BOSTON — There was no way for the Yankees to wash off the stink of yesterday’s putrid loss to the Red Sox until they returned to the team hotel.
Though the Red Sox have invested millions in updating Fenway Park, the showers in the visiting clubhouse need help.
Yesterday, they backed up and were closed to the Yankees after a 9-6 loss. Players had to dress without showering and the shower area had to be sanitized last night in order to be operating today.
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Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long says the small change Derek Jeter has made with his front foot is not a deviation from the plan at the start of spring training when Jeter worked on not striding forward or into the plate.
Lately, Jeter has picked up his front foot enough to pivot on it. That is different from spring training and the start of the season when there was no distance between the cleats and dirt, but since there is still no movement forward from the front foot, Long says nothing really has changed.
“The goal was for him not to move forward or into the plate and he isn’t doing that,” Long said.
Jeter went 1-for-5 yesterday with an RBI single. He also banged into a double play and popped up a bunt attempt. In seven games Jeter is batting .231 (6-for-26).
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Bartolo Colon took the loss, but he provided 4 1/3 innings in which he allowed two runs (one earned) and two hits. He fanned five.
“For a guy who hasn’t thrown a lot [in the past year], he has been real encouraging,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He has been really good.”
In two outings Colon has worked 8 1/3 innings and saved Girardi from frying the bullpen.
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Errors by Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira hiked the Yankees’ total to six in seven games.
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Alex Rodriguez‘s third homer of the season leading off the fifth inning produced his 1,836th RBI. He passed Rafael Palmeiro and is now tied with former Mariners teammate Ken Griffey Jr. for 13th place on the all-time list.
Rodriguez’s 616th career homer was his 50th homer against the Red Sox. That is the most among active players.
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Robinson Cano‘s love affair with Fenway Park continued with a 2-for-4 performance. He is hitting .362 (81-for-224) at Fenway. That’s the fifth highest all-time among visiting players with a minimum of 200 at-bats and tops for any Yankee.
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Ivan Nova makes his first Fenway Park start today, but it won’t be the young right-hander’s debut in New England’s living room.
Last Oct. 2, in a 7-6 Red Sox victory, Nova worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, an earned run, walking three and fanning one. He was saddled with a blown save.
“[Today] for me will be another game,” said Nova, who beat the Twins, 4-3, Monday at Yankee Stadium. He allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. “I have to pitch the same way I have pitched before.”
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Though Francisco Cervelli has increased the activity since the walking boot was removed from his left foot, the catcher isn’t close to starting a rehab assignment.
“He has been running under water, doing agility drills and hitting but he is still a few weeks [away],” Girardi said. “He has yet to run on the field.”
Cervelli has been out since early spring training when he fractured a bone in the foot on a foul ball.
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Free agent pitcher Doug Davis worked out for scouts yesterday but the Yankees didn’t send anyone to watch him.
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Former Yankees pitcher Alfredo Aceves was part of a Red Sox bullpen shuffle yesterday.
Aceves was recalled from Pawtucket (Triple-A), and the Red Sox activated lefty reliever Felix Doubront from the disabled list. Righty Matt Albers was placed on the DL retroactive to April 6 and lefty Dennys Reyes was designated for assignment.
Aceves worked a scoreless inning.