CC Sabathia strikes out 10 as Yankees beat Red Sox, end losing streak at five

CC Sabathia played the role of ace Friday night, exactly what he and the Yankees needed.

Coming off his worst start of the season and dogged by questions about his diminished velocity, Sabathia provided a vintage stopper performance at just the right time. He allowed one run in 71/3 innings, walked none and struck out 10 to lead the Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, snapping their season-high losing streak at five.

Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI and Mariano Rivera -- in his first appearance since blowing a save opportunity for the first time this season Tuesday night -- allowed consecutive one-out singles but secured the save unscathed. He struck out dangerous Mike Napoli on three pitches and retired Stephen Drew on a weak comebacker to earn his 19th save in 20 chances as the Yankees moved within a game of the AL East-leading Red Sox.

On a night when the Yankees welcomed back Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis from the disabled list to join their struggling lineup, the return of Sabathia's fastball proved most noteworthy.

Before the game, Joe Girardi -- who was ejected in the fifth inning -- described Sabathia as "a pitcher in transition," someone who's learning on the fly how to get by without his same fastball.

Sabathia (5-4), who hadn't won in five starts since April 27, came in averaging 90.0 mph on his fastball, down from 92.3 in 2012 and 93.8 in 2011. But on a muggy 86-degree night, he found a few extra ticks, perhaps demonstrating that his hard-throwing days are not behind him.

"I understand why people have some cause for concern, but he's a guy that a lot of times when it warms up, he gets on a roll," Girardi said. "Tonight was really the first hot night he pitched on and it was the best stuff we've seen from him."

Sabathia's fastball regularly hit 92 and 93 and even touched 94 a few times. That allowed him to more effectively mix in his slider and changeup, keeping the Red Sox whaling at air. Sabathia got 15 swings-and-misses.

Sabathia credited a mental adjustment in which he committed to being more aggressive with his fastball. He said he wasn't aware of the uptick in velocity -- "I try not to look up there and see what I'm throwing" -- but said he felt more confident with the pitch.

"When he pitches that way, it makes life easier for everybody," Brett Gardner said.

Four of the six hits Sabathia allowed were doubles, but only once did it hurt him. Dustin Pedroia led off the seventh with a hard double to the wall in right-center and scored when Napoli lined a changeup into right-center for a one-out RBI double.

That cut the Yankees' lead to 3-1, but Sabathia stopped the damage there, striking out Drew and getting David Ross to ground out. Gardner's one-out RBI single off Andrew Miller in the bottom of the inning made it 4-1.

Teixeira, in his first 2013 plate appearance, led off the second with a walk and Vernon Wells lined a laser double over Jackie Bradley Jr.'s head in centerfield. RBI singles by Jayson Nix and Ichiro opened a 2-0 lead.

With David Adams on first in the fifth, Ichiro hit a comebacker to Jon Lester (6-2), who had a shot at a 1-6-3 double play. But Lester's throw was to the shortstop side of second, forcing Drew to extend his body to make the catch. Girardi argued that Drew's foot was off the bag -- which replays proved wasn't the case -- and wanted umpire Vic Carapazza to ask for help. After he refused, Girardi was tossed. Three batters later, Youkilis' RBI single made it 3-0.