Byung-Hyun Kim Sinks Yankees

Manny Ramirez grabbed a game-ending ball with a sliding catch down the left-field line, holding up his glove to show off the ball as he lay on his back.

The ball looked like bouncing out, but stopped at the tip of the glove. All looked like the dangerous moment of the Red Sox saver Byung-Hyun Kim.

Then, the 34,787 Red Sox fans stood up on their feet and gave a standing ovation. Kim also crunched his right fist to show his victory. "It felt unbelievable to make that catch," Ramirez said after the game. "It was like the first catch I ever made, and I was very happy."

Kim recorded his first save against the New York Yankees. Kim pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven tries, allowing an RBI fielder`s choice, one walk and one hit. The Red Sox won the game 6-4.

It was his season sixth and first "anti-Yankees" save. But he had never won a save against the Yankees. The previous day, he failed to defend the lead against the Yankees. Yesterday, however, with the help of teammates, he could mark up one more save.

Boston pulled out a wonderful victory. Up to the 6th, Yankees’ starter Jeff Weaver silenced the Red Sox batters. Until he took off the mound in the 7th, he led the game 3-0 for the Yankees. Once Weaver was gone, the Red Sox began to fire out. Jason Varitek tied the game with a three-run homer and Johnny Damon followed with the go-ahead shot Sunday night as Boston scored six times in the seventh inning.

The Red Sox won two out of the three consecutive games against the Yankees, and got close to Yankees by one and a half games. Now the Yankees are leading the American League East.

Although Kim took the mound for all of the three games, his pitching was not satisfying. In two of the three, he lost runs, and in the other one, he had to watch his save blown up into the air.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com