Five homers pace Yanks to series win over Sawx
BOSTON – There has been a raging debate as to whether the Yankees incredible homerun total is only because of the dimensions and wind currents at new Yankee Stadium.
After last night, this debate should cease.
It was bombs away for Yankee hitters last night in Fenway Park. In a battle of aces, it was the New York offense that took control, turning Fenway Park into their own personal pinball machine as the teed off on Josh Beckett for five homeruns en route to an 8-4 win over the Red Sox to win two of three in front of 38,008 at Fenway Park.
For the Yankees, it was their sixth win in their last seven games against their rivals and they leave Boston gaining a game to expand their lead to 7 1/2 games and again reinforce that the only way Boston will be able to get to the playoffs will be via the wild card.
From the first pitch of the game, the Bronx bombing began. Seeing a 96 MPH fastball from Beckett to start the proceedings, Derek Jeter smacked the pitch into the Red Sox bullpen for a homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
For Jeter (2 for 5), it was his 15th blast of the season and set the tone for the evening. The scouting reports on Beckett as of late showed that the Boston ace had been predominately throwing his fastball early in counts. Seizing the opportunity, the Yankees jumped on him. Hideki Matsui would lead off the second inning, with a first pitch blast into the right center field bleachers to make it 2-0.
Sabathia, aided with the lead would give it back in the bottom half of the inning after striking out the first two hitters in the inning. Mike Lowell doubled off the Green Monster for a double and scored on an RBI single by Rocco Baldelli. Jason Varitek would tie the game when he would double inside the first base line past a diving Mark Teixeira to score Baldelli who was running on the pitch.
Beckett was granted new life, but he would quickly give away his good fortune. Teixeira would single home Jeter to make it 3-2, and Alex Rodriguez drove in a run on a groundout to increase the lead to two.
Sabathia was now given new life just as Beckett, and this time he would not relinquish it. It did not help that he was hurt by several defensive miscues that allowed his pitch count to rise.
BOSTON – There has been a raging debate as to whether the Yankees incredible homerun total is only because of the dimensions and wind currents at new Yankee Stadium.
After last night, this debate should cease.
It was bombs away for Yankee hitters last night in Fenway Park. In a battle of aces, it was the New York offense that took control, turning Fenway Park into their own personal pinball machine as the teed off on Josh Beckett for five homeruns en route to an 8-4 win over the Red Sox to win two of three in front of 38,008 at Fenway Park.
For the Yankees, it was their sixth win in their last seven games against their rivals and they leave Boston gaining a game to expand their lead to 7 1/2 games and again reinforce that the only way Boston will be able to get to the playoffs will be via the wild card.
From the first pitch of the game, the Bronx bombing began. Seeing a 96 MPH fastball from Beckett to start the proceedings, Derek Jeter smacked the pitch into the Red Sox bullpen for a homerun to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
For Jeter (2 for 5), it was his 15th blast of the season and set the tone for the evening. The scouting reports on Beckett as of late showed that the Boston ace had been predominately throwing his fastball early in counts. Seizing the opportunity, the Yankees jumped on him. Hideki Matsui would lead off the second inning, with a first pitch blast into the right center field bleachers to make it 2-0.
Sabathia, aided with the lead would give it back in the bottom half of the inning after striking out the first two hitters in the inning. Mike Lowell doubled off the Green Monster for a double and scored on an RBI single by Rocco Baldelli. Jason Varitek would tie the game when he would double inside the first base line past a diving Mark Teixeira to score Baldelli who was running on the pitch.
Beckett was granted new life, but he would quickly give away his good fortune. Teixeira would single home Jeter to make it 3-2, and Alex Rodriguez drove in a run on a groundout to increase the lead to two.
Sabathia was now given new life just as Beckett, and this time he would not relinquish it. It did not help that he was hurt by several defensive miscues that allowed his pitch count to rise.
With the score 5-2 after Robinson Cano drove a curveball deep to right center for the Yankees third homerun of the night, Cano would give the Red Sox a run back by dropping what would have been the third out of the inning.
On the play, Varitek hit a pop up just over first base. Teixeira appeared to have the ball sized up, but was called off by Cano who ranged into foul ground, but the ball traveled into fair territory and the second baseman dropped the ball, allowing Jason Bay to score from first base to make it 5-3.
It was a minor hiccup considering the Yankees were hitting Beckett as if it were batting practice. They scored runs in the first five innings, the last coming when on a 3-2 count to Rodriguez with Johnny Damon (back in the lineup after missing Saturday’s game fouling a pitch off his knee), he guessed right on a curveball a drove it over the Green Monster for a two run bomb to give them a 7-3 lead.
Sabathia (15-7, 3.58 ERA) would hold that lead through the seventh inning. Boston’s only other run came on a sacrifice fly by Baldelli in the sixth. The Yankee ace delivered 6 2/3 innings of ball before Manager Joe Girardi took the ball from him after 118 pitches, giving up four runs (three earned) and eight hits, walking none and striking out eight.
Phil Hughes would enter and was able to get Dustin Pedroia to fly out to Nick Swisher in right to end the inning.
Beckett was able to give the bullpen a breather by staying in the game through the eighth inning. Once again, the Yankees would play long ball with him, as Matsui would connect with his second home run of the night (fourth in the series) that hooked inside Pesky’s Pole for the team’s fifth homerun of the game and an 8-4 margin.
In his 120 pitch outing, Beckett (14-5, 3.65 ERA) gave up eight runs (all earned) on nine hits, walking none and striking out five.
Hughes would pitch a scoreless eighth and handed the ball to Mariano Rivera in the ninth, who got the final three outs despite it not being a save situation. The final out came as Rivera struck out Jacoby Ellsbury on a deadly cutter in on his hands.
The win boosted the Yankees (78-46) to their 27th win in their last 36 games. It also finished a 7-3 road trip that spanned a West Coast swing in Oakland and Seattle and finished in Boston.
After a day off Monday, the team returns to Yankee Stadium to begin a six game homestand. Texas comes in beginning Tuesday for a three game series followed by the Chicago White Sox.
No comments:
Post a Comment