Vote for Pedro
Pedro Ciriaco played as if infused with the spirit of Dustin Pedroia but had the speed of Emilio Bonifacio. The replacement middle infielder went 4-for-5 with four runs batted in. His key at bat was in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, one out, and the score 3-2 in favor in the visitors. The first pitch Ciriaco saw out of Phil Hughes’s hand skittered down the left field line. By the time Andruw Jones reached the ball Ciriaco was at second and his team had a 5-3 lead.
His heroics earned him the chant of his first name, something not heard since our beloved future Hall of Famer toed the mound. Ciriaco may have been the player with the highest number and/or the fewest at bats that was serenaded with his name.
Mauro Gomez was impressive with his bat (3-for-4 with 2 runs and a run batted in) but didn’t inspire as much admiration. It may have been because of his two errors in a single play in the first inning. He flubbed Derek Jeter’s grounder and in an effort to make up for the lost seconds hurried his throw to first so that even Adrian Gonzalez couldn’t catch it.
The Yankees had four of their own defensive gaffes. Darnell McDonald was given one in the fifth when he and Curtis Granderson converged on Daniel Nava’s fly ball. McDonald backed off but Granderson dropped the ball. Ciriaco was on first base and made it to third, allowing him to tag up on Nick Punto’s can of corn to center.
Lost in the excitement over the contributions by the newcomers were solid outings by Gonzalez (3-for-5 with two doubles), Nick Punto (2-for-3 with a double), and David Ortiz (2-for-4). But of the entire Red Sox roster only Ortiz is going to Kansas City for the All-Star Game.
| Game 85: July 7, 2012 | ||
| New York Yankees 51-33 |
5 |
L: Phil Hughes (9-7) |
| 2B: Russell Martin (11) HR: Mark Teixeira (15), Andruw Jones (10), Eric Chavez (7) | ||
 Boston Red Sox43-42 |
9 |
W: Felix Doubront (9-4) H: Matt Albers (5), Vicente Padilla (19) |
| 2B: Mauro Gomez – 2 (3), Nick Punto (5), Adrian Gonzalez – 2 (27), Pedro Ciriaco – 2 (2), Mike Aviles (21) 3B: Ryan Sweeney (2) | ||
