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Wang's two-hitter leads Yankees to win over Red Sox
2008-04-12
Wang Chien-ming pitched a two-hit complete game to lead the New York Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday in the first meeting this season between the heated American League rivals. "He was as good as I've seen him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters. "His sinker and slider were excellent." Wang (3-0) had a one-hitter going against the World Series champions until Coco Crisp's bunt single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The only other hit was J.D. Drew's fifth-inning homer that grazed the top of outfielder Bobby Abreu's glove before landing in the Boston bullpen. Wang struck out three and walked none in his second consecutive shutout. "I feel especially good about this one because I threw it in Boston, and before, I didn't do very well in Boston," Wang said through an interpreter. "So I think this is my best game so far." Yankees general manager Brian Cashman agreed. "He's become the ace of our staff, there's no doubt about it, and ...he pitched as well as anybody could pitch," Cashman told reporters. The Yankees lashed out 10 hits off five Boston pitchers for early bragging rights in the most heated rivalry in baseball. Jason Giambi's solo home run to centre field broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh before Melky Cabrera's sacrifice fly made it 3-1 later in the same inning. Abreu, who was rested on Thursday along with Giambi, drove in New York's final run with a broken-bat single in the ninth. The Yankees' first score came on Jose Molina's run-scoring double off starter Clay Buchholz in the fifth. Buchholz pitched six innings for Boston, allowing four hits and one run. He walked three. Molina, Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui each had two hits. (Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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