Bronx, NY – Clay Buchholz threw seven strong innings and received plenty of offensive support from his Boston teammates, as the Red Sox cruised to a second straight win over the rival New York Yankees with a 7-4 decision.
Buchholz (1-0) held the Yankees to one run and six hits in a sharp first effort of the season, and the Red Sox staked the right-hander to a comfortable 6-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings.
"It's always good to get off on the right foot," Buchholz said.
Boston pounded out 13 hits on the night, with Daniel Nava, Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Shane Victorino each collecting two while driving in a run.
Jacoby Ellsbury added a two-run single for the Red Sox, who got their 2013 campaign off to an excellent beginning with Monday's 8-2 triumph at Yankee Stadium.
Vernon Wells' three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth was one of few bright spots for New York, which lost starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to an injured right hand after being struck by a Victorino line drive in the top of the second.
Kuroda (0-1) was charged with two runs and surrendered four hits before being forced to exit with one out in the second.
Wells ended 3-for-4 for the Yankees, with Travis Hafner delivering a solo homer in the setback.
"We just have to do a little more than we did tonight," Wells said.
Kuroda served up three hits, the last a run-scoring single from Saltalamacchia, in the first inning before having Victorino's liner to begin the second deflect off his pitching hand. He then hit Jackie Bradley Jr. with a pitch, walked Ellsbury two batters later to load the bases and unintentionally plunked Nava in the lower leg to force in a run prior to being removed.
The Red Sox later teed off on replacement Cody Eppley to extend the margin. Victorino singled home Saltalmacchia in the third for a 3-0 advantage, then crossed the plate on Bradley's base hit up the middle before a Jose Iglesias double put two men in scoring position for Ellsbury, who ripped a single to center to knock in both runners and put Boston ahead by a 6-0 score.
Buchholz, meanwhile, was cruising along. The right-hander set down seven straight Yankees before Hafner reached the seats with two outs in the fourth, then yielded just two hits and a walk over his final three innings of work.
He left with a 7-1 lead after the Sox tacked on another run in the sixth. Ellsbury reached on a fielder's choice, moved to third on a Nava double and crossed the plate on a Pedroia ground ball.
A hit batsman and Kevin Youkilis' single in the eighth set the stage for Wells' two-out blast off Alfredo Aceves that cut New York's deficit to 7-4, but the Yankees couldn't get a runner past first against closer Joel Hanrahan in the ninth.
Game Notes
The Yankees have now lost their last six games dating back to last year's American League Championship Series, during which the Bronx Bombers were swept by Detroit in the best-of-seven set ... Buchholz had gone 0-5 over his final eight starts of last season, with his most recent victory coming at Baltimore on August 16. He was also 0-2 with a 15.26 ERA in two starts against New York in 2012, including a shelling at Yankee Stadium in which he was rocked for eight runs in 1 2/3 innings ... Ex-Red Sox Youkilis finished 2-for-4 for the Yankees, with Iglesias recording two hits in four at-bats for Boston.
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