NEW YORK -- Koji, krushed.
The Boston Red Sox fell to the New York Yankees 5-4 when Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley both homered in the bottom of the ninth off Sox closer Koji Uehara, who has transformed Koji Time into another way to say, "Take cover."
Koji Uehara's Splitter
2014 Season
The Sox have insisted that there is nothing physically wrong with Uehara that a little more rest can't cure, and just Wednesday general manager Ben Cherington was talking about how much the Sox want Uehara back for 2015, even if Uehara will be turning 40 just before Opening Day.
But after giving up a second-deck blast to Teixeira and a no-doubter to Headley, this is Uehara's line over his past six appearances: 4 2/3 innings, 14 hits, 10 ER, 4 HR. The ERA: 19.29.
Something is rotten in the state of Japan, and will be something else for the Sox to monitor down the stretch.
The Yankees' comeback spoiled a two-homer game by David Ortiz, the 46th of his career, and Brock Holt's first home run in 189 at-bats, which broke a 3-all tie in the fifth.
Derek Jeter, in his last home game against the Red Sox, hit a two-run double in the Yankees' three-run third against Sox pitcher Brandon Workman.