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 They did the job Sunday night.
Ortiz and Pedroia drove in three runs apiece, and the Red Sox
concluded a 10-game road trip by outlasting the New York Yankees for
an 8-5 victory.
The Red Sox concluded their trip through Oakland, Seattle and New
York with four wins. They rebounded from losing three one-run games
in Oakland by winning four of the final seven, including two of
three at Yankee Stadium. Ortiz finished the trip 10-for-37 (.270)
with three home runs and nine RBIs, while Pedroia was 14-for-39
(.359) with five RBIs.
"If you're going to be good and to get to where we want to be, those
are the guys that have to drive the bus for sure," Boston starter
John Lackey said.
Red Sox manager John Farrell added, "They've carried their weight
for a long, long time, and they have very strong track records. I
think before the season's out, I think we'll look and their numbers
will be right (where we're used to)."
Ortiz hit his 450th career home run in the third inning, a long,
three-run shot off New York right-hander Chase Whitley (3-2). The
Boston designated hitter became the 37th player to hit 450 home runs
and did so after his previous two at-bats resulted in double plays
against defensive shifts.
 As he circled the bases, he pointed in the stands to his family.
"One way or the other, we have to start," Ortiz said. "It feels
good. We had a tough road trip coming from Oakland and Seattle.
Pedroia reached base for the 12th game in his past 13, and he
recorded his second consecutive three-hit game. After preceding
Ortiz's 19th home with his second hit of the night, the second
baseman had a two-run bloop single to right field in Boston's
three-run fifth and then lifted a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Even with the focus on Pedroia and Ortiz, the Red Sox are aware that
it has to be others chipping in with games like Sunday when every
starter had a hit and seven different players scored a run.
"Hey man, look, offense just isn't one or two guys," Ortiz said. "We
got nine hitters, so everybody's got to contribute. If we have two
guys hitting in the lineup, then the opposition is going to focus on
those two guys."
The Red Sox scored eight runs on the road for the first time since
May 26. They resembled last year's edition by getting 12 hits, eight
walks and going 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
"We're trying to win games," said Pedroia, whose team is 38-44 after
the first game of the season's second half, in four place in the
American League East, six games behind the first-place Toronto Blue
Jays. "That's what we're about, trying to find ways to do that."
Shortstop Stephen Drew added an RBI single, and the Red Sox scored
another run in the fifth when left fielder Daniel Nava came home
uncontested after Pedroia was caught off first base in a rundown.
Lackey (9-5) capitalized on the offense and picked up the win
despite allowing five runs (four earned) and six hits in five
innings.
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After Burke Badenhop was aided by a running catch in left field by
Nava and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. throwing out New York
designated hitter Carlos Beltran at the plate in the sixth, Andrew
Miller struck out the side in the seventh while working around a
walk.
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth, and Koji Uehara tossed a
perfect ninth for his 18th save.
First baseman Mark Teixeira and Beltran hit solo home runs for the
Yankees, who lost for the fifth time in seven games following a
four-game winning streak. New York (41-39) trails Toronto by two
games.
"We're all going through our issues, there's no doubt about it, in
the division," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "As I've said,
it's probably going to come down to the end and who handles the
injuries the best. Obviously, we need to play better. I'm sure every
club in our division probably says that at this point. We need to
play better. We're right in the thick of it, and we have an
opportunity."
Shortstop Derek Jeter hit an RBI single, and left fielder Brett
Gardner added a run-scoring double.
Whitley allowed five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings, a
line that might have been worse if not for two early double plays.
Whitley was knocked out after allowing a leadoff walk to Bradley in
the fifth.
"I'm most frustrated with the pitch to Ortiz, obviously, and the
walk to Bradley that set up the fifth," Whitley said. "That was
unacceptable."
NOTES: The Yankees did not have a problem with Boston 1B Mike
Napoli's reaction to hitting a home run off RHP Masahiro Tanaka on
Saturday. FOX's dugout microphones caught Napoli saying "what an
idiot" in surprise to getting a fastball as opposed to other
pitches. ... The Yankees said that LHP CC Sabathia did not have any
problems after making his first rehab start Saturday night and that
he would throw a bullpen session Monday before making a second rehab
start. ... Boston 3B Xander Bogaerts, in a 2-for-35 slump since June
18, did not play Sunday. Manager John Farrell said Bogaers was
spending batting practice working on his timing at the plate. ...
Red Sox hitting coach Greg Colbrunn was medically cleared, and he
will rejoin the team Monday after sustaining a brain aneurysm about
a month ago.
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