Well the hits keep coming for the Yankees, as they lost the first game of the most recent series against the Red Sox 7-0, to bring extend the Red Sox’s domination in the season matchup to 6-0. While Red Sox fans aren’t ready to proclaim themselves the supreme commanders of the Bombers, the win was a big one for the Sox. Josh Beckett continued his dominating form of late, allowing just one hit over six innings. David Ortiz went deep for just the third time of the year to put the Sox up by two, and the Sox went on to tack on two more runs of the Yankee’s AJ Burnett. This was the second time Burnett has faced off against Beckett, and while both pitchers struggled in the first game, this time it was the MVP of their 2003 World Series team that was dominating.
As Yankee players were quick to point out, there is still a ton of baseball to be played, plus the win merely tied the Sox with the Yankees for first place atop the AL East. “You don’t want to be 0-6 against your rival,” Joe Girardi told ESPN, “But we are still tied for first place.” Red Sox fans are fully aware of the standings and as of yet are not makign their World Series plans.
Next up in tonights game, the Red Sox will send Tim Wakefield to the mound, while the Yankees send Chien Ming Wang to pitch for just the second time since his stint on the DL. Wang did not look great in his first start againts the Texas Rangers, but he has been an elite pitcher in the past and he knows this game is pretty big for the Yankees. Tonight could show us quite a bit about Big Papi’s status, as Ortiz is batting .444 againts Wang in 36 at bats, including two home runs and 11 RBI. Mark Kotsay and Dustin Pedroia are the only other Sox with averages above .300, with .33 and .313 respectively.
The last game of the series might be the ebst chance the Yankees have to win, as ace CC Sabathia will be going againts the Sox’s fifth starter in Brad Penny. The Red Sox are hitting just .219 as a team againts Sabathia, with Kevin Youkilis’s .429 in seven at bats leadin the team. The next highest are Kotsay and Mike Lowell, both with .286 in 14 and seven at bats. As a team the Yankees are hitting .270 of Wake in a total of 474 ABs. We will see if Girardi decides to start Angel Berroa, as he is batting .500 of Wake in 12 ABs. Melky Cabrera is at .455 in 11 ABs, and Robinson Cano is at .324 in 37. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter are the other two players with averaes over .300 with .317 and .313. Alex Rodriguez has a .276 average in 76 at bats with seven home runs, while Mark Teixeira is at .207 in 29 AB’s with one homer.
There is still a lot of baseball to be played but it looks like right now the Red Sox have the Yankees number. Its going to be very interesting to see how this trend keeps up over the rest of the season.