Cervelli's dropped pop-up costly in Yankees' 6-3 loss

Toronto took care of Tampa Bay Friday night, keeping the Yankees in first place. But the beat-up Red Sox are showing signs of being able to make the battle for the AL East title, and AL wild card, a three-team race.

The Yankees, with an opportunity to start the process of knocking their rival out of contention, instead dropped the first of this four-game series, 6-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 49,555 at the Stadium.

Javier Vazquez wasn't great in his first 2010 start against the Red Sox, who now are five games behind the Yankees, but he didn't receive much help. Not from catcher Francisco Cervelli, who dropped a pop-up in the second inning to set the stage for three unearned runs, or from his offense. The Yankees did little against Clay Buchholz beyond Mark Teixeira's two-run homer in the first, which momentarily gave them a 2-1 lead, and three hits from Robinson Cano.

Adrian Beltre, who came in hitting .358 in 20 games since the All-Star break, doubled into the gap in left-center to start the second. J.D. Drew popped to second, and when Mike Lowell sent a high but fairly routine pop-up between the mound and the plate, Vazquez looked well on his way to escaping the inning.

Vazquez, near the first-base line, was in position to make the catch, but at the last moment, Cervelli tried to make a basket catch. The ball dropped to the grass, and as Cervelli put his head down in disappointment, Beltre went to third.

The error was the first committed behind Vazquez this season. "It led to three unearned runs and we lost by three runs," Joe Girardi said. "It's unfortunate . . . Someone's got to catch it. That's the bottom line."

Cervelli called off Vazquez (9-8, 4.63), who said afterward, "I should have just caught it."

Cervelli said he recalled the old baseball adage. "You never let the pitcher catch a fly ball," he said. "It was my fault. I just dropped it."

Vazquez struck out Ryan Kalish, whose two-run homer in the sixth made it 6-3, for the second out, but he walked No. 9 hitter Jed Lowrie to load the bases. He then walked Jacoby Ellsbury to make it 2-2. Marco Scutaro followed with a two-run double that made it 4-2.

Vazquez retired the first two batters he faced in the first inning before David Ortiz hammered a 3-and-2 pitch over the 408-foot sign in center for his 24th home run and a 1-0 lead.

The Yankees came back in the bottom of the first against Buchholz (12-5, 2.66). Derek Jeter led off with a single to left, his 2,873rd career hit, which tied him with Babe Ruth on the all-time list. One out later, Teixeira ripped Buchholz's 0-and-1 pitch into the seats in right-center for his 24th homer and a 2-1 Yankees lead. Teixeira has 11 homers and 35 RBIs in his last 31 games.

It marked the fourth straight game in which the Yankees have hit a two-run homer in the first inning and the fifth time in their last seven games. They are 1-4 in those five games, and Friday night certainly wasn't the way they wanted to start this series.

"You look at it as a chance to try and extend your lead," Girardi said. "I try not to think too far ahead, but you try to win this series and if [you do], it's obviously important."