08/20: Yankees Clobber Boston Again, Up 4.5 Games
Posted by: Seamus
After struggling badly in his return to Fenway earlier in the season, it now looks like Johnny Damon wants to play against the Red Sox everyday. The CF went 3-6 for the third straight game against his former team and helped the Yanks clinch a series victory over the Red Sox as they defeated their rivals 13-5. The Yankees have won all three games so far in this series, have scored at least 12 runs in each of the three games and have outscored the Sox 39-19 overall (19 runs in three games is not a small number so the fact that the Yanks still have outscored them by 20 is pretty amazing). The Yankees now lead the Red Sox by a season-high 4.5 games and the Red Sox are starting to look desperate, as they are also 4 games behind the White Sox for the wild card.
The Yankees scored first in the 2nd on Bernie Williams' solo shot to right, and scored again in that inning on a double by Damon that scored Melky Cabrera. Randy Johnson looked good through 3, not allowing a hit until the 4th. However, that first hit was a three-run homer by Manny Ramirez that tied the game at 3. The Red Sox would go ahead later in that inning on a base hit by Willy Mo Pena.
Boston's glory would end there. A-Rod tied the game with a base hit in the 5th and Jorge Posada scored Jason Giambi on a fielder's choice to put the Yanks up 5-4. David Ortiz tied the game at 5 with a sac fly in the bottom of the inning, but the Unit settled down. When he left the game after 7, his line was an acceptable 4 runs on 5 hits. The Yankees went ahead for good in the 6th with consecutive bases loaded walks by Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano that put the Yanks up by a score of 7-5. Jorge Posada followed that up with a triple to that gap/corner/whatever you want to call it at the wall out in centerfield, clearing the bases and putting the bombers ahead 10-5. Cano would add 3 more with a round-tripper in the 8th to put the Yanks up 13-5. Jaret Wright pitched out of the bullpen after his short performance on Thursday and gave us a scoreless 8th and T.J. Beam pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out.
Even with the 13 runs scored, Cano and Damon were the only Yankees with more than one hit. The Yankees' patience and the Red Sox inability to hit the strike zone is what doomed the Sox as the Yankees drew a total of 13 walks in the game (9 by Josh Beckett).
Robinson Cano has been showing more power since coming off the DL. His home run yesterday was his third since coming back after hitting only five the first three months of the season. He also has his average up to .330 and could compete for the batting title along with his middle infield partner Derek Jeter once he has the required amount of at-bats to be eligible.
I wonder what the record is for the most runs scored in a five-game series. Anyway, tonight's game should feature the best pitching matchup in the series, with Mike Mussina going up against Curt Schilling. The Yankees can really pound the Red Sox into submission if we take the next two, as it would put the lead at 6.5 games. Of course if the Sox take the next two however, the lead is down to 2.5, so the next two games are still huge even with the Yankees taking the first three. Game starts at 8 E.T. and will be on ESPN.
The Yankees scored first in the 2nd on Bernie Williams' solo shot to right, and scored again in that inning on a double by Damon that scored Melky Cabrera. Randy Johnson looked good through 3, not allowing a hit until the 4th. However, that first hit was a three-run homer by Manny Ramirez that tied the game at 3. The Red Sox would go ahead later in that inning on a base hit by Willy Mo Pena.
Boston's glory would end there. A-Rod tied the game with a base hit in the 5th and Jorge Posada scored Jason Giambi on a fielder's choice to put the Yanks up 5-4. David Ortiz tied the game at 5 with a sac fly in the bottom of the inning, but the Unit settled down. When he left the game after 7, his line was an acceptable 4 runs on 5 hits. The Yankees went ahead for good in the 6th with consecutive bases loaded walks by Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano that put the Yanks up by a score of 7-5. Jorge Posada followed that up with a triple to that gap/corner/whatever you want to call it at the wall out in centerfield, clearing the bases and putting the bombers ahead 10-5. Cano would add 3 more with a round-tripper in the 8th to put the Yanks up 13-5. Jaret Wright pitched out of the bullpen after his short performance on Thursday and gave us a scoreless 8th and T.J. Beam pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out.
Even with the 13 runs scored, Cano and Damon were the only Yankees with more than one hit. The Yankees' patience and the Red Sox inability to hit the strike zone is what doomed the Sox as the Yankees drew a total of 13 walks in the game (9 by Josh Beckett).
Robinson Cano has been showing more power since coming off the DL. His home run yesterday was his third since coming back after hitting only five the first three months of the season. He also has his average up to .330 and could compete for the batting title along with his middle infield partner Derek Jeter once he has the required amount of at-bats to be eligible.
I wonder what the record is for the most runs scored in a five-game series. Anyway, tonight's game should feature the best pitching matchup in the series, with Mike Mussina going up against Curt Schilling. The Yankees can really pound the Red Sox into submission if we take the next two, as it would put the lead at 6.5 games. Of course if the Sox take the next two however, the lead is down to 2.5, so the next two games are still huge even with the Yankees taking the first three. Game starts at 8 E.T. and will be on ESPN.
