BOSTON — An unlucky Red Sox batter or two might get to find out this afternoon what a CC Sabathia fastball tastes like.
If they do, they can thank Josh Beckett.
The Red Sox starter hit Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter with pitches last night during the sixth inning last night, raising the Yankees’ ire, knocking Cano from the game and setting up potential retribution this afternoon with Sabathia on the mound.
“I think everybody was mad,” Sabathia said.
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When the game was over, the Yankees, 10-3 winners, all said they did not think Beckett was hitting people on purpose but that they were annoyed to see two of their best players get plunked.
Jeter was fine, but Cano left the game with a bruised left knee and may miss today’s game. The Yankees also lost Nick Johnson with a sore right wrist that is expected to land him on the disabled list.
After a strong start, Beckett unraveled in the sixth inning before a crowd of 37,898 at Fenway Park.
Alex Rodriguez doubled to lead off the sixth. Beckett then hit Cano in the left knee with a 92-mph cutter. Cano went to first base after being looked at by Yankees manager Joe Girardi and trainer Mark Littlefield. Just two pitches later, though, Cano left the game.
“It started bothering me a little bit,” Cano said. “I don’t want to take my chances and make it worse.”
Beckett also came close to hitting Nick Swisher and Francisco Cervelli with pitches in the inning, and did hit Jeter with the bases loaded. When Jeter got hit, several Yankees, led by Sabathia, were on the top step of the dugout shouting in Beckett’s direction.
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The hit batsmen were just one problem for Beckett, who didn’t make it out of the sixth inning. When the sixth was complete, the Yankees had sent 11 batters to the plate, scored six runs and opened up a 9-1 lead. The nine earned runs Beckett gave up tied his career high.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before,” Girardi said. “He looked like he just lost his command.”
It was clear Beckett had no idea where the ball was going, either because of frustration or a loss of concentration. He intentionally walked Brett Gardner to load the bases with one out, bringing up Cervelli and setting up a double play. Instead, he walked Cervelli to bring home the first run of the inning.
“It was weird but sometimes that’s all it takes is one inning,” Jeter said.
Beckett looked untouchable in the first three innings, striking out five of the first six Yankees he faced. The first sign that Beckett had moved from throwing darts to throwing grenades came in the fourth inning, when he put Cervelli in the dirt with an inside pitch.
The Yankees had broken through earlier in the fourth, when Swisher made it 3-0 in a flash with a home run into the camera well in center field.
Phil Hughes cruised through the first three innings with a filthy fastball. J.D. Drew’s single in the fourth was the first hit he allowed.
The Yankees right-hander continued his dominant season with seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. Hughes is now 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
The injury report, however, continues to get worse for the Yankees with Cano and Johnson joining the long line in the trainer’s room.
In the last week, the Yankees have lost Curtis Granderson, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Cano and Johnson to injuries. After Cano went down, the Yankees were playing with just five of their Opening Day starters.
The Yankees have won 10 of their last 12 against the Sox and three straight this year since dropping the first game of the season.