Yankees 4 Red Sox 2

For those of you predicting a 162-0 season, your dreams have been shattered by the Yankees. The Red Sox weren't really awful this game, but they weren't exceptional in any part of the game either. They got a reasonable number of baserunners, but hit into 3 double plays and went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. The pitching wasn't exceptional, but 4 runs is hardly an insurmountable explosion of offense.

Jacoby Ellsbury gave them nothing from the leadoff spot going 0 for 4 and hitting into a double play. Shane Victorino contributed a single going 1 for 4 on the day. He had an impressive outfield assist catching Brett Gardner trying to stretch a single into a double. He got greedy in the first inning and tried to score from second on a wild pitch with two outs, but got tagged out in a close play at the plate. Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 2, but worked the only two walks Yankees pitching gave up this game. Mike Napoli went 1 for 4 with a single. Jonny Gomes went 1 for 4 with a double in the 9th against Mariano Rivera to make things interesting. Will Middlebrooks collected his first two hits of the season with two singles and an RBI. Middlebrooks had a chance representing the tying run in the 9th, but grounded out to only score the one run. Jackie Bradley went 1 for 4 with an RBI double in the 7th. He also hit into a double play to end the 2nd inning. Backup catcher David Ross went 1 for 3. He showed some impressive defensive skills gunning down Nunez and Gardner trying to steal second. Jose Iglesias is making it tougher and tougher to send him back to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew gets back, going 2 for 3 and raising his average to .583 on the season. He showed some nice speed with a bunt single that caught the Yankees off guard. He also hit into an unfortunate double play. 3 double plays and 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position was just too much for this team to overcome despite doing a good job of getting men on base.
BATTING GRADE: C-

Ryan Dempster did ok in his Red Sox debut. His performance was pretty close to what we saw out of Lester on opening day, but he unfortunately didn't get the run support that Lester did and took the loss here. 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8K isn't exactly what you're hoping for, but the game was definitely still winnable.
STARTING PITCHING GRADE: C+

Other than getting the hold, Junichi Tazawa had an identical stat line to his first performance. 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 9 pitches. Last time he was the beneficiary of a double play. This time he benefited from Ross gunning down Nunez trying to steal second. Another solid performance for his one inning of work. Clayton Mortensen looked a little shaky in his first appearance of the year. He gave up a home run to Cervelli to lead off the 7th inning and provided the Yankees with some insurance. He followed up by giving up a hit to Gardner, which would have been a double without a great throw from Victorino to get the outfield assist. After that he settled down and retired the next 5 batters he faced. The bullpen kept the game within reach in their three innings of work, but they had some help from excellent plays from Ross and Victorino.
BULLPEN GRADE: C