Dein erstes Forum » the defending champion upped

BOSTON - Alex Rodriguez responded to being hit by a pitch the best way he knows how — with a home run. And his teammates followed his lead. "It was awesome. I was pretty excited," Rodriguez said of the homer that started the Yankees go-ahead rally. "It was the ultimate payback." Rodriguez was hit by a fastball his first time up and then hit the 649th homer of his career to start a four-run sixth inning that carried New York to a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected after storming out of the dugout to holler at plate umpire Brian ONora, who warned both benches immediately after Rodriguez was plunked by Ryan Dempsters 3-0 pitch leading off the second inning. It struck his left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back. Girardi felt the incident sparked the Yankees. "Im sure it did," he said. "They rallied and responded." Rodriguez, who went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, was suspended recently for 211 games by Major League Baseball in the Biogenesis drug case. He appealed the penalty and can play until there is a final decision. "Whether you like me or hate me, whats wrong is wrong," he said of being hit. "That was unprofessional and silly." Under the collective bargaining agreement, Rodriguez has the right to appeal. "Whether I agree with everything thats going on, you do not throw at people and you dont take the law into your own hands," Girardi said. "You cant just start taking potshots because you disagree with the way the system is set up." Girardi and Rodriguez said Dempster threw at Rodriguez intentionally. And Girardi said Dempster should have been ejected and should be suspended. Rodriguez declined to comment on any punishment for the pitcher. "Im the wrong guy to be asking about suspensions," he said with a smile. Players streamed from the dugouts and benches, but no skirmishes developed in the latest testy game between the longtime rivals. The dustup seemed to spark the Yankees, who were trailing 2-0 at the time. Mariano Rivera earned his first save since blowing three chances in a row for the first time in his career. "Im sure any hitter that hits a home run the next time up after youve been hit, it feels good," said Dempster, who denied throwing at Rodriguez. "Its just reality. It was unfortunate because it started the inning off with a run." Bostons lead in the AL East was cut to one game over Tampa Bay. The game took 4 hours, 12 minutes. One Yankee drew loud cheers from the Fenway Park crowd. Rivera received a standing ovation as he ran in from the bullpen for the ninth. In his first appearance since last Sunday, he got his 36th save in 41 opportunities. With two runners on, Rivera retired Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a fly ball for the final out. CC Sabathia (11-10) got the win and the Yankees took two of three from the first-place Red Sox. Booed every time he came to bat — and even when he was on deck in the first — Rodriguez drew more jeers after he led off the sixth with a homer off Dempster (6-9) to cut the lead to 6-4. Brett Gardner soon followed with a three-run triple off Drake Britton. As Rodriguezs second homer of the year landed in the centre field bleachers, he clapped his hands and let out a shout at first base. Then he clapped again and pointed both hands skyward as he crossed home plate. He continued to the dugout where he was congratulated by teammates. The rally continued when the Yankees loaded the bases with one out on singles by Eduardo Nunez and Lyle Overbay and a walk to Chris Stewart before Gardner tripled. Rodriguez was one of four Yankees hit by pitches, but his was the only one that appeared to be intentional. On Rodriguezs first at bat, Dempster "pitched much like Ryan has done (in) many starts," said Boston manager John Farrell, who denied that Dempster was throwing at Rodriguez. "He established his fastball. There are hitters in the lineup and hes got to establish it in. We saw later on when he doesnt establish his fastball in. Rodriguez gets his arms extended and he drives the ball out to centre field." Dempsters first pitch went behind Rodriguezs knees as fans chanted "Youre a cheater!" The next two pitches were inside before the fourth pitch struck Rodriguez. He walked slowly to first base, accompanied by a trainer and staring at Dempster but not making a move toward the mound. In 12 games since his season debut after recovering from hip and quadriceps problems, Rodriguez is batting .319 with two homers and six RBIs. Boston had taken a 2-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Jonny Gomes and an RBI single by Saltalamacchia. New York tied it in the second when Rodriguez was hit, took third on a double by Curtis Granderson and scored on a single by Nunez. Overbay followed with a sacrifice fly. Rodriguezs run-scoring groundout gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the third before the Red Sox tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by David Ortiz. The Red Sox took a 5-3 lead in the fourth on Stephen Drews sacrifice fly and Will Middlebrooks 10th homer. A bases-loaded walk to Daniel Nava boosted the lead to 6-3 in the fifth. After the four-run sixth, the Yankees added RBI singles by Mark Reynolds in the seventh and Stewart in the ninth. "Today kind of brought us together," Rodriguez said. "Joes reaction was amazing. Every single one of my teammates came up to me and said hit a (homer)." NOTES: New Yorks Alfonso Soriano went 0 for 6 after batting .682 with five homers and 18 RBIs in his previous five games. ... Yankees SS Nunez left the game in the sixth with a tight right hamstring. ... Boston 1B Mike Napoli missed his second straight game with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter (strained right calf) increased his movement in fielding drills on Sunday, including some spin moves on grounders up the middle, during his third day of workouts at the teams complex in Tampa, Fla. Jeter took batting practice, but isnt running the bases. Girardi said Jeter wont be ready to return for Tuesdays doubleheader against Toronto. ... Dempster is 0-6 with a 7.57 ERA against the Yankees in his career.Authentic Shoes Wholesale . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Cheap Shoes Outlet Stores . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.cheapshoes.us.org/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Trendy Wholesale Shoes . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Wholesale Shoes China Free Shipping . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.Novak Djokovic denied he has a temper problem after firing a ball into the crowd during his victory over Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.The world No 2 received a warning for hitting a ball in the direction of coaches Boris Becker and Marian Vajda, who were sitting in the stands, after losing the first set in a tie break 12-10.The ball flew past Becker and Vajda and only narrowly missed a spectator. Djokovic wins O2 opener Novak Djokovic battled back from a set down to beat Dominic Thiem It followed a similar incident at this years French Open, when he threw his racket and almost hit a line judge during his quarter-final win over Tomas Berdych.Djokovic went on to beat Thiem 6-7 (10-12) 6-0 6-2, but when questioned about the incident in his post-match press conference, he replied: I keep doing these things? Why dont [I] get suspended, then? Highlights from Djokovics win over Dominic Thiem Im close? Im still not suspended, so if Im not close, Im not close. It could have been [serious], yes. It could have snowed in O2 arena, as well, but it didnt.Im the only player that shows his frustration on the court? Thats what you are saying? It is not an issue for me. Its not the first time I did it.Sky Sports analyst Annabel Croft was courtside at the end of the first set and admitted she had been taken aback by Djokovics actions. Djokovic talks to Sky Sports tennis analyst Mark Petchey at the Sky Pad She said: Im just shocked at what he just did.dddddddddddd He slammed a ball right towards Boris Becker and Marian Vajda.The ball just skimmed past them and into the crowd. That just tells you the bubbling anger inside him. Novak is absolutely steaming right now.Djokovic and Thiem were closely matched in the opening set, but the defending champion upped his game in the second and third sets and ran out a comfortable winner. Djokovic said breaking early in the second set was key to beating Thiem He added: I knew after that the first opening couple games of the second set would be crucial for me to start with a break up, which I did. I felt more comfortable. I started swinging more freely in the second set. I made him play an extra shot. He started making more errors, which I used.I was on top of his second serves, putting a lot of pressure. I thought I played very well in the second set especially, but the third as well.Watch every day of the ATP World Tour Finals, from November 13-20, live on Sky Sports. Full schedule here. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract.Also See:Tour Finals: Panel predictionsNovak out to silence doubtersMurray: Faster court a benefitShots to watch at the O2 ' ' '