Yankees vs Red Sox

[Veovis]

Vizcaino gets out of the 8th inning as Crisp gets caught stealing 2nd! 3 outs to go!

[BronxBomberz]

Come on, let's score more runs Yankees!

[Veovis]

Mo sets them down after Drew singles to start off the inning. Hell of a win tonight guys! I didn't think they could manage it against Okajima and Papelbon.

[BronxBomberz]

Ballgame!

[DirtyKash]

Did this game just take like 5 hours to finish? How long is it going to take once these two meet in the ALCS? Like 6 hours?

[BronxBomberz]

Almost 5 hours.

[nyjunc]

What a win! Still alive for the division. We made the game difficult w/ poor D ad poor clutch hitting early against that awful japanese pitcher they have but we made up for it w/ that 6 run 8th to pull back w/in 4 in the L column. We need these next 2 badly.

[BronxBomberz]

Joe Torre's refrain has been that no game can be considered over in Fenway Park -- not with its intimate dimensions, angular quirks and a propensity to lend itself to magical comebacks. For seven innings, the Yankees were as done as a team can possibly be on Yawkey Way. But in the span of seven batters, New York rallied for six runs, taking an 8-7 advantage for a stunning come-from-behind victory against the cream of Boston's bullpen.
"I think it's the biggest win of the year, certainly," said Alex Rodriguez, who delivered the go-ahead hit off closer Jonathan Papelbon. "It's definitely a character builder. It gives us a lot of confidence, coming into a place like this and being down five runs late in the game with their bullpen. It's good character."
Trailing 7-2 after seven innings, the Yankees sleepwalked through much of a dreary, slow-paced contest. Starter Andy Pettitte needed 101 pitches to get through four innings, and it forced a dredge through a carousel of little-used relievers, mopping up in hopes of a miraculous comeback that actually came.
"It was definitely one of the more crazy games that I've seen here," said Johnny Damon, who's no stranger to Fenway's quirks. "Our team deserves a lot of credit. There was no giving up. Even Joe Torre said, 'Anything can happen here.' It turned out, the minute he said it, Jason [Giambi] hits a home run, and we get going."
"The only thing predictable in this ballpark is the unpredictable," Torre said.
It sparked when the Yankees began to rip the recently ineffective Hideki Okajima, the same baffling left-hander who had introduced himself to the Major Leagues by stifling the Yankees in April. Giambi made amends for a sloppy evening in the field with a solo homer; Robinson Cano followed with another that drew the Yankees within three runs.
"I just wanted to go out there and take a good at-bat," said Giambi, who earlier booted a ground ball and also botched a potential double-play scoop. "Definitely, I'd taken a lot of pride in going out there and playing [defense] well. Sometimes when I do that, I push myself to go up there and get more focused. I went up there and took a good at-bat, and it definitely paid off."
Melky Cabrera worked a walk, and Damon doubled to chase Okajima before Derek Jeter -- making good on a sixth-inning dugout proclamation that the Yankees would win the game -- singled home the fifth New York run, blooping a ball to right field.
Suddenly, the big hits were coming, with Bobby Abreu booming a two-run double to deep center field, freeing Damon and Jeter to leg home in front of a stunned Fenway crowd of 36,590.

Yankees Coverage
• Yanks stun Sox with six-run eighth
• Bauman: Persistent Yanks lethal
• Notes: Posada displaying endurance
• Damon takes charity to new level
• Wang hopes to jump ahead of Beckett
Aug. 30 coverage: Wang twirls gem to sink Sox Chamberlain gets Sox's attention Cano's bat heats up Notes: 'Mad' Moose sounds off Aug. 29 coverage: Clemens stifles Sox; Yanks pull closer Bauman: Race finds renewed hope Notes: Rotation swap not set in stone Yankees seek sweep behind Wang Aug. 28 coverage: Damon's late homer burns Red Sox Mussina out of rotation; Kennedy up Big stage doesn't faze Chamberlain Bauman: Success starts with 'stopper' Notes: Britton added to bullpen Clemens revisits old friends

Red Sox Coverage
• Bullpen lets Red Sox down
• Dice-K calms doubters with 'heart'
• Yanks-Sox off record by two minutes
• Notes: Manny unlikely for series
• Beckett can prove Cy superiority
Aug. 30 coverage: Sox get Bronx broom treatment Bauman: No need to panic Notes: Fashion police irk Francona Aug. 29 coverage: Beckett outdueled by Rocket Notes: Manny fighting strained oblique Schilling tries to salvage Bronx finale Aug. 28 coverage: Big homer gets best of Matsuzaka Manny leaves with back spasms Notes: Papelbon's stamina on target Beckett returns to Bronx to face Rocket
Season Series
Yankees lead 9-7 • 9/14: Yankees 8, Red Sox 7
Previous coverage: 8:30 Yankees 5, Red Sox 0 8:29 Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 8:28 Yankees 5, Red Sox 3 6/3: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 6/2: Red Sox 11, Yankees 6 6/1: Yankees 9, Red Sox 5 5/23: Yankees 8, Red Sox 3 5/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 3 5/21: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 4/29: Red Sox 7, Yankees 4 4/28: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1 4/27: Red Sox 11, Yankees 4 4/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 4/21: Red Sox 7, Yankees 5 4/20: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 Previous season series
• 2006: Yankees 11, Red Sox 8
• 2005: Yankees 10, Red Sox 9
• 2004: Red Sox 11, Yankees 8


"The game is never over until it's over," Abreu said. "Those two guys, we know Okajima is one of the best lefties right now in the game, and Papelbon is one of the best closers. To beat those two guys is such a good thing for us, especially right now in a pennant race."
Back on June 3, Rodriguez made a major statement in the Yankees' season by victimizing Papelbon, bashing a two-out homer through the raindrops at Fenway to make a winner of reliever Brian Bruney.
Once again, A-Rod was the man in the pivotal spot, ripping a run-scoring single up the gap in left-center to stick Papelbon with his third blown save of the season.
"You certainly feel like you stole it," said Rodriguez, who had no plans to apologize for his piece of thievery.
Luis Vizcaino set the Red Sox down in the eighth inning, and Mariano Rivera pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to record his 27th save, preserving the victory for Bruney. Nearly overlooked in the Yankees' huge comeback was a relief appearance that, as much as any other, held the game. With the bases loaded in the sixth, Bruney relieved Sean Henn and struck out Bobby Kielty swinging, killing any further threats.
"You just don't know with this lineup," Bruney said. "Seriously, if you went to get a popcorn there, you missed us score six runs. We can do it any given day. You just try to go in and get outs."
The late rally produced a sigh of relief for Pettitte, who endured a rough effort marked by spotty defense, well-hit balls and his personal miscues -- an outing reminiscent of a June 3 start in Boston, where he lasted just 4 1/3 innings.
"It's kind of like the game I had here last time -- they wore me out," Pettitte said. "I felt like early, my stuff was good. They fouled off a lot of pitches again, and I really tried to look back over the game to think of something I could have done. I had a real hard time trying to say I did a horrible job. They worked me extremely hard."
The Red Sox got to Pettitte for early runs amid damage that could have been even worse. Jacoby Ellsbury drove home Boston's first run with a sharp second-inning single and Giambi, who had drawn raves as recently as late afternoon for surprisingly stellar defensive play, booted a J.D. Drew ground ball that could have had Pettitte out of the inning, instead scoring the second Red Sox run.
Pettitte allowed five runs (four earned) and nine hits, as he left the Yankees somewhat shorthanded and with a huge hill to climb -- a challenge that was made greater since New York let Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka off the hook in the first inning, leaving the bases loaded.
Having fared just 1-4 in his last six starts, Matsuzaka limited the Yankees to two runs and four hits and was in line to beat the Bronx Bombers for the third time in four starts before his relievers blew it.
"We knew it was ugly, but you can't do a lot about it other than go out there and try to score some runs," Torre said. "That's a big difference in this ballclub. They just never get to the point where they feel that they cannot win a game."

The Official Site of The New York Yankees: News: New York Yankees News

[BronxBomberz]

The thought ought to shoot chills up any Yankees fan's spine. What if Chien-Ming Wang, whose brilliance for a second straight year finally has him drawing ace-worthy plaudits and American League Cy Young Award consideration, had never returned? What if he had remained injured five months ago? What if his right hamstring, strained during Spring Training, had torn or ruptured? What if he had stayed on the disabled list longer than just three weeks before he took his place at the top of the Yankees' rotation on April 24?
Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon can follow that line of questioning.
"Without him," Damon says, "and [with] a couple of the losing streaks we had earlier in the season, who knows where we would be at?"
After Friday's win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Yankees lead the Tigers in the race for the AL Wild Card by 3 1/2 games. And they are set, on Saturday at 3:55 p.m. ET, to send their Cy Young candidate to the Fenway mound against Red Sox ace Josh Beckett.
Saturday promises more than the usual Yankees-Red Sox drama -- it features a pair of 27-year-old Cy Young front-runners employing varied pitching styles and carrying a league-leading 18 wins, not to mention the World Series hopes of their respective fan bases.
In his last start against the Sox, Wang took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, finishing with seven innings of one-hit ball in one of the best performances of any pitcher against Boston this season. Nearly six months ago, the 6-foot-3 Taiwanese sinkerballer couldn't pitch after straining his hamstring while running on March 23.
Not until May did Wang shake off the rust of the offseason and establish himself as the same dominant mound presence that he was in 2006, when he won 19 games with a 3.63 ERA.
"After the injury," said catcher Jorge Posada, "he came back and he wasn't himself. It took really, like, three or four starts to really get going. And ever since then, he's been able to take the ball any time he wanted to."
Since the end of April, Wang is 18-4 with a 3.53 ERA. He has ironed out his mechanics. He has thrown his non-sinkerball offerings more and with greater success, holding hitters to a .262 batting average, against a mark of .277 last year.
Whether the voting baseball writers have yet caught on or not, Wang has pitched his way into the awards-season picture.
"I think he doesn't get the recognition, and I don't know why," Posada said. "But I've seen him every day. I've seen what he's been able to do. I think he's, for us, been No. 1. I think he's the Cy Young winner."
There are candidates with similar performance records and varying styles.

Yankees Coverage
• Yanks stun Sox with six-run eighth
• Bauman: Persistent Yanks lethal
• Notes: Posada displaying endurance
• Damon takes charity to new level
• Wang hopes to jump ahead of Beckett
Aug. 30 coverage: Wang twirls gem to sink Sox Chamberlain gets Sox's attention Cano's bat heats up Notes: 'Mad' Moose sounds off Aug. 29 coverage: Clemens stifles Sox; Yanks pull closer Bauman: Race finds renewed hope Notes: Rotation swap not set in stone Yankees seek sweep behind Wang Aug. 28 coverage: Damon's late homer burns Red Sox Mussina out of rotation; Kennedy up Big stage doesn't faze Chamberlain Bauman: Success starts with 'stopper' Notes: Britton added to bullpen Clemens revisits old friends

Red Sox Coverage
• Bullpen lets Red Sox down
• Dice-K calms doubters with 'heart'
• Yanks-Sox off record by two minutes
• Notes: Manny unlikely for series
• Beckett can prove Cy superiority
Aug. 30 coverage: Sox get Bronx broom treatment Bauman: No need to panic Notes: Fashion police irk Francona Aug. 29 coverage: Beckett outdueled by Rocket Notes: Manny fighting strained oblique Schilling tries to salvage Bronx finale Aug. 28 coverage: Big homer gets best of Matsuzaka Manny leaves with back spasms Notes: Papelbon's stamina on target Beckett returns to Bronx to face Rocket
Season Series
Yankees lead 9-7 • 9/14: Yankees 8, Red Sox 7
Previous coverage: 8:30 Yankees 5, Red Sox 0 8:29 Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 8:28 Yankees 5, Red Sox 3 6/3: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 6/2: Red Sox 11, Yankees 6 6/1: Yankees 9, Red Sox 5 5/23: Yankees 8, Red Sox 3 5/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 3 5/21: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 4/29: Red Sox 7, Yankees 4 4/28: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1 4/27: Red Sox 11, Yankees 4 4/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 4/21: Red Sox 7, Yankees 5 4/20: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 Previous season series
• 2006: Yankees 11, Red Sox 8
• 2005: Yankees 10, Red Sox 9
• 2004: Red Sox 11, Yankees 8



"You've go to think about Beckett," said Yankees backup catcher Jose Molina. "You've go to think about [John] Lackey in Anaheim, [Kelvim] Escobar in Anaheim, [Cleveland's C.C.] Sabathia. You've got to think about a lot of guys who are pitching well for winning teams."
Wang's style -- which is to pitch to contact, inducing ground balls with a sinker that is rivaled only by fellow Cy candidate Fausto Carmona of the Indians -- has nevertheless led to only 91 strikeouts against Beckett's 173.
"It doesn't matter," Posada says. "When you [consider] ERA and the things he's able to do, winning-wise, it just doesn't matter how you do it. He's been able to do it consistently."
Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (18-6, 3.69 ERA)
Wang has been steady under scrutiny against Boston, which he has faced more than any other team this season. In his last start against the Red Sox, on Aug. 30, Wang was brilliant. He threw seven efficient innings of one-hit ball at Yankee Stadium, striking out five. Against the Red Sox this season, he is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA, despite allowing 36 baserunners in 25 innings.
BOS: RHP Josh Beckett (18-6, 3.27 ERA)
Beckett has been far less successful pitching against his archrival than Wang, posting a 5.49 ERA and allowing 30 hits in 19 2/3 innings. That adds up to a .353 opponents' batting average, far worse than against any team he has faced more than once. In a loss to the Yankees on Aug. 29, Beckett allowed 13 hits in 6 2/3 innings, but he still held the Bronx Bombers to just four runs.
Player to watch
First baseman Jason Giambi, whose defensive travails on Friday gave the Red Sox a boost, will look to bounce back opposite Beckett, against whom he has slugged .846 in 13 at-bats.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes
On television
• FOX
On radio
• WCBS, 92.7 WQBU (Español)
Up next
• Sunday: Yankees (Roger Clemens, 6-6, 4.45) at Red Sox (Curt Schilling, 8-7, 3.93), 8:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Orioles (TBD) at Yankees (Phil Hughes, 3-3, 4.91), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Orioles (TBD) at Yankees (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET

The Official Site of The New York Yankees: News: New York Yankees News

[Veovis]

Not that it really seems to matter at this point... but Joe probably could have left Edwar in here in the 7th and made out better than the current situation with two runs in and the bases loaded...

[BronxBomberz]

Yuck! We get annihlated by the freaking Red Sox.

[Veovis]

And to make matters worse the Tigers are pounding Johan. Looks like we might be only 2.5 games up tomorrow with a pitcher with a bad arm on the mound. Then we get Baltimore. This postseason thing is no lock boys.

[BronxBomberz]

I have to agree man.

[Veovis]

Hey, tight races are more exciting than easy rides, aren't they?

[BronxBomberz]

Call it an American League Cy Young Award statement or one more push toward the 20-win plateau. Whatever the case, the Red Sox were just glad Saturday was Josh Beckett's turn to pitch. And Beckett did not disappoint, putting together his latest power-pitching clinic in leading the Red Sox to a 10-1 victory over the Yankees that pushed Boston's lead in the AL East back to 5 1/2 games.
Coming off a devastating 8-7 loss on Friday in which Boston's 1-2 relief tandem of Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon blew a five-run lead, Beckett picked the Red Sox right up by holding the heavy-hitting Yankees to a mere three hits and one run in seven innings.
"I thought Beckett did exactly what we have kind of come to expect and also needed," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He pitched like an ace of a staff today. Against the best lineup in baseball, he went out there and did exactly what we needed."
Beckett walked two, struck out seven and, aside from a solo homer by Derek Jeter in the first, basically never blinked. Such has been the case all year for Beckett, who ran his record to 19-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.20.
As comfortable as Beckett is in big games, that is how uncomfortable he is talking about his excellence in the immediate aftermath.
"I don't know that I relish it," said Beckett. "I just do what I always do, just go out and try to execute pitches. They showed why they've won so many games since the All-Star break [on Friday] night."
But Saturday swiftly took on a different tone, thanks to Beckett.
"It was a huge win for us out there tonight," said Eric Hinske, who doubled and homered while filling in for the injured Manny Ramirez. "Beckett pitched awesome. After what happened last night, this was a big bounce-back game for us."
In this one, Beckett was opposed by fellow AL Cy Young Award contender Chien-Ming Wang. The 90-59 Red Sox were able to muster far more offense then they did against Wang in a 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 30.
Offensively, the Red Sox chipped away early -- scoring one run in the first and one in the fifth -- and broke it open late, tacking on three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh.
Wang, who was strong early, seemed to wear down in the middle innings. He was touched up for nine hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings.
"Wang is an elite pitcher, he really is," said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "We had our hands full. I think we put together some good at-bats."
It was particularly important for the Red Sox to do something positive against the Yankees, considering they had lost the last five meetings with their rivals. Beckett's day ended when he blew pitch No. 108 -- a 93-mph fastball -- by Melky Cabrera to get out of a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh.
A packed house of 36,215 roared with approval as Beckett walked off the mound for the final time of the afternoon.

Yankees Coverage
• Wang outdone by Beckett in Boston
• Crash gives clash a football feel
• Notes: New territory for Damon
Sept. 14 coverage: Yanks stun Sox with six-run eighth Bauman: Persistent Yanks lethal Notes: Posada displaying endurance Damon takes charity to new level Aug. 30 coverage: Wang twirls gem to sink Sox Chamberlain gets Sox's attention Cano's bat heats up Notes: 'Mad' Moose sounds off Aug. 29 coverage: Clemens stifles Sox; Yanks pull closer Bauman: Race finds renewed hope Notes: Rotation swap not set in stone Yankees seek sweep behind Wang Aug. 28 coverage: Damon's late homer burns Red Sox Mussina out of rotation; Kennedy up Big stage doesn't faze Chamberlain Bauman: Success starts with 'stopper' Notes: Britton added to bullpen Clemens revisits old friends

Red Sox Coverage
• Beckett denies Yanks for 19th win
• Bauman: Reassuring win for Sox
• Youkilis exits with wrist contusion
• Ellsbury downs Yankees with spark
• Notes: Papelbon uses short memory
Sept. 14 coverage: Bullpen lets Red Sox down Dice-K calms doubters with 'heart' Yanks-Sox off record by two minutes Notes: Manny unlikely for series Aug. 30 coverage: Sox get Bronx broom treatment Bauman: No need to panic Notes: Fashion police irk Francona Aug. 29 coverage: Beckett outdueled by Rocket Notes: Manny fighting strained oblique Schilling tries to salvage Bronx finale Aug. 28 coverage: Big homer gets best of Matsuzaka Manny leaves with back spasms Notes: Papelbon's stamina on target Beckett returns to Bronx to face Rocket
Season Series
Yankees lead 9-8 • 9/15: Red Sox 10,Yankees 1
• 9/14: Yankees 8, Red Sox 7
Previous coverage: 8:30 Yankees 5, Red Sox 0 8:29 Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 8:28 Yankees 5, Red Sox 3 6/3: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 6/2: Red Sox 11, Yankees 6 6/1: Yankees 9, Red Sox 5 5/23: Yankees 8, Red Sox 3 5/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 3 5/21: Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 4/29: Red Sox 7, Yankees 4 4/28: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1 4/27: Red Sox 11, Yankees 4 4/22: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 4/21: Red Sox 7, Yankees 5 4/20: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6 Previous season series
• 2006: Yankees 11, Red Sox 8
• 2005: Yankees 10, Red Sox 9
• 2004: Red Sox 11, Yankees 8



"I think he wants to be a great pitcher," said Lowell. "I think that's a mentality that I can't say is the same for everyone. He looks forward to the games that are on a big stage. That's good, because he's got good stuff and the right mentality. We definitely feel very confident when he's on the mound for us."
Jeter did his best to set an early tone for the Yankees, crushing a solo homer to center off Beckett in the first. In fact, Beckett threw 30 pitches in that inning but gave up just the one run.
"He was close," said Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. "He wasn't way off or misfiring all over the place. He was just settling into his delivery."
And the Red Sox were able to get the run right back in the bottom of the inning. Dustin Pedroia led off with a single up the middle, and David Ortiz pounded a two-out single to right. Lowell capitalized on the opportunity, ripping a single down the left-field line to make it 1-1.
"I try to hit the ball hard," said Lowell. "If you hit the ball hard, you have a decent chance. It was nice to put us right back in the game in that first inning."
For a while, the pitchers took center stage, as neither ace budged until the bottom of the fifth. It was then that the Red Sox started a rally in painful fashion, as Kevin Youkilis was hit on the right wrist with a pitch. Youkilis had to leave the game with a contusion and is considered day-to-day after undergoing X-rays, which were negative. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch-ran for Youkilis and swiftly moved to third on a single to right by Ortiz. With two outs, J.D. Drew poked an opposite-field single down the line in left to bring home Ellsbury and give the Sox a 2-1 lead.
The Sox again got to Wang in the sixth. Hinske got it started with a double off the Green Monster, and Coco Crisp followed by slamming a single up the middle before stealing second. Pedroia tried to get a run home on a grounder to second, but Hinske was thrown out at the plate on a bang-bang play in which he barreled into Yankees catcher Jorge Posada.
Then it was up to Ellsbury, who once again provided a spark, this time with a line-drive single to left that scored Crisp to make it a two-run game.
"I hit him pretty good, but he ended up holding onto the ball," said Hinske. "Ellsbury had a big hit, but I think [the collision with Posada] kind of pumped the team up a little bit. It was a good kind of momentum swing for us."
Ortiz opened it up further, lofting a double to the gap in right-center field that brought two more runs home to make it 5-1. The speedy Ellsbury raced all the way around from first, barely sliding in under the tag of Posada.
But the day belonged to Beckett. And in a way, so has the season.
"In my mind, he's carried us all year," said Hinske.
"History has shown -- whether it was the [2003] World Series, when he was the MVP -- he relishes a stage in which it's time to elevate his game and step up and produce, like he did today," said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.

The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News