Once again Sunday night, Mike Cameron showed that while he may not be the spectacular player he was a decade ago he can still deliver when Terry Francona needs him.

Following a what looked like a devastating 4-6-3 double play on an interference call on Kevin Youkilis at second base – keeping Dustin Pedroia at third – Cameron chopped a grounder into the new Fenway dirt and beat out Eric Chavez‘s throw to first, scoring Pedroia and giving Josh Beckett and the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

The reason Cameron was even in the lineup to begin with was Francona’s decision to sit the struggling Jacoby Ellsbury against Yankees lefty ace C.C. Sabathia. Cameron was 8-for-16 lifetime against Sabathia while Ellsbury had just one hit in 13 ABs.

“I wanted to get Cam in there and Ells hasn’t had a lot of success,” Francona said before the game. “One through nine, against a guy like Sabathia, you’re not going to have nine guys who’ve really had their way with him. He’s one of the better pitchers in the game but I wanted to get Cam’s bat in there.

I know he’s trying to. He’s doing it as professionally as possible. I don’t want him to sit very often because he’s a big part of what we’re doing. Cam’s about as professional as you can be.”