ALDS Game 4: CC Sabathia pulled after three innings as Red Sox jump to early lead

The Yankees needed a strong outing from veteran starter CC Sabathia to keep their postseason hopes alive, but they didn’t quite get it. Sabathia was out after three innings of Tuesday’s American League Division Series Game 4 after giving up three runs to Boston’s powerful offense. In an elimination game, that wasn’t what the Yankees hoped for, and the eventually fell to Boston 4-3 after a thrilling ninth inning.

It all started when the Red Sox, as they often do, put pressure on Sabathia in every inning, until finally getting on the board in the third via a J.D. Martinez sac fly, an Ian Kinsler double and an Eduardo Nunez single.

Once again, Yankees fans will be left to debate whether manager Aaron Boone was too slow getting to his bullpen. It was part of their problem in Monday night’s 16-1 rout. Eyes were fixated on the Yankees bullpen early in the third inning, despite Sabathia being left on the mound to get all three outs.

In all, Sabathia surrendered three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out one batter. The Yankees will need to lean on their bullpen — one of the best in baseball — to survive Game 4. But even that didn’t start out well, as reliever Zach Britton surrendered a homer to the Christian Vazquez, the first batter he faced in the fourth inning.

The Yankees fought back, getting a run in the fifth and two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early hole.

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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz

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