American LeagueCurt Schilling overpowered New York and shut down Alex Rodriguez, leading the Boston Red Sox to their second straight win over the Yankees, 5-2 Saturday.
Rodriguez went 0-for-4 for the second straight day and grounded into a double play with two on in the seventh. The AL MVP, nearly traded to Boston last December before Texas sent him to New York, is hitting just .171.
"I'm just trying to find a groove where I feel comfortable," said Rodriguez, whose batting average dropped to .171. "Ups and downs are a part of it."
Schilling (2-0), acquired by the Red Sox in November, struck out eight and allowed six hits and four walks.
"All things aside, we won," Schilling said calmly. "We took the first two games of the series against a good team."
Mike Mussina (1-3) also struggled in the second game of the four-game series, forcing in Boston's first two runs with a bases-loaded walk and hit batter. Mussina, previously 10-5 in Fenway Park, allowed four runs -- three earned -- seven hits and four walks in just five innings.
The Yankees have just 12 hits in the first two games of the highly anticipated series, the first between the teams since Aaron Boone's 11th-inning homer won Game 7 of the AL championship series last October.
Manny Ramirez hit his 350th homer in the fifth, putting Boston up 4-1.
National League
Scott Rolen homered on consecutive at-bats and had four RBIs, Albert Pujols also connected and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-4 Saturday.
Mark McGwire, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, was given a pregame standing ovation by the crowd of 46,471. It was his first appearance at Busch Stadium since retiring after the 2001 season.
Rolen has never hit more than 31 home runs in a season, but leads the major leagues with 23 RBIs and has seven homers.
Jason Marquis (1-1) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings to help the Cardinals win their second straight after a 1-6 start at home, their worst since 1973. Todd Helton hit a two-run homer off him in the third.
RSS