Chamberlain, Rivera fail as Yanks fall to Red Sox

For the second straight night, the Yankees failed to hold a five-run lead.

But the second time around, there were no late-inning heroics to bail them out in a game that took 4 hours, 9 minutes.

After Joba Chamberlain coughed up a four-run lead in the eighth inning, the Red Sox scored twice, aided by an error by Monday night's hero Marcus Thames, in the ninth to hand the Yankees a disheartening 7-6 loss on a cold and soggy Tuesday night at the Stadium.

The Yankees (25-14) trailed 7-5 going into the bottom of the ninth and again rallied against Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, scoring once, but they couldn't get the tying run in from third with one out. Papelbon earned his 10th save by striking out Randy Winn with runners on second and third.

"This is my loss, it isn't anybody else's," Chamberlain said.

Chamberlain, handed a 5-1 lead to start the eighth, was the victim of some bad luck at the start of the inning and poor pitching after that. Marco Scutaro reached on a tough error charged to Alex Rodriguez and, after Dustin Pedroia singled through the hole between first and second, Scutaro scored on J.D. Drew's double. Kevin Youkilis, whose solo homer in the fourth accounted for Boston's only run off CC Sabathia, blooped a single to right to bring in two to make it 5-4. Youkilis scored the tying run on David Ortiz's long single off the right-centerfield wall. Ortiz was thrown out at second on the play.

Three of the four runs were earned.

Both runs scored off Rivera (0-1), who took the loss, were unearned. Rivera got Mike Lowell to ground out to start the ninth and Darnell McDonald followed with a single. Scutaro was next, lofting a high pop down the rightfield line. Thames, whose two-run homer off Papelbon won Monday night's game, charged in on the ball and, with second baseman Robinson Cano a bystander, made an awkward attempt at a basket catch. The ball dropped to the wet grass.

Joe Girardi called the play, in the rain and wind, a "tough" one but Thames said that wasn't an excuse.

"I have to make that play," said Thames, who has had other rough moments in the field this season.

After Pedroia grounded out, Jeremy Hermida, 0-for-1 in his career against Rivera, sent a line drive over the head of Winn, playing shallow in left against the lefty, for a two-run double and a 7-5 Red Sox lead.

Rivera said Thames' error didn't affect him negatively.

"I have a chance to still do my job and get this guy [Hermida] out and nothing would have happened," said Rivera, who allowed a grand slam in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Twins. "That's [the error] part of the game. You still have to do your job."

The Yankees allowed three unearned runs over the last two innings.

"You have players that aren't going to be perfect all the time," Girardi said. "There are going to be physical errors; it's going to happen. It's going to happen on both sides."

It did to the Red Sox, who, as has been the case all season, struggled in the field. They committed two errors, including one in the ninth that nearly led to another Yankees comeback.

Papelbon, who allowed two two-run homers Monday, including one to Alex Rodriguez, saw A-Rod reach to start the ninth on an error by Scutaro. Cano came next and slashed a double down the leftfield line to make it 7-6. Francisco Cervelli sacrificed Cano to third. Thames worked a walk but Juan Miranda, who homered off Josh Beckett in the fourth and had two RBIs, grounded back to Papelbon, who kept Cano at third. Winn then struck out on a full-count fastball to end it.

It was a tough no-decision for Sabathia, who on the 53-degree night battled for seven innings, allowing one run and four hits.

"It's going to happen," Sabathia said. "These guys are great pitchers out there in the bullpen and Joba and Mo, it's just one of those things. Nine times out of 10, they get the job done."

The Yankees had seven hits, getting a two-run double by Cano and two RBIs from Miranda, one on the 27-year-old designated hitter's first homer of the season. But overall, they didn't take advantage of their opportunities, leaving 12 on base compared with six for the Red Sox (20-20).

It was a somewhat odd game, starting after a 59-minute rain delay and played under protest because the Yankees contended there was no indication that starter Josh Beckett was injured before he was replaced in the fifth.

That occurred after Cano ripped a two-run double to right-center in the fifth for a 5-0 lead. Pitching coach John Farrell went out to talk to Beckett and, after he was removed, Manny Delcarmen was given as many warm-up pitches as he thought he needed.

It later was announced that Beckett left with tightness in his lower back. Beckett, who came in 1-1 with a 7.46 ERA, allowed five runs, three earned, and five hits in 42/3 innings.

A decision on the protest is likely to come Wednesday from the league office and it's a long shot that it will be upheld.

"In my eyes, it was not done the right way," Girardi said. "My thought is Manny either gets eight warm-up pitches and has to lob it, or they have to bring in a position player . . . To me, he shouldn't get all his pitches there . . . It could be used as a huge advantage if every time a guy is in trouble, and I'm not saying Beckett wasn't hurt, but every time a guy was in trouble, you signal to the bullpen and it's, oh, he's hurt. It would be a huge advantage."