GRANDERSON HEROIC IN 10TH

YANKEES TAKE SERIES AFTER BATTLE AT FENWAY

When the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson in a three-way trade involving the Tigers and Diamondbacks in December, the scouting report was as follows: a lion versus right-handed pitching; a lamb versus lefties; a gazelle in the outfield; a mensch in the clubhouse. Three games into his Yankees career, Granderson has come precisely as advertised. So far he has crushed righties, belting a long home run against Josh Beckett in Sunday's opening night 9-7 loss to the Red Sox, and a game-winner in Wednesday's 3-1 win.Granderson showed grace and athleticism climbing the center-field fence to rob Adrian Beltre on Sunday, and since his first day in spring training camp he has been personable and accommodating standing before his locker. And, of course, he has struggled mightily against left-handed pitchers. But there was one quality that was less-publicized, although for the Yankees' purposes it may turn out to be the most important one of all. Curtis Granderson loves to hit against Jonathan Papelbon. Granderson is not the type of guy who would ever admit it. In fact, he downplayed his success against Boston's formidable closer -- but his numbers do his bragging for him. In spite of his attempt to point out that he had, in fact, failed in seven of his 10 at-bats against Papelbon, what was left unsaid was that this still made him a .300 hitter against a pitcher the rest of baseball hits a measly .198 against. And Granderson practically blushed when someone mentioned that of the 21 home runs Papelbon has allowed in his five-plus major league seasons, only one player has hit as many as two of them. Curtis Granderson. Welcome to New York. (ESPN)