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NEW YORK (AP) — Masahiro Tanaka knew exactly how he wanted to handle Mike Napoli. The New York Yankees ace was throwing a fastball, no matter what catcher Brian McCann called for.
So after twice shaking off McCann, Tanaka stuck with his plan — and threw precisely the kind of pitch the Boston slugger hoped to see.
Napoli stung Tanaka by hitting a solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Jon Lester and the Red Sox over the Yankees 2-1 Saturday night.
"It was the worst thing I could've possibly done," Tanaka said through a translator.
Napoli hadn't had much success earlier in the taut pitchers' duel, striking out in his previous two at-bats. He was down 1-2 in the count before lining an opposite-field drive into the first row of the seats in right.
"He had me where he wanted me," Napoli said.
Tanaka wanted to take a different approach than McCann.
"He asked for a splitter and for a slider, and I shook off both of them," Tanaka said.
Tanaka said he intended to throw a fastball out of the strike zone to set up a breaking ball. Instead, Napoli hit it out of the park.
"What an idiot!" Napoli was heard exclaiming on Fox television microphones as he high-fived teammates in the dugout.
Napoli later said he didn't mean any disrespect, adding he was "surprised" Tanaka didn't throw his tremendous splitter.
Napoli, who also homered off Tanaka at Fenway Park in late April, raised his right arm as he rounded first base and headed toward a dugout celebration.
Tanaka, the top winner in the majors and the AL ERA leader, turned to watch the ball sail, twisting his body when it cleared the wall.
Napoli's third home run in five games, and 10th shot overall, flew far enough reach the short porch.
"Power hitters are going to have the ability to hit to all fields. We all know that right field here is not very forgiving," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Last night, they hit one in the first row. Tonight, we did."
The Red Sox won for just the third time in nine games. The victory made the defending World Series champions 37-44 at the midpoint of the season — it's the first time since 1997 that Boston has been under .500 at the halfway mark.
Lester (9-7) held the Yankees hitless until the sixth. He gave up an unearned run and five hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking two.
Koji Uehara pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances.
Tanaka (11-3) allowed seven hits in a complete game, striking out eight and walking one.
The Yankees lost for the fifth time in seven games. Tanaka dropped consecutive starts for the first time in the majors.
An odd sequence ended the Yankees eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury tried to steal second with two outs and the fans cheered when catcher David Ross' throw skipped into center field. As Ellsbury headed toward third, however, the crowd began to realize strike three had already been called on Mark Teixeira.
Earlier in the inning, second baseman Dustin Pedroia made a nifty pickup and glove flip to start a double play on Derek Jeter.
Ross homered in his second straight game, launching a drive far over the left-field fence in the third. Tanaka muttered to himself as Ross rounded the bases.
Lester, who threw a no-hitter against Kansas City in 2008, held the Yankees hitless until Brett Gardner bounced a leadoff single up the middle in the sixth.
Lester's bid was extended with two outs in the fifth when Yangervis Solarte was called out on a video review, taking away an infield single.
Pedroia opened the next inning with a single, and tried to test the arm of Ellsbury, his former teammate. The Yankees center fielder made an accurate throw and Pedroia was called safe, but he was ruled out after New York challenged the umpire's decision.
The Yankees scored in the third when Brian Roberts reached on shortstop Stephen Drew's error, Solarte was hit by a pitch, Gardner sacrificed and Jeter had an RBI grounder.
NOTES: Red Sox RHP John Lackey (8-5, 3.45) faces rookie RHP Chase Whitley (3-1, 4.07) in the series finale Sunday night. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (right knee) made his first rehab start, pitching 2 1-3 innings for Class A Tampa and giving up two runs on three hits and a walk vs. Dunedin. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda (shoulder) threw 25 pitches on the side at the spring complex in Tampa.
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