The title should actually be in the past tense - as in, "Yankee universe has swept the nation." That's Red Sox Nation to be specific. But it was four up and four down in the Bronx, as the Yankees completed the four game sweep of their rivals, and now have a commanding 6 1/2 game lead in the AL East. At 69-42, the Yankees can aslo lay claim to having the best record in baseball.
The Yankees dominated the Red Sox with an easy formula - pitching and clutch hitting. Throw game one aside, which was just an offensive explosion. Games two-four however featured dominating pitching from both sides, but it was the Yankees who came up with the timely at-bats.
Game two was one of the best baseball games I have seen in awhile. Game three, while not as nerve wrenching, was equally as intense a ballgame. C.C Sabathia dominated, tossing seven and 2/3 of scoreless ball with nine strikeouts. Then you have last night's game. Andy Pettitte and Jon Lester dueled back and forth, but it was Pettitte who was just a little bit better, as he didn't allow a run in seven innings to Lester's one earned. For a second when Victor Martinez launched a two homerun off of Phil Coke, I thought OK, maybe the Sox get this one. Then Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back homeruns off of Daniel Bard, and the Yankees retook the lead 3-2.
And how about this Yankee bullpen? I think it is quickly becoming the best in the majors. In Friday's 15th inning marathon, it went 7 and a third, allowed no runs on three hits, and struck out eight. And just how good is Mariano Rivera, who at 39 years old just keeps getting better. He recorded his 32nd save in 33 chances last night, also lowering his ERA to 1.88. He has converted 100 of his last 104 saves dating back to 2007, and hasn't allowed a run since the mid June. With the dominance of Rivera and Phil Hughes, and the versatility of someone like Alfredo Aceves, who can pitch two or three innings if needed, the Yankees are impossible to beat towards the end of the game. The numbers speak for themselves; the Yankees have only lost one game this year when leading after seven innings.
The Yankees get a ton of praise for some of the clutch hits, and specifically homeruns in this series. On Thursday, it was Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada each hitting three run homeruns in an eight run 4th inning. On Friday night's it was Alex Rodrgriguez's two out, walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 15th that gave the Yankees the win. On Saturday, it was Derek Jeter's opposite field shot to right that extended the Yankee lead to 5-0 in the 8th inning. And finally yesterday, it was Damon and Teixeira hitting back-to-back homeruns in the 8th inning, that allowed the Yankees to retake the lead 3-2. This was the difference in this series, because the Red Sox starting pitching minus Thursday was equally as good as the Yankees. But New York time and time again was able to come up with the clutch hit in late inning situations.
The Yankee pitchers certainly deserve much of the credit, but the Red Sox bats were just awful this series. I mean they just couldn't buy a hit, especially with runners in scoring position. Boston scored just six runs in this series, and went a hideous 3 for 28 with RISP. Their ugly scoreless streak against New York was Boston's longest since a 34-inning stretch from Sept. 1-24, 1952, according to STATS LLC. The Red Sox had beaten New York eight straight times to start the season, but now find themselves limping back to Fenway Park. Boston is on a six-game skid and facing it's largest deficit in the division since Oct. 1, 2006. Even worse, Boston fell to 0-9 since the All-Star break against teams with winning records.
From here, the Yankees have what I would deem an easy ten games against Toronto, Seattle, and Oakland, before they play the Red Sox again in Boston later in the month. The Yankees will send Sergio Mitre (1-0 7.50 ERA) to the mound to open up Blue Jay series tonight. He goes up against Mark Rzepczynski (1-3 3.74 ERA) whom he faced in last Wednesday's 8-4 Yankee win.
So be happy Yankee Universe. Your team has won seven in a row. You have the best record in baseball. You just got a heavy dose of revenge against the Red Sox, and the views have to look nice from the top of the AL East. 0-8 seems like so long ago now. As Andy Pettitte said in last night's postgame, it's all about keeping the pedal to the metal, and the Yankees seemed poised to do that all the way into October.
(AP Photos/Bill Kostroun)
The Yankees dominated the Red Sox with an easy formula - pitching and clutch hitting. Throw game one aside, which was just an offensive explosion. Games two-four however featured dominating pitching from both sides, but it was the Yankees who came up with the timely at-bats.
Game two was one of the best baseball games I have seen in awhile. Game three, while not as nerve wrenching, was equally as intense a ballgame. C.C Sabathia dominated, tossing seven and 2/3 of scoreless ball with nine strikeouts. Then you have last night's game. Andy Pettitte and Jon Lester dueled back and forth, but it was Pettitte who was just a little bit better, as he didn't allow a run in seven innings to Lester's one earned. For a second when Victor Martinez launched a two homerun off of Phil Coke, I thought OK, maybe the Sox get this one. Then Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back homeruns off of Daniel Bard, and the Yankees retook the lead 3-2.
And how about this Yankee bullpen? I think it is quickly becoming the best in the majors. In Friday's 15th inning marathon, it went 7 and a third, allowed no runs on three hits, and struck out eight. And just how good is Mariano Rivera, who at 39 years old just keeps getting better. He recorded his 32nd save in 33 chances last night, also lowering his ERA to 1.88. He has converted 100 of his last 104 saves dating back to 2007, and hasn't allowed a run since the mid June. With the dominance of Rivera and Phil Hughes, and the versatility of someone like Alfredo Aceves, who can pitch two or three innings if needed, the Yankees are impossible to beat towards the end of the game. The numbers speak for themselves; the Yankees have only lost one game this year when leading after seven innings.
The Yankees get a ton of praise for some of the clutch hits, and specifically homeruns in this series. On Thursday, it was Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada each hitting three run homeruns in an eight run 4th inning. On Friday night's it was Alex Rodrgriguez's two out, walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 15th that gave the Yankees the win. On Saturday, it was Derek Jeter's opposite field shot to right that extended the Yankee lead to 5-0 in the 8th inning. And finally yesterday, it was Damon and Teixeira hitting back-to-back homeruns in the 8th inning, that allowed the Yankees to retake the lead 3-2. This was the difference in this series, because the Red Sox starting pitching minus Thursday was equally as good as the Yankees. But New York time and time again was able to come up with the clutch hit in late inning situations.
The Yankee pitchers certainly deserve much of the credit, but the Red Sox bats were just awful this series. I mean they just couldn't buy a hit, especially with runners in scoring position. Boston scored just six runs in this series, and went a hideous 3 for 28 with RISP. Their ugly scoreless streak against New York was Boston's longest since a 34-inning stretch from Sept. 1-24, 1952, according to STATS LLC. The Red Sox had beaten New York eight straight times to start the season, but now find themselves limping back to Fenway Park. Boston is on a six-game skid and facing it's largest deficit in the division since Oct. 1, 2006. Even worse, Boston fell to 0-9 since the All-Star break against teams with winning records.
From here, the Yankees have what I would deem an easy ten games against Toronto, Seattle, and Oakland, before they play the Red Sox again in Boston later in the month. The Yankees will send Sergio Mitre (1-0 7.50 ERA) to the mound to open up Blue Jay series tonight. He goes up against Mark Rzepczynski (1-3 3.74 ERA) whom he faced in last Wednesday's 8-4 Yankee win.
So be happy Yankee Universe. Your team has won seven in a row. You have the best record in baseball. You just got a heavy dose of revenge against the Red Sox, and the views have to look nice from the top of the AL East. 0-8 seems like so long ago now. As Andy Pettitte said in last night's postgame, it's all about keeping the pedal to the metal, and the Yankees seemed poised to do that all the way into October.
(AP Photos/Bill Kostroun)
