C.C. Sabathia Rips Nunez, Red Sox Over Bunting
BOSTON (CBS) -- C.C. Sabathia glared at the Red Sox dugout after getting out of a jam in the first inning. His anger stemmed from Eduardo Nunez's bunt that happened four batters earlier.
It was in his postgame comments, after he had hurled six strong innings for the Yankees, that Sabathia really let Nunez and the Red Sox know how he felt.
With one out in the first inning, Nunez tried to bunt for a single, forcing a throwing error from Sabathia. The Yankees lefty took exception to the play, expressing anger that the Red Sox made him field his position as he continues to work his way back from a surgically repaired knee.
"It's kind of weak to me," Sabathia told reporters after the game. "It shows what they've got over there. … I'm an old man. They should go out there and try to kick my butt.
"I just feel like they tried to take the weak road."
Asked if he felt the Red Sox disrespected him, Sabathia responded: "[They gave me] too much respect. ... Let's go. Let's play. Swing the bat."
He admitted that the Red Sox' bunting strategy helped fuel him for the rest of his outing. He posted six innings of one-run ball with four hits and five walks.
"It gets you fired up," said Sabathia. "It makes you want to beat them."
Nunez showed little sympathy for Sabathia's complaints, detailing what sounded like a half-apology before his next at-bat.
"I [said] 'I'm sorry,' but I have to do it, that's my game," Nunez said. "I feel bad, but if I have to do it twice, I'll do it. I don't care if he's mad or not."
Nunez added that he would "one hundred percent" bunt again in that situation.
Sabathia and the Yankees got the last laugh, earning the 6-2 win to take the first game of the four-game series at Yankee Stadium. They cut the Red Sox' lead in the American League East to 4.5 games.