07/27: Yanks Crush Red Sox for 8th Straight Victory
Posted by: Seamus
The Yankees just keep rolling, this time clobbering the Red Sox by a score of 10-3 en route to their 8th straight victory against teams who started the break ahead of them in the wild card race. The Yanks closed to within one game of the Sox in the A.L. wild card race, and remained three games behind the Rays, who won in Kansas City.
Andy Pettitte was pretty solid after a rough first inning in which he allowed two runs. Pettitte more or less cruised through the next five innings, as aside from a home run by J.D. Drew in the 6th, he did not allow a runner to reach third base. He finished with a line of three runs off five hits in six innings.
The lineup did a good job against Tim Wakefield and took advantage of a mediocre Red Sox bullpen. Robinson Cano just continues to rake, as he went 3-4, including a game-tying home run in the 4th. He's now got his average up to .270. Alex Rodriguez was on base four times, including a scary moment where he was drilled in the arm by a fastball from Craig Hansen in the 8th. Rodriguez did leave the game, but the Yanks said it was just precautionary and doesn't seem major. Xavier Nady was 0-3 with a walk in his Yankees' debut.
The bullpen pitched yet another three scoreless innings, and this time Damaso Marte was in on the action. Marte was brought in to face one batter, and he got the job done as he struck out David Ortiz swinging in the bottom of the 7th. Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson all had scoreless outings as well, and all three have earned run averages under 3.00.
If I told you I wouldn't have been a little surprised if the Yankees would finish out this 9-game stretch after the All-Star break against Oakland, Minnesota and Boston tied for the wild card lead, I'd probably be lying. All three teams were ahead of them when their series with them began, and the Yankees have mowed through all of them so far, and can catch Boston in the standings with a win tonight. There is one problem however: the pitching matchup for tonight is Sidney Ponson against Jon Lester. Ponson will have to cut down on his mistakes and retire some leadoff hitters for once, as he isn't going to get himself out of every jam against this lineup the way he's done it against the Mets, Rays and Twins. It will be a very intriguing game to watch, and could be a major turning point in this season. Game starts at 8:05 ET and will be carried on ESPN.
Andy Pettitte was pretty solid after a rough first inning in which he allowed two runs. Pettitte more or less cruised through the next five innings, as aside from a home run by J.D. Drew in the 6th, he did not allow a runner to reach third base. He finished with a line of three runs off five hits in six innings.
The lineup did a good job against Tim Wakefield and took advantage of a mediocre Red Sox bullpen. Robinson Cano just continues to rake, as he went 3-4, including a game-tying home run in the 4th. He's now got his average up to .270. Alex Rodriguez was on base four times, including a scary moment where he was drilled in the arm by a fastball from Craig Hansen in the 8th. Rodriguez did leave the game, but the Yanks said it was just precautionary and doesn't seem major. Xavier Nady was 0-3 with a walk in his Yankees' debut.
The bullpen pitched yet another three scoreless innings, and this time Damaso Marte was in on the action. Marte was brought in to face one batter, and he got the job done as he struck out David Ortiz swinging in the bottom of the 7th. Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson all had scoreless outings as well, and all three have earned run averages under 3.00.
If I told you I wouldn't have been a little surprised if the Yankees would finish out this 9-game stretch after the All-Star break against Oakland, Minnesota and Boston tied for the wild card lead, I'd probably be lying. All three teams were ahead of them when their series with them began, and the Yankees have mowed through all of them so far, and can catch Boston in the standings with a win tonight. There is one problem however: the pitching matchup for tonight is Sidney Ponson against Jon Lester. Ponson will have to cut down on his mistakes and retire some leadoff hitters for once, as he isn't going to get himself out of every jam against this lineup the way he's done it against the Mets, Rays and Twins. It will be a very intriguing game to watch, and could be a major turning point in this season. Game starts at 8:05 ET and will be carried on ESPN.
