One 406-foot out later, Bobby Abreu's drive to the center-field wall dying in Crisp's glove in full view of all present, Francona had his wish. And for the first time in a week, Jonathan Papelbon was in the middle of it, the closer surviving a chaotic finish in a 6-4 victory over the Yankees that took 5 hours 19 minutes to complete because of an 88-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth.
"When Paps doesn't pitch for a while, it's usually our fault," said reliever Javier Lopez, who with one pitch in the bottom of the eighth (double-play ground ball by Robinson Cano) duplicated what Manny Delcarmen had done the inning before with the bases loaded against Alex Rodriguez (force at second).
"It's huge - obviously, this hasn't been the most ideal road trip for us," Lopez said of a bullpen that repeatedly fell on its sword during a five-game losing streak against Houston and Tampa Bay. "We've been giving up a lot of runs [14 in 10 innings], so it was important that we bridge the gap."
The Sox made it two straight over the Yankees, who lost for the fifth time in six games, by overcoming the 3-0 lead Josh Beckett spotted the Bombers in the first. The Sox answered against starter Darrell Rasner with three runs in the third that not only tied the score but knocked out left fielder Johnny Damon, who ran full tilt into the wall while attempting to catch Youkilis's two-out drive.
For a moment, there was white at the top of Damon's glove. But the collision of man and fence jarred the ball loose. Damon crumpled to the ground, and even with the wall vibrating from the impact, the ball came to a temporary rest on the wall's flat top before falling onto the field.
"At first, I thought he caught it," said Delcarmen, who had a limited view from the bullpen. "I watched the replay. It was almost like in hockey, when a guy gets checked into the boards, the way the wall was shaking."
Youkilis wound up with a triple as two runs scored. Damon, throwing his glove down in disgust - an act Crisp duplicated hours later when Bell misdiagnosed his catch - wound up coming out of the game with a sprained left shoulder. The Yankees are already without left fielder Hideki Matsui, who has an inflamed left knee that may require surgery.
