NEW YORK -- Sweat was streaming down CC Sabathia's face to the point where he said he couldn't see. He stomped around the mound, shouted and swore encouragement to himself.
Oh, he also had a little extra kick on his fastball.
Sabathia had what he acknowledged was his best outing in a trying season Thursday night, pitching six intense innings and helping the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 behind Jacoby Ellsbury's slump-busting, tiebreaking homer.
"I was all fired up," Sabathia said.
Alex Rodriguez had an RBI double, and Justin Wilson (4-0) struck out three batters in the seventh to help the Yankees take two of three from the last-place Red Sox.
The AL East-leading Yankees next face a pair of Cy Young Award winners, R.A. Dickey and Toronto newcomer David Price, when they take on the streaking Blue Jays in a key weekend series. The division rivals, separated by 4½ games, play the first of 13 remaining games against one another Friday night.
"We know how explosive they are," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We just have to make pitches."
Dellin Betances gave up a hit in the eighth. Andrew Miller put two on in the ninth but struck out Rusney Castillo to remain perfect in 24 save chances.
Ellsbury connected with two outs in the seventh off Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4), who beat the Yankees once this year.
Ellsbury, a former Red Sox center fielder, was in a 3-for-23 slump entering Thursday. He was batting .322 when he returned from the disabled list on July 8, but his average had dipped to .277 entering Thursday's game.
"I've been feeling pretty comfortable at the plate," Ellsbury said. "I just knew it was a matter of time."
Sabathia left his previous start with dehydration, wilted by the Texas heat. He was ornery in this outing, yelling at plate umpire Rob Drake over a called ball early on and shouting while giving a fist-pumping shimmy after striking out David Ortiz on a 94 mph two-seam fastball with the bases loaded to end the fifth.
Sabathia's fastball this season was averaging just 90.1 mph, according to fangraphs.com.
"He threw me some good pitches," Ortiz said. "Tonight was the best I have seen him in a while. He was locating his pitches well."
Sabathia had just walked Xander Bogaerts following Castillo's run-scoring single that ticked off the glove of diving shortstop Didi Gregorius to tie the score at 1-1. Castillo's hit came right after Sabathia walked .100 hitter Jackie Bradley Jr.
Eduardo Rodriguez intentionally walked Alex Rodriguez to load the bases in the bottom half, but Mark Teixeira and Chris Young popped out.
Pitching on an extra day of rest, Sabathia stalked around the mound and used pinpoint control to strike out eight. He yielded three hits and three walks after allowing five runs in each of his previous two starts.
At 35, Sabathia said he thinks he might be better off pitching with more time between starts.
"I hated the rest before, but, just to get my body in order, whatever rest they give me I'll take," he said. "If not I'll take the ball when they need."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: At his request, OF Mookie Betts saw concussion specialist Dr. Michael Collins in Pittsburgh. "As far as I know, reports were good," general manager Ben Cherington said. Betts is expected to join the Red Sox in Detroit this weekend, but there is still no target date for his return. ... Cherington said top prospect Brian Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 2012, has inflammation around his pitching elbow but there is "no evidence that there is anything going on around the ligament."
Yankees: Brian McCann (stiff knee) was out of the starting lineup for a second straight night, but Girardi said the catcher could've played. He said McCann is day-to-day and it shouldn't be a long absence.
ICE COLD
Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Teixeira took the ice bucket challenge before batting practice. Kids from Harlem RBI had the honor of pouring the water. A-Rod held his nose when he was doused.
OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS
The Yankees are 8-0-1 in their past nine series. Boston has lost nine of 10 on the road.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: Joe Kelly (3-6) starts the series opener against Detroit. The right-hander has allowed at least four runs in each of his past four starts.
Yankees: Nathan Eovaldi (11-2) makes his first start against Toronto's potent offense. New York faces a second knuckleballer this week in Dickey (6-10) after being held to a run in eight innings by Boston RHP Steven Wright on Wednesday.
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Oh, he also had a little extra kick on his fastball.
Sabathia had what he acknowledged was his best outing in a trying season Thursday night, pitching six intense innings and helping the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 behind Jacoby Ellsbury's slump-busting, tiebreaking homer.
"I was all fired up," Sabathia said.
Alex Rodriguez had an RBI double, and Justin Wilson (4-0) struck out three batters in the seventh to help the Yankees take two of three from the last-place Red Sox.
The AL East-leading Yankees next face a pair of Cy Young Award winners, R.A. Dickey and Toronto newcomer David Price, when they take on the streaking Blue Jays in a key weekend series. The division rivals, separated by 4½ games, play the first of 13 remaining games against one another Friday night.
"We know how explosive they are," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We just have to make pitches."
Dellin Betances gave up a hit in the eighth. Andrew Miller put two on in the ninth but struck out Rusney Castillo to remain perfect in 24 save chances.
Ellsbury connected with two outs in the seventh off Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4), who beat the Yankees once this year.
Ellsbury, a former Red Sox center fielder, was in a 3-for-23 slump entering Thursday. He was batting .322 when he returned from the disabled list on July 8, but his average had dipped to .277 entering Thursday's game.
"I've been feeling pretty comfortable at the plate," Ellsbury said. "I just knew it was a matter of time."
Sabathia left his previous start with dehydration, wilted by the Texas heat. He was ornery in this outing, yelling at plate umpire Rob Drake over a called ball early on and shouting while giving a fist-pumping shimmy after striking out David Ortiz on a 94 mph two-seam fastball with the bases loaded to end the fifth.
Sabathia's fastball this season was averaging just 90.1 mph, according to fangraphs.com.
"He threw me some good pitches," Ortiz said. "Tonight was the best I have seen him in a while. He was locating his pitches well."
Sabathia had just walked Xander Bogaerts following Castillo's run-scoring single that ticked off the glove of diving shortstop Didi Gregorius to tie the score at 1-1. Castillo's hit came right after Sabathia walked .100 hitter Jackie Bradley Jr.
Eduardo Rodriguez intentionally walked Alex Rodriguez to load the bases in the bottom half, but Mark Teixeira and Chris Young popped out.
Pitching on an extra day of rest, Sabathia stalked around the mound and used pinpoint control to strike out eight. He yielded three hits and three walks after allowing five runs in each of his previous two starts.
At 35, Sabathia said he thinks he might be better off pitching with more time between starts.
"I hated the rest before, but, just to get my body in order, whatever rest they give me I'll take," he said. "If not I'll take the ball when they need."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: At his request, OF Mookie Betts saw concussion specialist Dr. Michael Collins in Pittsburgh. "As far as I know, reports were good," general manager Ben Cherington said. Betts is expected to join the Red Sox in Detroit this weekend, but there is still no target date for his return. ... Cherington said top prospect Brian Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 2012, has inflammation around his pitching elbow but there is "no evidence that there is anything going on around the ligament."
Yankees: Brian McCann (stiff knee) was out of the starting lineup for a second straight night, but Girardi said the catcher could've played. He said McCann is day-to-day and it shouldn't be a long absence.
ICE COLD
Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Teixeira took the ice bucket challenge before batting practice. Kids from Harlem RBI had the honor of pouring the water. A-Rod held his nose when he was doused.
OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS
The Yankees are 8-0-1 in their past nine series. Boston has lost nine of 10 on the road.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: Joe Kelly (3-6) starts the series opener against Detroit. The right-hander has allowed at least four runs in each of his past four starts.
Yankees: Nathan Eovaldi (11-2) makes his first start against Toronto's potent offense. New York faces a second knuckleballer this week in Dickey (6-10) after being held to a run in eight innings by Boston RHP Steven Wright on Wednesday.
7:05PM,EDT,August 6,2015
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Boston - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Castillo struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Bogaerts grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Ortiz flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Ellsbury grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Rodriguez singled to left center. | 0 | 0 |
| Teixeira walked, Rodriguez to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Young grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Ramírez grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Napoli struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Sandoval walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Hanigan singled to right, Sandoval to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Rutledge struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Headley grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Murphy grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Gregorius flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, -1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Bradley Jr. struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Castillo grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Bogaerts flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Ryan struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Ellsbury struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Gardner singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Rodriguez doubled to left, Gardner scored. | 0 | 1 |
| Teixeira flied out to left. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Ortiz popped out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Ramírez grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Napoli grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Young popped out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| Headley hit by pitch. | 0 | 1 |
| Murphy grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Headley out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Gregorius grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Sandoval struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Hanigan singled to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Rutledge struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Bradley Jr. walked, Hanigan to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Castillo singled to center, Hanigan scored, Bradley Jr. to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Bogaerts walked, Castillo to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Ortiz struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Ryan singled to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Ellsbury singled to right center, Ryan to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Gardner sacrificed to catcher, Ryan to third, Ellsbury to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Rodriguez intentionally walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Teixeira fouled out to catcher. | 1 | 1 |
| Young popped out to shortstop. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| CC Sabathia pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Ramírez lined out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| Napoli grounded out to second. | 1 | 1 |
| Sandoval struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Headley lined out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| Murphy grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 1 |
| Gregorius lined out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Justin Wilson pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Wilson relieved Sabathia. | 1 | 1 |
| Hanigan struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Rutledge struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Bradley Jr. singled to center. | 1 | 1 |
| Castillo struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Ryan struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Ellsbury homered to right (375 feet). | 1 | 2 |
| Gardner struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Rodriguez struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Dellin Betances pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Betances relieved Wilson. | 1 | 2 |
| Bogaerts grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 2 |
| Ortiz grounded out to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Ramírez singled to right. | 1 | 2 |
| Ramírez stole second. | 1 | 2 |
| Napoli struck out looking. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Robbie Ross Jr. pitching for Boston | BOS | NYY |
| Ross Jr. relieved Rodríguez. | 1 | 2 |
| Teixeira grounded out to first. | 1 | 2 |
| Young grounded out to third. | 1 | 2 |
| Headley struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Andrew Miller pitching for New York | BOS | NYY |
| Miller relieved Betances. | 1 | 2 |
| Sandoval flied out to left. | 1 | 2 |
| Hanigan flied out to right. | 1 | 2 |
| Shaw hit for Rutledge. | 1 | 2 |
| Shaw singled to left. | 1 | 2 |
| Holt ran for Shaw. | 1 | 2 |
| Bradley Jr. walked, Holt to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Castillo struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Boston Red Sox | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Castillo RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | .267 | .300 | .352 |
| Bogaerts SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | .310 | .339 | .403 |
| Ortiz DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .241 | .332 | .466 |
| Ramírez LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .260 | .300 | .443 |
| Napoli 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | .207 | .307 | .386 |
| Sandoval 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 14 | .260 | .307 | .389 |
| Hanigan C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .250 | .356 | .319 |
| Rutledge 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | .100 | .182 | .100 |
a-Shaw PH
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .417 | .462 | .708 |
Holt PR
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .277 | .351 | .380 |
| Bradley Jr. CF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | .118 | .254 | .176 |
| Totals | 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 149 | |||
| a-singled to left for J Rutledge in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING RBI: Castillo (11) 2-out RBI: Castillo Red Sox RISP: 1-5 (Rutledge 0-1, Ortiz 0-1, Castillo 1-2, Napoli 0-1) Team LOB: 9 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Ramírez (6, 2nd base off Betances/Murphy) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, New York, NY |
| Attendance | 48,608 (97.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:54 |
| Weather | 79 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Rob Drake, First Base - D.J. Reyburn, Second Base - Mike Everitt, Third Base - Kerwin Danley |
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