The Boston Red Sox continued their dominance over the New York Yankees by taking 2 out of 3 this weekend at Fenway & regaining the top spot in the AL East. A few thoughts ran through my head.
For the Red Sox:
- Jon Lester & Josh Beckett remain Yankee killers. Lester pitched well enough to win & Beckett got snake-bitten again last night by another no-decision.
- Josh Reddick will be hard to remove from the lineup. His perfect throw to get Russell Martin at second & his walk-off hit last night shows Francona that he can play with the big boys.
- Marco Scutaro is providing punch at the bottom of the order. His 3 hits last night, including a big double off Mariano in the 9th & an earlier RBI single, help the Red Sox offense turn over the lineup.
- Where were Adrian Gonzalez & Kevin Youkilis this weekend? There was no punch in the 3-4 spots at all. They both had too many strikeouts & too many weak ground balls.
- By contrast, David Ortiz is a Yankee killer like Beckett & Lester. He had a home run on Friday & a big double in the 10th that proved to be the winning run. Ortiz makes a living off the Yankees.
- If we would have lost the game last night, I would have singled out Jason Varitek as a villain. He was winding up on his throws to 2nd that were slow & inaccurate. And when does a #8 batter in the lineup swing on 3-0 with the bases loaded & pop out? I thought he had a terrible game & was surprised that Tito didn't pinch hit Saltie for him in the 8th.
For the Yankees:
- Their offense scored only 9 runs in 3 games for a 3-run average. Much below what they have been scoring & a tribute to good pitching by the Sox.
- The Red Sox still have CC Sabathia's number this year & 4 losses in 4 tries is not a fluke. We are in CC's head now.
- Mariano is not automatic against the Red Sox. Before the super closer could catch his breath last night he gave up a double, sac bunt & sac fly for a run & a blown save. He has 4 more blown saves than Pap this year.
- Phil Hughes is not back to his previous form. A double to Ortiz in the 10th followed by an intentional walk to Crawford & a double by Reddick spelled the end of his night & the end of the Yankees in this series.
The Red Sox were the better team this weekend. If not for a hit by Swisher on Friday, the Sox would have swept this weekend. The Yankees know they will need to hit & pitch much better in the playoffs to beat Boston.
1 comment:
Sox could very easily have lost 2 out of 3 this weekend as well. What is up with the bases loaded....again! If I were an opposing pitcher, I would walk the bases loaded every inning. That way I would have a fighting chance.
Nice to Scutaro do well, but now that he is hot they will relpace him with Lowry.
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