. He blanked the Yankees across seven innings and limited them to six singles while needing 89 pitches to post his second major-league victory against four losses in his 11th game in The Show.
Catcher Jason Varitek supported Rose with his first four-hit major-league game and two homers and the Red Sox collected 15 hits.
The loss was the Yankees’ seventh in eight games. At 21-17, the Yankees trail the Red Sox by 1 games in the AL East. The Red Sox have won nine of 11 and are 23-16.
The game was halted for 73 minutes right before the Yankees hit in the top of the ninth. When it was resumed, The Boss and his entourage and almost everybody else were gone.
As for Irabu, he was coming off two strong outings and had tricked some people into believing he had turned the corner and was ready to contribute quality outings to a rotation that has David Cone and a lot of questions.
Those hopes were dashed when the Fat Toad lasted 32/3 innings, allowed five runs and nine hits to fall to 1-2. One of those hits was a 436-foot homer to Varitek in the second. Varitek’s second homer, given up by Ramiro Mendoza, was wrapped around the right-field foul pole.
Mendoza, who lost his spot in the rotation to Irabu, closed out the fourth. He left the bases loaded in the fifth and needed a strong throw from Bernie Williams to the plate that nailed Jose Offerman to keep the Red Sox scoreless in the sixth. Varitek homered with two outs in the seventh. Mendoza worked 31/3 innings, allowing one run and six hits.
The Yankees have scored 11 runs in the last seven games. Coming off a 3-for-19 (.158) performance with runners in scoring position Tuesday night, the Yankees went hitless in four at-bats in the clutch.
Irabu was attempting to build on two strong outings. Instead, he was rocked from the start when Offerman and John Valentin opened the home first with singles. Irabu traded an out for a run when Reggie Jefferson grounded out to the right side to score Offerman. With the infield in, Nomar Garciaparra’s grounder to Derek Jeter forced Valentin to stay at third.
With an opportunity to get out of the inning having allowed one run, Irabu gave up an RBI single to Troy O’Leary on a 1-1 pitch for a 2-0 Red Sox lead.
The Red Sox upped the bulge to 3-0 when Jason Varitek drove a 2-1 fastball into the seats beyond the Yankees’ right-field bullpen leading off the third. The blast was measured at 436 feet.
Irabu worked a scoreless third but didn’t get out of the fourth when he was hurt by consecutive 0-2 pitches to Varitek and Darren Lewis, the Red Sox No. 7 and 8 hitters, who singled.
Ahead of Trot Nixon, 0-2, Irabu fanned him and then watched Offerman chase Bernie Williams to the wall in center for the second out. Again, Irabu jumped ahead of Valentin, 0-2, Irabu ran the count to 3-2 before Valentin drove two runs home with a double to right-center.
That was it for Irabu, who gave up five runs and nine hits.
