Instead, the ball ''took a hard right," Nixon said. Cabrera flailed, and failed. The ball trickled to the Wall and Nixon scored standing up, stretching a 5-0 lead to 8-0. In the second inning.
Yankee pitchers -- yes, plural -- had recorded only four outs and the game was effectively over, the Red Sox on their way to replicating their awesome offensive performance May 28 this season, when they walloped the Yankees at the Stadium by an identical 17-1 count in the most lopsided win in 1,928 meetings between the clubs.
Last night, the Sox pounded out 15 hits, 10 for extra bases (eight doubles, two home runs), and enjoyed nine walks. Thirteen of those hits, and nine of those walks, came in the first six innings, after which the outfield scoreboard read:
New York 000100
Boston 351305
''That's a pitcher's dream," said David Wells, who, of course, was referring to himself, not Yankees starter Tim Redding.
Back in spring training, this was supposed to be the Yankees' division to lose because of the club's pitching, and yet, as of last night, New York had a three-man rotation of Mike Mussina, Redding, and Randy Johnson, with no announced starter for either tomorrow's game against the Sox or Monday's at Texas.
Manager Joe Torre was asked before the game if would be learning about Redding as the night progressed.
''I'm pretty much going to have to," Torre said. ''I haven't seen him pitch."
He didn't see all that much last night. Redding, 0-5 with a 9.10 ERA with San Diego this season, worked one inning plus three batters and threw 41 pitches, only 16 for strikes. A Rochester, N.Y., native, Redding said Wednesday he ''could die a happy man putting the Yankee uniform on for the first time."
And, by the second inning last night, he probably felt uncertain about whether he'd be putting the uniform on again. The Sox pounded him for six earned runs on four hits and four walks.
