(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| BOS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 |
WP - Phil Coke (4-3)
LP - Daniel Bard (0-1)
SV - Mariano Rivera (32)
So much for not being able to beat the Red Sox, huh? The Yankees completed their four-game sweep of the Red Sox last night in the Bronx with an exciting 5-2 win over their rivals.
Andy Pettitte picked up right where A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia left off and shut the Sox out for seven innings, allowing just five hits and two walks, and striking out four. That makes it 22.1 consecutive scoreless inning for Yankees starters over the past three games.
Pettitte got into a few jams, but was always able to wiggle out of danger. Boston loaded the bases in the fourth inning with two out, but Pettitte got Jason Varitek to line out to Johnny Damon in left to end the inning. The ball took off on Damon and almost went over his head, but he was able to make the play. I'm starting to get nervous every time the ball is hit to him. Oh well, at least he's a better left fielder than Kevin Youkilis.
Pettitte seemed to get better as the game went on and retired the final nine batters he faced before leaving the game after the seventh.
Jon Lester was also very impressive tonight, and held the Yanks scoreless through the first six. But Alex Rodriguez gave the Yanks a 1-0 lead when he led off the bottom of the seventh with a long solo homer to left-center field. It was A-Rod's 21st homer of the season. That was the only run Lester would allow in seven innings. He gave up just five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out seven.
With Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves unavailable, it was Phil Coke who got the call to pitch the 8th and couldn't hold the lead. After striking out Jacoby Ellsbury to start the inning, he gave up a single to Dustin Pedroia, and then Victor Martinez took him deep to left field for a two-run homer and the Sox led 2-1. It was Boston's first runs against the Yanks in over 30 innings.
That lead would not last very long, not with these Yankees.
Daniel Bard came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th and retired Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter easily on two ground outs. Damon then stepped up to the plate and hit a 1-0 pitch into the Yankees bullpen to tie the game. Mark Teixeira then came up and hit another solo shot, this one a towering blast into the second deck in right, and the place went bananas. The homer was Teixeira's league leading 29th of the year, and the RBI was his 83rd which ties him for second in the AL. So when do the "M-V-P." chants start? This was the sixth time this season that Damon and Teixeira have hit back-to-back homer, which is a Yankees record.
Alex Rodriguez then walked to knock Bard out of the game. Hideki Okajima came on in relief and Jorge Posada greeted him by lining a double into the corner in right to put runners on second and third, still with two out. Nick Swisher was up and he lined two-run through the middle to put the game away. It was yet another example of this team's never say die attitude. I'm really amazed at how this team fights and battles to the final out everyday. Even when they lose, they usually at least get the tying run up.
It was then Mariano Rivera time. He did give up a hit and a walk to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but then got Ellsbury to ground a broken bat grounder to first for the final out of the game. Sweep completed. It was Mo's major league leading 32nd save of the season.
Watching the game on TV I couldn't help but notice how loud the tonight's crowd was. It sounded like a crowd from the old stadium. The crowds for all four games were good, but this one sounded different, it really sounded like Yankee Stadium.
Yankees pitching was very impressive all series, posting a very impressive 1.71 ERA, and held Boston hitters to just a .174 batting average.
This was a huge sweep for the Yankees who now have a 6.5 game lead over Boston in the AL East with 51 games left to play. Back in August of 2006 - the last Boston Massacre - the Yanks went into Boston and turned a 1.5 game lead into a 6.5 game lead with a five-game sweep and Boston never recovered from that. Let's hope this sweep, and 6.5 game lead has the same effect.
The Yanks open a three-game series with the Blue Jays tomorrow night in the Bronx.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .312 |
| Damon, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .281 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
| Rodriguez, A, DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .259 |
| Posada, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .284 |
| Swisher, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .245 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .313 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .279 |
| Hairston, J, 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| a-Matsui, H, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 |
| Pena, R, 3B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 |
| Totals | 34 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 13 | |
a-Grounded out for Hairston, J in the 8th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Posada (17, Okajima). HR: Rodriguez, A (21, 7th inning off Lester, 0 on, 0 out), Damon (21, 8th inning off Bard, D, 0 on, 2 out), Teixeira (29, 8th inning off Bard, D, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter; Damon 4; Teixeira 5; Rodriguez, A 4; Posada 3; Swisher; Cano; Hairston, J. RBI: Rodriguez, A (63), Damon (65), Teixeira (83), Swisher 2 (58). 2-out RBI: Damon; Teixeira; Swisher 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A; Swisher; Cabrera, Me 2. Team RISP: 1-for-8. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING DP: 2 (Jeter-Teixeira, Jeter-Cano-Teixeira). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Pettitte | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4.14 |
| Coke (BS, 5)(W, 4-3) | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.98 |
| Rivera, Ma (S, 32) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.88 |
Pitches-strikes: Pettitte 112-68, Coke 17-10, Rivera, Ma 23-14.
RED SOX STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Pettitte (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K)
HONORABLE MENTION: Mark Teixeira (2-for-4, HR, RBI, R)
Tomorrow's Game
Yankees vs. Blue Jays
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.50) vs. LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 3.74)
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.50) vs. LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 3.74)
15 Comments:
Coke is a good lefty specialist. But he is going to get into trouble pitching to righties especially someone like a Victor Martinez. But most of the bullpen was not available nothing you could really do. If Coke just faces lefty's he will get the job done most of the time. Girardi might want to find spots to rest him I think he is third in the al in apperances you dont want to burn him out.
Girardi said only Coke, Mo and Gaudin were available tonight. I'm glad they came back to win if not the yankees would of been getting killed tommorow over "The Hughes Rules", about not wanting him to pitch 3 days in a row.
Stadium was electric yankee fans could smell blood they wanted the sweep. Good to see what a playoff like atmosphere will look like at the new stadium!
What I loved this series just as much as the sweep?
That the ballpark was freakin' obnoxiously loud! It's nice to know that when the park is packed, it can be just as crazy as the old stadium. Really, really nice to see the place goin' bonkers again!!
I was at Thursday's game and it turned out to be the launching pad for a sweet four game sweep.
It also turned out to be the worst game of the four. But it was a win and I'll gladly take it.
I have said for a while that new Yankee Stadium had to build it's own history. Of course only a World Series truly completes.
I loved the old Stadium and of course never thought that it had to be replaced. But I love the new one too.
The Yanks are now 39-17 at home this season. Best home record in all of baseball.
This weekend's sweep of the red sox was truly new Yankee Stadium's way of saying it had arrived. It was loud and intimidating.
To quote The Who...
"Meet the new boss... same as the old boss!"
This series was amazing, and specifically I loved how all 4 (including Swisher) of the Yankees big off season acquisitions stepped up big in this rivalry since Thursday.
To repeat a sentiment from many others, I wonder what John Henry has to say about Mark or the Yankees now? lol
Curious how the sox fans are feeling about their team after the crushing sweep? Here is a poll from the Boston Globe website:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"On the heels of six straight losses to American League East rivals, including a four-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Red Sox woke up Monday morning to find themselves 6 1/2 games back in the division and tied for the Wild Card lead.
What's the panic level in Red Sox Nation? Vote in our poll below to find out.
How are you feeling about the Red Sox?
It's over. Stick a fork in this team, there's no playoffs for the Sox. When does Patriots season begin?
62.7%
It's OK. This team is still a playoff contender when it's healthy and this is just a bump in the road to the playoffs.
37.3%
Total votes: 2215"
Here is what Bob Ryan from the Boston Globe had to say about Teixeira and Rivera.
Tex - Mark (Worth Every Penny) Teixeira
Mo - the Greatest Closer of All Time
Below is an interesting take from Bob Ryan's column in the Globe about the series and how devastating it was to the red sox:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW YORK - There was a 2-0 lead entering the seventh inning Tuesday night at the Trop. Remember that?
Well, there was. Jon Lester was sailing along, but then he hit Carlos Pena to begin the seventh, and you can argue nothing good has happened since.
It was bad in St. Pete, and it was worse in New York, culminating in last night’s sweep-clinching 5-2 loss in Yankee Stadium that might very well have been the most discouraging loss of them all.
Victor Martinez had just parked one into the left-field seats off Phil Coke to break a 31-inning scoreless streak and give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead, and now Daniel Bard was one out away from handing the ball over to Jonathan Papelbon. The Red Sox would salvage Game 4, hop on the plane, head home, and put their worries behind them.
And then . . .
“A quick change of emotions,’’ sighed Terry Francona.
A quick change of emotions, all right, and a lot of noise. For, with two outs and nobody on in the eighth, Johnny Damon would hit one into the Yankee bullpen and Mark (Worth Every Penny) Teixeira would launch one into the upper deck, and the next four men would reach base against Bard and Hideki Okajima, with two of them scoring.
So instead of Papelbon shutting down the Yankees, the operative sound would be that of “Enter Sandman,’’ signifying the entrance into the game of the Greatest Closer of All Time. Mariano Rivera put two men on, but when he needed an out he broke Jacoby Ellsbury’s bat on a puny grounder to first base, and that was that.
The Yankees had swept.
No one’s talking about 0 and 8 now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a link to the rest of the column;
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2009/08/10/theres_been_lots_of_down_time/
I had a friend at the game last night. He said it was about as loud as a playoff game he had been to at the old stadium.
-G
Such a sweet victory. Does it get any better than this? Sweeping the Sox at home? I think not.
Anyways, I am a new Yankee Blogger. Hopefully i can learn a thing or two from you. Your blog looks great. Take a look at mine if you would like.
Thanks.
Here's nice stat...
Since the All-Star break, Boston is to 0-9 against teams with winning records.
Crippling series for the sox. AL East is once again property of NYY. The way it should be.
ESPN is reporting that the YANKEES lead the all-time series vs boston 1,112 wins 932 loses, & 14 ties... LOVE IT that should be a new t-shirt
Wait until the end of the year when you can add 27 rings to that t-shirt
-G
14 ties? Surprised Kenesaw Mountain Landis didn't make the All Star game decide home field sooner. LOL
Something that almost ends up getting lost in this is A-Rod huge homer in the 7th. At the time, I thought that would be the game winner, and it was huge as it was the first run of the game. In order of clutchness, here's how I rank the three homers:
1) Damon - face it, the Sox had the momentum to that point, two outs in the 8th, nobody on, and Damon tied it. I always rank game-tying HRs ahead of tie-breaking HRs, all else being equal
2) A-Rod - first run of the game, swing the momentum in our favor
3) Tex - obviously still a HUGE homer (all three were huge), but this was the least of the three simply because after that Damon home run, I think everyone in the world knew the Yanks were winning that ballgame, it was only a matter of when.
Fantastic sweep.
What a wonderful weekend!
Mike
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