Rich Schultz/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Masahiro Tanaka tossed a complete nine innings but took the loss as the Boston Red Sox beat New York 2-1 on Saturday night. Mike Napoli hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth to break a 1-1 tie and cement the win.
Tanaka (11-3) battled hard with Red Sox starter Jon Lester (9-7), who pitched eight innings allowing just one run. Boston (37-44) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a David Ross homer and left the rest in the hands of their ace lefty. Lester struck out six in his eight frames before handing the ball over to Koji Uehara in the ninth.
The Yankees (41-38) tied things up in the home half of the third on a ground out from Derek Jeter. Both pitchers then battled inning-by-inning to maintain the deadlock. Lester held New York hitless until the sixth inning before giving up a single to Brett Gardner.
With Tanaka matching his counterpart, the game look destined for extras. Napoli, who had struck out in his previous two at-bats, took advantage of a mistake for his 10th homer of the season. It was just the third win in nine games for the defending World Series champs. Uehara earned his 17th save by throwing a perfect ninth inning.
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