Hey everybody, welcome to today's coronation, er, live blog between the Yankees and Red Sox. To hear Johnny Damon and Joe Girardi tell it, it ain't over till it's over. Mathematically, that is true. Pragmatically speaking, a sweep of the Yankees this afternoon will buoy the Red sox closer toward the playoffs and Yankees closer to the CC Sabathia and Mark Teixiera sweepstakes. Darren here for all nine. First pitch in a few.
Top 1st -- Mike Mussina looks strong in his first inning of work, walking David Ortiz but having no trouble otherwise. In the live chat we're talking about who the MVP of the Yankees 2008 season is.
Bottom 1st -- Jon Lester struck out A-Rod with two on and one out. Lester seems to always get into trouble in the first few innings, then settles down.
Top 2nd -- Red Sox newcomer Mark Kotsay had a nice base hit too right, but Mussina seems to have his control today. Still no score.
Bottom 2nd -- Jon Lester worked a steady second inning. Cano flied out, he struck out Hideki Matsui -- hit Cody Ransom with a pitch -- and got Jose Molina to fly out.
Top 3rd -- Moose is fast becoming a bright spot. He retired the side in eight pitches: Varitek grounded out, Ellsbury struck out, and Pedroia fouled out to Molina. Still no score.
Bottom 3rd -- Johnny Damon with a rare bad strikeout. Jeter, meanwhile got another base hit, but was caught in a horrendous hit-and-run attempt. He failed to reach second when Bobby Abreu whiffed and was tagged out when trying to retreat back to first. Abreu then flies out to center for the last out of the inning.
Top 4th -- David Ortiz walked for the second time this afternoon. Kevin Youkilis popped out to Cano. Bay hit into a double play to end the inning. A terrific, tough throw from Cano to get him out. Robbie Cano, the most frustrating player in MLB history.
Bottom 4th -- Lester is looking stronger still. He struck out A-Rod and Xavier Nady, and Cano grounded out to end the inning. Our score? 0-0.
Top 5th -- Jason Varitek lined an RBI single to right field to score Jed Lowrie, making the score 1-0. Alex Cora, who was hit by a pitch, scored on a double play attempt that was induced on a groundball by lightning fast Jacoby Ellsbury. He was then caught stealing second to end the inning. A great throw by Molina. Red Sox 2, Yankees 0
Bottom 5th -- The home team goes down in order with Lester cruising. He struck out Ransom and Molina to end the fifth.
Top 6th -- Pedroia's base hit led off the sixth, but Ortiz struck out on a close call. Youkilis was hit by a pitch, and Bay grounded out. Kotsay struck out to end the inning with two on.
Bottom 6th -- Damon couldn't get out of the way of a Lester offering that hit him. Jeter singled to give the Yankees two runners on with no outs. Lester then retired the middle of the Yankees order -- Abreu, A-Rod, Nady -- to end the inning. No runs.
Top 7th -- We've likely seen the last of Mussina, and its a shame because he pitched so well for his team. They just gave him nothing to work with. Mussina stole a base hit away from Ellsbury, who hit a shot up the middle. Time to stretch.
Bottom 7th -- The dream continues for the Yankees. Cora made a fantastic defensive play on a blooper to shallow left center. Lester then struck out Matsui, but Ransom hit a double. Lester came out of the game, and was replaced by Hideki Okajima who gave up a home run to Jason Giambi to tie the game at two. Red Sox 2, Yankees 2
Top 8th -- Some interesting moves by the Yankees. Dustin Pedroia flies out to lead off the inning. The Yankees then replaced Brian Bruney with Damaso Marte who retired Ortiz. Marte was replaced by Mariano Rivera. He retired Youkilis. Boy, do these guys miss Manny. To the bottom of the inning we go.
Bottom 8th -- Justin Masterson came in the game to face A-Rod and he struck him out to end the inning. I almost feel bad for the guy. Almost.
Top 9th -- Mariano pitched a scoreless ninth even though Jeter threw him under the bus with an error to get the lead runner on. Yankees have a chance to end this game with one swing. Masterson will face Nady, Cano and Matsui. No Paplebon. Not yet.
Bottom 9th -- Here's how it went down: The lead runner, Xavier Nady, reached and was replaced by Brett Gardener, who stole second. They walked Matsui intentionally, and walked Ivan Rodriguez which loaded the bases. This is when Paplebon came in to face Giambi. Base hit. Game over. Yankees win. FINAL Yankees 3, Red Sox 2.
Comments (6)
I was watching the live chat, you bet I'd like it John G. Now go bowl your arse off will ya!
Giambino!!!!
ok, this still doesn't mean I think the Yanks will make the playoffs.
PTRS: I don't always comment on the live chats because my browser doesn't work with it. I do skim the comments though, but filtering through the trolls gets old.
I only saw the 9th inning..
It was nice to see....
A/Giambi switch to a lighter bat when Papelbon came in the game. (better bat control)
B/Go with an outside 0-2 pitch up the middle instead of pulling.
That is the type of "thoughtful" hitting that made Giambi a feared hitter AT ONE TIME.
And one more thing....
NO MAILING IT IN!!!
The Yanks are done, finished....but it ain't over.
I didn't know that you were watching Jim, but i did know that Giambi's day would put a smile on your face.
Isles, Did he go to a lighter bat? I was advocating that last season when I thought that his bat was slow.
In case you guys didn't see it, the daily news has an article by Peter Botte with the following headline: "Yankees GM Brian Cashman takes all the Blame for Bomber Bust". The link is too long to put in here so just go the the news' website and the article is in the sports section.
John G.
"Isles, Did he go to a lighter bat? I was advocating that last season when I thought that his bat was slow."
Can't say for sure but this I saw (on TV)
As Papelbon entered the game, Giambi left the ondeck circle for the dugout with his white home run stick (from the earlier at bat) and switched out to a black bat with a clearly thinner handle (and it appeared to be shorter as well).