Results tagged ‘ Bosox ’

No Rave Reviews For Sabathia, Yankees In Opener

GAME 1

RED SOX 8, YANKEES 2

Opening Day at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday was a lot like getting dressed to the nines, renting a limo with a beautiful girl escorting you and taking in a Broadway play only to find out that the part of Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” is not being played by  Philip Seymour Hoffman but by Emilio Estevez.

No Derek Jeter. No Alex Rodriguez. No Mark Teixeira. No Curtis Granderson.

Heck, this production could be called “Death of a Ballclub” and it looked like it was put on by an amateur repertory company in Paducah, KY.

CC Sabathia (0-1) struggled with his command and gave up four runs in the second inning while the depleted Yankees offense could not make up the margin as Boston became the first team since 1986 to beat New York in a home opener in front of a paid crowd of 49,514.

Jon Lester (1-0) pitched five solid innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks while he struck out seven batters. The Red Sox bullpen shut down the Yankees the rest of the way on just one hit and two walks.

Newly acquired Shane Victorino keyed the four-run second inning with a two-out, two-run single that gave the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. He added an RBI single in the ninth that closed out the scoring for the Bosox.

The Yankees lone scoring came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Francisco Cervelli stroked a two-out, two-run single off Lester to draw the Yankees to within two runs at 4-2.

But the Red Sox added a single run in the seventh and three more in the ninth.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Though it seems odd to say this, the Red Sox did not exactly rip the cover off the ball against the Yankees. There was a bunt single and four infield hits among the Red Sox 13 hits. The Red Sox got timely hits and they could not have rolled them into better spots. They were more lucky than good.
  • Cervelli has always seemed to have a knack for getting the big hit at the right time and it is starting to look like his 2013 season may be no different. He laced a 1-2 cutter off Lester down the left-field line to score Kevin Youkilis, who led off the inning with a double, and Vernon Wells, who drew a walk.
  • Former Mariners right-hander Shawn Kelley made his Yankee debut and pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out one batter and needing only 12 pitches to dispatch the Red Sox. Kelley was the only Yankee relief pitcher to pitch a perfect inning.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Sabathia has always been a slow starter so it is no surprise that he is 0-2 with a 7.42 over his five Opening Day starts with the Yankees. Sabathia was tagged for four runs on eight hits and four walks and he struck out five in his five innings of work. 
  • Joba Chamberlain’s 2013 debut was nothing to write home about either. He gave up a single and two walks to load the bases with one out. After fanning Jose Iglesias, Jacoby Ellsbury hit an infield single that scored two runs and Victorino followed with a single to left to end Chamberlain’s day. He will be a free agent at the end of the season and he is going to have to pitch better than he did on Tuesday if he wants to reman in pinstripes.
  • With the lefty Lester pitching, manager Joe Girardi elected to bat Eduardo Nunez second and shift Ichiro Suzuki to the seventh spot in the order. Nunez ended up going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and he left three men on base while not getting a ball out of the infield.

BOMBER BANTER

As part of the Opening Day ceremonies, the Yankees paid tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting last December in Newtown, CT. The Yankees saluted the first responders to the tragedy and conducted a solemn moment of silence for the victims and their families.  . . .  Rodriguez was with the team for the first time since Game 4 of last October’s American League Championship Series and he told reporters than his rehab from surgery on his left hip is going well. But he did not say when he would be able to return – only that it would be this season. Rodriguez said, “I love when people say, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re old.’ I find it a great challenge.” He declined to comment on questions about the Miami clinic that has been alleged to have distributed performance-enhancing drugs to a number of major-league players including Rodriguez.  . . .  Right-hander Phil Hughes threw seven innings in an extended spring training game for High-A Tampa at the team’s minor-league complex in Tampa, FL. Meanwhile, Jeter and Granderson also participated in workouts.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a day off to regroup from their disappointing opener before playing the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 1.53 ERA) is coming off a career-year in 2012 with career highs in victories, starts, innings and strikeouts. He also had an excellent spring. He is 2-1 with a 3.43 ERA against the Red Sox in his career.

Kuroda will be opposed by right-hander Clay Buccholz (3-0, 0.79 ERA), who is coming of a disastrous 2012 campaign marred by injury and ineffectiveness. He was 11-8 with a 4.46 ERA. He is 2-5 with a 7.19 ERA lifetime against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast locally by the YES Network and nationally by ESPN2.

 

Swisher Hits 2 As Yanks Pelt Bosox With 5 Homers

GAME 119

YANKEES 6, RED SOX 4

When the New York City Grand Hyatt Hotel elevator opens for Bobby Valentine and the passengers announce the elevator is going down, the embattled Red Sox skipper must be thinking about heading for the stairs. But after Friday’s loss to the New York Yankees, Valentine and the Red Sox must clearly believe that their season is indeed going down – in flames.

Nick Swisher led a five-homer barrage with a pair of solo shots from each side of the plate as New York put yet another proverbial nail in Boston’s 2012 coffin on a rainy night at Yankee Stadium in front of paid crowd of 49,422.

Jayson Nix actually was one of the few Yankees who kept his hit in the yard as he broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI single to give the Yankees their eighth victory in their last 10 games and increase their lead over the Red Sox in the American League East to 13 1/2 games.

Phil Hughes (12-10) snapped a personal two-game losing streak by allowing four runs (none of them earned) on four hits and one walk while striking out four in seven solid innings.

Hughes proved to be his own worst enemy after being staked to a 3-0 lead after a solo home run by Swisher in the first inning and Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin went back-to-back with solo home runs in the second inning off Red Sox starter Franklin Morales.

Mike Aviles led off the third inning with a lined single to center. Hughes then botched a potential double-play ball off the bat of Scott Posednik by throwing his relay toss second in the dirt and past Nix into center-field, putting runners on first and third with no outs.

Pedro Ciriaco scored Aviles by beating out another potential double-play ball and Jacoby Ellsbury battled Hughes to earn a 10-pitch walk.

That set the stage for a three-run home run into the left-field bleachers off the bat of Dustin Pedroia, giving the Red Sox a 4-3 lead on four unearned runs.

But the Yankees were not quite finished playing Home Run Derby with Morales.

Derek Jeter connected for his 10th home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a lined blast to left-field with two out in the fifth inning to tie it at 4-4. Morales has served up 11 home runs in 73 2/3 innings this season and eight of them have been to the Yankees.

The Yankees’ game-winning rally started in the sixth with a one-out single to center by Casey McGehee. Granderson followed with a hard-hit single off the wall in right that advanced McGehee to third and Valentine replaced Morales with right-handed reliever Clayton Mortensen.

One out later, Nix stroked a 0-2 slider to the opposite field in right to score McGehee.

Morales (3-4) gave up five runs on six hits and a walk and he fanned three in 5 1/3 innings. In his two starts against the Yankees this season, he has been tagged for 11 runs on 12 hits and three walks in 8 2/3 innings. Of those 12 hits, eight of the hits have been those pesky longballs.

Swisher capped the scoring with a solo home run that chased Mortensen in the seventh inning. It was his 16th home run of the season, his fourth home run over his last five games and it is the 12th time in his career he has hit a homer from both sides of the plate in a game.

David Robertson twirled a scoreless eighth and Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth to record his 30th save in 32 chances this season.

The Red Sox are 3-7 against the Yankees this season and their hopes of getting back into the wild-card race seem about as realistic as Kevin Youkilis throwing a tribute dinner for Valentine. The Red Sox are an anemic 5-11 in August and they seem to have as much life as Ted Williams’ preserved head.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their American League-best record to 71-48 and they are six games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the A.L. East. The Red Sox are mired in fourth at 58-62 and they are in danger of becoming the team with the highest payroll ever to miss three consecutive postseasons.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Swisher is on a flat-out tear that seems to have coincided with his move to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. He has at least one RBI in his last six games and is 9-for-25 (.360) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in that span. Swisher has raised his season average to .266.
  • Jeter’s 10th home run of the season gives the Yankees 10 players who have 10 or more home runs this season. During his 13-game hitting streak, Jeter is 22-for-64 (.344) with two home runs and eight RBIs. His current hot streak has raised his season average to .319, which leads the team and is fourth in the A.L.
  • If you leave out the nightmare third inning, Hughes gave up no runs on two hits and no walks and struck out four in six innings. As it is, Hughes retired 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced after the third. After going 0-2 with a 11.88 ERA in his last two starts, it was a nice bounce-back start for the 26-year-old right-hander.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I could complain about Hughes’ awful throwing error which led to four unearned runs. But the Yankees ratcheted up the power on the Red Sox and have them just about put away for good this season. So there are no real negatives when things look so good for Yankee fans.

BOMBER BANTER

Mark Teixeira was unable to play on Friday due to recurring soreness in his left wrist. It is the first game Teixeira has missed since he returned to the lineup on Aug. 3 after having a cortisone shot to ease the inflammation. It is unclear how much time Teixeira will miss. But manager Joe Girardi said he does not expect it to be a long-term issue.  Swisher played first in Teixeira’s absence against the Red Sox.  . . .  CC Sabathia threw on flat ground for the second consecutive day on Friday and it appears he is on schedule to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday and will make a start on Aug. 24 in Cleveland against the Indians. Sabathia has been sidelined with soreness in his left elbow.

ON DECK

The Yankees can embarrass the Bosox some more in a nationally telecast game on Saturday.

The Yankees will start 25-year-old rookie right-hander David Phelps (3-3, 2.53 ERA), who won his first major-league game as a starter by beating the Texas Rangers on Monday. Phelps gave up two runs on six hits and one walk and fanned three in five innings. He has no record and a 4.50 ERA in limited relief work against the Red Sox in his career.

The Red Sox will start left-hander Jon Lester (6-10, 5.20 ERA). Lester gave up one run on three hits and struck out 12 in his last start against the Indians on Sunday. However, Lester is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA in his two starts against the Yankees this season.

Game-time will be 4:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by FOX Sports.

 

Yankees’ 3 Homers Cooks Bosox’s Goose In Bronx

GAME 99

YANKEES 10, RED SOX 3

The Boston Red Sox are like a cockroach who is on its back with its legs swinging like crazy to stay alive as a huge boot is poised to rub out its very existence. The New York Yankees are that boot and on Friday they came  a step closer to bringing it down on the helpless insect.

Curtis Granderson blasted a grand slam home run and Raul Ibanez and Russell Martin both stroked two-run shots as New York demolished Boston in front of an ebullient crowd of 49,571 at Yankee Stadium.

Phil Hughes pitched around the three solo home runs he allowed to complete a solid seven innings to earn his 10th victory of the season. Hughes (10-8) gave up three runs on five hits and one walk and fanned five batters en route to raising his record to 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA in his 10 starts since July 1.

Hughes was touched for a solo home run in the first inning by Dustin Pedroia that gave the Red Sox a short-lived 1-0 lead. Hughes later surrendered solo shots to Carl Crawford in the third and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the fourth but recovered to retire 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced.

Meanwhile, the Yankees were able to take advantage of a Red Sox starting rotation that entered the game with 12th-ranked staff ERA in the American League.

Journeyman 33-year-old right-hander Aaron Cook (2-4) was greeted rudely with three runs in the opening inning, two of them coming on a two-run home run by Ibanez on a pitch that was actually about neck high on the outside corner. However, Ibanez was able to tomahawk the pitch and line it into the right-field bleachers for his 13th homer of the season.

Ibanez’s at-bat would never have occurred if Mark Teixeira had not beat out a potential inning-ending double-play grounder that scored Granderson to tie the game.

Two innings later, Derek Jeter and Granderson started the inning with back-to-back singles. After a fielder’s choice moved the pair up a base, Teixeira drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left.

The next inning, Ichiro Suzuki, who was making his Yankee Stadium debut in pinstripes, lined a one-out single and Martin followed by smacking a low line-drive shot into the left-field bleachers to give the Yankees a 6-3 lead.

Cook left after four innings, having given up six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out one.

The Yankees removed all hope of a late rally by the Red Sox with four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off former Yankee right-hander Mark Melancon.

Andruw Jones led off the inning with a double to the gap in right-center. Melancon then hit Eric Chavez with his next offering. After a pair of fielder’s choice outs left Suzuki at second and Martin at first, Melancon walked Jeter on a 3-2 pitch.

Granderson then launched a 1-0 fastball deep into the bleachers in right-center to clear the bases and give the Yankees a seven-run margin the Red Sox knew they could not overcome.

With the victory, the Yankees improved their record to a major-league best 60-39 and they now lead the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East by 8 1/2 games. The Red Sox, meanwhile have lost six of their past seven games and they are 11 1/2 games out in last place in the division.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Hughes now has been tagged for 25 home runs at Yankee Stadium this season, which is tied for the most in the majors. However, all three were solo shots and Hughes only gave up two other hits in the game and both were in the first inning after Pedroia’s homer. Hughes ended that inning by fanning Saltalamacchia. Hughes has registered 58 strikeouts in his last 68 2/3 innings.
  • Granderson’s home run was the Yankees’ seventh grand slam of the season and it was Granderson’s 28th home run overall. Granderson was 3-for-5 in the game and in his last five games he is 8-for-22 (.364) with three home runs and six RBIs. Granderson also moved into second on the team in RBIs with 58.
  • Ibanex entered the game 3-for-20 (.150) in his last six games but was 1-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. His home run was only his fourth since May 28.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Nothing! Hughes was solid and the Yankees used three homers to score 10 runs and they beat their arch-rival in a very decisive fashion. So I can’t complain about a thing.

BOMBER BANTER

Nick Swisher took batting practice and ran the bases on Friday before the game. But he did not start and only was available as a pinch-hitter, manager Joe Girardi said. Swisher has missed the past six games with a strained left hip flexor. It is possible that Swisher could start in Saturday’s game depending on how he feels.  . . .  Right-handed reliever Joba Chamberlain threw a bullpen session at Yankee Stadium before Friday’s game and he is scheduled to make his next rehab appearance for Double-A Trenton on Sunday. Chamberlain is poised to return to the Yankees soon after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year and suffering an open dislocation of his right ankle this spring.

ON DECK

The Yankees are now 6-1 this season against the Red Sox as they continue their weekend series with Boston on Saturday.

The Yankees could deal another knockout blow to the Red Sox with ace left-hander CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.30 ERA) on the mound. Sabathia pitched seven strong innings and could have won his 11th game if Rafael Soriano had not blown a save against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. Sabathia is 7-9 with a 4.14 ERA lifetime against the Bosox.

The Red Sox will counter with struggling left-hander Jon Lester (5-8, 5.46 ERA). Lester is coming off the worst start of his major-league career. He was blasted for four home runs and 11 runs against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Lester also has lost his only start against the Yankees this season at Fenway Park on July 8. He is 8-4 with a 4.33 in his career against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 4:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by FOX Sports.

 

CC KO’s KC To Give Mo-Less Yankees Some ‘Mo’

GAME 26

YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 2

The New York Yankees on Friday decided they needed to regain some “mo” in Kansas City, MO., in their first game without Mo.

Fortunately for the Yankees, CC Sabathia pitched two-run ball over eight innings to win his fourth straight start and the offense “exploded” for same amount of runs than the team has scored in its previous four games combined as New York defeated Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.

Sabathia (4-0) scattered seven hits, walked none and fanned five batters to help the Yankees end a three-game losing streak.

The Yankees and Royals actually were locked in a 2-2 deadlock after the first inning until Eduardo Nunez stroked a two-out triple in the seventh inning to score Robinson Cano from first base against Royals starter Bruce Chen (0-4). That hit opened the floodgates to a four-run inning that chased Chen.

Backup catcher Chris Stewart scored Nunez with a line-drive single to left and a red-hot Derek Jeter blasted a two-run home run to deep center to give the Yankees a huge four-run advantage.

The Yankees actually took a 2-0 lead on Kansas City in the first inning on a leadoff single on the first pitch from Jeter and one-out, two-run home run off the bat of Mark Teixeira, who has made a habit of making Chen’s life miserable. In his first 20 at-bats against Chen he had 10 hits, seven of them home runs.

Sabathia, however, was unable to hold the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Jarrod Dyson led off the frame with a single and Alex Gordon followed with an RBI double off the center-field wall. Jeff Francouer came to the plate two batters later and doubled to right-center to score Gordon with the tying run.

But Sabathia held the Royals there and, at one point, he rertired 12 batters in a row.

David Robertson, one of two relievers who will attempt to replace Mariano Rivera as the team’s closer this season, struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the victory.

The Yankees improved to 14-12 on the season while the Royals’ record fell to 8-17.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Sabathia did what a “stopper” should after the Yankees struggled to score runs with 67% of their outfield injured, 40% of the starting rotation struggling and 100% of the best closer in the history of the game out for the season. Sabathia coasted to his fourth straight victory once he got some run support in the seventh.
  • Jeter continues to amaze this season with how hot he is. He was 2-for-5 in the game , which left his season average at .404. His homer gave him five home runs and 15 RBIs on the season. In his last 10 games, Jeter is hitting .390 but he only has six runs scored (he scored two of those on Friday) because the rest of the lineup has been unable to generate much of any offense behind him.
  • Nunez’s RBI triple in the seventh broke a personal 0-for-19 slide at the plate. Nunez’s last hit was a single in his final at-bat against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 21 in the game the Yankees rallied from a 9-0 deficit to beat the Bosox 15-9.
  • Teixiera was 2-for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. He was 2-for-3 against Chen and he is now 12-for-22 (.545) against him in his career. After going five games without an RBI, Teixeira has driven in four runs in his last two games. He is 3-for-8 in the first two games of the four-game series against the Royals.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • The only starter who did not get a hit in the game was replacement outfielder Jayson Nix, who is is 0-for-6 since being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday with starters Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner unavailable to play.
  • Normally I do not criticize manager Joe Girardi for being aggressive on the bases when the team is struggling offensively. However, I have to question his decision to send Teixeira from second and Alex Rodriguez from first on a double steal as Cano was swinging through a 3-2 pitch for a strikeout. Royals catcher Brayan Pena fired a throw to third baseman Mike Moustakas to get a sliding Teixeira easily for a double play. This ruined a two-on, no-out situation and the Yankees ended up not scoring at all. A slow runner like Tex has no business running in that situation.
  • Though the Yankees won they should not think their hitting woes are over. They were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position on Friday. Take away Stewart’s single and they were 0-for-7.

BOMBER BANTER

If Rivera was planning to retire at the end of 2012, his season-ending knee injury may have extended his career another season. Rivera, 42, vowed on Friday that he would come back and pitch next season with the Yankees. The all-time saves leader tore an anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee while shagging fly balls in the outfield on Thursday. ”Write it down in big letters. I’m not going down like this. God willing and given the strength, I’m coming back,” Rivera told reporters.  . . .  Girardi said that for now both Robertson and Rafael Soriano will share closing duties in the ninth inning.  . . .  Rivera was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday and right-hander D.J. Mitchell was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton. The Yankees then recalled right-hander Cody Eppley and outfielder Dewayne Wise from Scranton. Pitcher Michael Pineda was shifted to the 60-day disabled list so that Wise could be added to the 40-man roster. Wise pinch-hit in Friday’s game and doubled in his only at-bat.  . . .  The Yankees are targeting a return date of Tuesday for Swisher, who is nursing a strained left hamstring. Gardner (strained right elbow) hopes to play in a pair of minor-league rehab games on Sunday and Monday and he could also be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.

ON DECK

The Yankees continue their four-game weekend series in Kansas City on Saturday.

Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda (2-3, 3.69 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Yankees. Kuroda is coming off an outing in which he limited the Orioles to one run on four hits in seven innings. It was his second consecutive strong pitching performance. He has never faced the Royals before.

The Royals will send right-hander Felipe Paulino to the mound in his first start of the 2012 season. He has no record because he has been on the disabled list with a right forearm strain. He was 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA with KC last season. He is 0-1 with a 8.44 ERA against the Yankees.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast by the YES Network.

 

Down 9-0, Yankees Stun Bosox With 15-Run Rally

GAME 15

YANKEES 15, RED SOX 9

Fenway Park turned 100 years and one day old on Saturday and the Red Sox honored the occasion by providing their fans with one of their worst meltdowns in their history.

Trailing 9-0 in the sixth inning, the Yankees came back to strike for 15 unanswered runs over the next three innings to leave embattled skipper Bobby Valentine, a depleted Bosox roster and an incredibly ineffective and shellshocked bullpen in tatters amid an embarrassing a five-game losing streak that is rapidly angering the Fenway faithful.

Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher led the comeback for the Yankees, combining for three home runs and 12 RBIs against a Red Sox pitching staff that has earned its position as the worst in baseball.

It was Teixeira who innocently began the rally with a two-out solo home run to left off Red Sox starter Felix Doubront in the sixth inning. Doubront left the game with a 9-1 lead having given up four hits and two walks and fanning seven batters. Little did he know his bullpen would not be able to hold an eight-run lead.

The Yankees got back into the game in the seventh inning against journeyman right-hander Vicente Padilla.

With one out, Russell Martin blooped a single to right and Eduardo Nunez followed with a slow roller to third in which third baseman Nate Spears could not get Nunez at first. Derek Jeter walked to load the bases and Swisher cut the lead to 9-5 on one swing by smashing a grand slam home run into the Green Monster seats in left.

After Robinson Cano singled, Valentine – serenaded with a cascade of loud boos – brought in Matt Albers to replace Padilla.

Albers induced Alex Rodriguez to hit a infield grounder but shortstop Mike Aviles misplayed it and Granderson advanced to third. Teixeira then delivered his second home run of the game, another opposite-field blast to left to bring the Yankees to within one run at 9-8.

A stunned Fenway Park crowd of 36, 770 sat in deafening silence. That silence would not last when the Yankees’ half of the eighth began with Franklin Morales on the mound.

Nunez opened the frame with a single to left and Valentine then publicly alerted the Yankees and Red Sox Nation that he was officially panicking. He elected to bring in closer Alfredo Aceves with six outs to hold a one-run lead.

Jeter immediately worked a walk from Aceves and Swisher then crushed a 2-1 pitch off the center-field wall to score Nunez and Jeter, giving the Yankees an improbable 10-9 lead.

Valentine ordered Aceves to walk Cano intentionally, but Aceves made things worse by walking Rodriguez to load the bases again. Teixeira made him pay with a ground-rule double down into the right-field corner to make it 12-9.

After Aceves walked Granderson intentionally, Valentine – fielding even more boos – removed him for lefty Justin Thomas.

Thomas was able to get an unassisted double play by Adrian Gonzalez off the bat of pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez. However, Martin stroked a two-run single to center. Nunez then reached on an infield single to Aviles.

Jeter made the Red Sox pay with a grounder to Aviles in which he slipped and could not throw Jeter out at first,  which scored Martin and pushed the Yankee lead to 15-9. Fortunately for the Red Sox it was not worse.

The Yankee bullpen closed it out and the Red Sox left the field with some embarrassed faces in front of a national television audience on FOX Sports.

Rafael Soriano (2-0) pitched a scoreless seventh to get credit for the victory. Aceves (0-1) gave up five runs on two hits and four walks without recording a single out to take the loss.

The Red Sox bullpen combined to give up 15 runs on 12 hits and five walks in just three innings.

It overshadowed an absolutely horrible third start of the season for 35-year-old right-hander Freddy Garcia. He was hammered for five runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Fortunately for him, that was forgotten hours later with the complete ineptitude of the Red Sox bullpen to get nine outs and hold what looked to be a very comfortable lead.

With the victory, the Yankees improved to 9-6 and claimed first place in the American League East for the first time this season. The reeling Red Sox – or shall we say Dead Sox – are now 4-10 and they are five games back in last place in the division.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Swisher had a week in basically two at-bats. His six RBIs are a career high. He was 3-for-6 with a grand-slam, a two-run double and a single. he also scored two runs and he now leads the American League in RBIs with 20. He raised his average to .283 and it looks as if he is making a huge push for a new contract at the end of the 2012 season.
  • The slow-starting Teixeira hit two home runs – one of them to the opposite field in left, which is one more than he hit in all of 2011. He added a huge two-run double in the eighth to give him six RBIs in the game also. Tex was 3-for-6 in the game and raised his batting average to .288. Hey, Mark, it’s April. What gives?
  • Jeter quietly had another sensational game, though Swisher and Teixeira overshadowed him. He was 3-for-4 with two walks, three singles, two runs and an RBI. He raised his average to a ridiculously hot .382. The Captain is not looking like he will be retiring anytime soon.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • Simply put, Garcia has to go. After three starts, Garcia has given up 14 runs (13 earned) on 20 hits and three walks in 12 innings. His ERA is 9.75 and he is looking like he is unable to put away hitters with his splitter any more. At times it looked as if the Red Sox were taking batting practice. Perhaps David Phelps should take the No. 5 spot until Andy Pettitte is ready.
  • Phelps was knocked around a bit for the first time this season.  He was tagged for three runs on six hits and one walk in four innings. The big blow off him was a two-run home run to center by Cody Ross in the fifth. But he actually did not pitch as bad the numbers indicate and he could be given a start soon.
  • Although the Yankees scored 15 runs and pounded out 16 hits, Rodriguez was 0-for-5 with a walk and he did not get a ball out of the infield. The 0-for-5 day lowered his batting average to .241.

BOMBER BANTER

There is one bit of very bad news for Yankee fans and Yankee fans who loved Jesus Montero. Michael Pineda had to end his bullpen session in Tampa, FL., after 15 pitches with discomfort in the back of his right shoulder. Manager Joe Girardi said Pineda will see a physician on Monday and there is no immediate timetable for his return. Pineda, 23, was placed in the disabled list at the start of the season after being diagnosed with right shoulder tendinitis.  . . .  Pettitte is scheduled to make a start on Wednesday for Double-A Trenton as part of his return to the major leagues scheduled for early May. Pettitte is expected to throw about 80 to 85 pitches.  The Yankees obviously will be glad to see him the way Garcia has been pitching.

ON DECK

The Yankees can complete a sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday and if it happens I would not want to be Valentine on Monday.

Ace left-hander CC Sabathia (1-0, 5.99 ERA) is coming off his first victory of the season. He gave up three runs in six innings to beat the Twins. He is 7-9 with a 4.14 ERA in his career against the Bosox.

Boston will counter with right-hander Daniel Bard (0-2, 4.63 ERA). Bard gave up one run but walked seven against the Rays in his last start, which he lost. He is 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA against the Yankees but all those numbers came from the bullpen.

Game-time will be 8:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN.

 

| back to blog home |
Theme: MLB “retro” | Get a free blog at WordPress.com
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.