BOS 2 - NYY 4 F

Sunday September 27th, 2009

After a year of playoff dormancy, and two years removed from their AL East throne, the Yankees have reasserted themselves as the kings of the East - doing so on Sunday by completing the three-game sweep of the rival Red Sox to solidify themselves as division champions for the 2009 season. 0-8 now seems as but a distant memory.

Andy Pettitte and Paul Byrd got the respective nods from their skippers on Sunday. The Sox would jump out to an early 2-0 lead, posting runs in the first and second innings. Melky Cabrera would homer in the 3rd to cut the Yankee deficit to one. Hideki Matsui would later post a 2-run single to give the Yanks a 3-2 lead - a lead which they would not relinquish. Mark Teixeira later added some insurance with a solo homerun to jolt the lead to 4-2. Mariano Rivera would close it out for his 44th save of the season.

For the Yanks, Pettitte would go 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walking 3 and striking out 4. Brian Bruney and Phil Coke were both awarded a hold - Bruney logged 1.2 innings without allowing a run, hit or walk, and striking out one. Phil Coke would come in for 0.1 of an inning, striking out the only man he faced. Mariano Rivera would save it in the 9th.

For the Sox, Paul Byrd worked 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits without a walk and striking out one batter. Takashi Saito would follow his performance up with 0.1 of an inning, allowing 0 runs and one hit. Ramon Ramirez and Daniel Bard each worked an inning themselves. Ramirez allowed 0 runs and 1 hit, Bard 1 run on 1 hit - the Teixeira homerun.

W: Pettitte (14-7, 4.11)
L: Byrd (1-3, 5.81)
S: Rivera (44)

Homeruns:
NYY: Cabrera (13) Teixeira (38)
BOS: None


W: Pettitte (14-7, 4.11)

BOS 0 - NYY 3 F

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

The Yankees put themselves within one game of clinching a Division title on Saturday afternoon behind ace lefty CC Sabathia. Sabathia proved to be nearly unhittable, allowing his only hit until the top half of the fifth inning - a bouncing squib placed perfectly out of the reach of second baseman Robinson Cano. CC went on to pitch 7 relentless frames of one-hit, shutout baseball, striking out 8 and walking 2. Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th, striking out 2 of the 3 men he faced, and Mariano Rivera closed it in the 9th, allowing one hit and striking out 2 for his 43rd save of the season.

Dice-K Matsuzaka countered Sabathia on Saturday, and simply found himself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Matsuzaka posed a pressing challenge on Yankee hitters, going 7 strong innings himself, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. Matsuzaka, though his line seems flawless, actually found himself in a few ominous jams. The Yankees would threaten him with two separate situations of men on first and second with no one out and failed to score, then proceeded to load the bases with no one out and failed to score, thanks to a great, run-saving play by catcher Victor Martinez. Nevertheless, following two strong starts off the DL, Matsuzaka gave his Sox a very good chance to win a ball game. Unfortunately for them, the Yankees were up for the challenge.

W: Sabathia (19-7, 3.21)
L: Matsuzaka (3-6, 6.08)
S: Rivera (43)

Homeruns:
NYY: Cano (24)
BOS: None

BOS 5 - NYY 9 F

The first of three between the Yankees and Red Sox final regular season meetings began Friday night with a 9-5 Yankee victory. Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.72) went 6.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, and got the win. For the Sox, Jon Lester (14-8, 3.52) got the loss as his outing was cut short after 2.1 innings after taking a line drive just beneath his right knee. X rays were negative, however, as the southpaw is not feeling any weariness the day after. The Yankees can now clinch the division with a win on Saturday.

Homeruns:

NYY: Rodriguez (28)
BOS: Martinez (22) Ortiz (27)

BOS (91-62)
NYY (98 -56)

Rivalry Weekend

Game 1 - Friday, September 25

Joba Chamberlain (8-6, 4.72)
Jon Lester (14-7, 3.33)

Game 2 - Saturday, September 26

CC Sabathia (18-7, 3.31)
Diasuke Matsuzaka (3-5, 6.80)

Game 3 - Sunday, September 27

Andy Pettitte (13-7, 4.15)
Paul Byrd (1-2, 6.04)

BOS 10 - KC 3 F

The Red Sox drew a split in the four game series against the Kansas City Royals by salvaging the final game of the four game series by the score of 10-3. Clay Bucholtz (7-3, 3.21) got the win for the Sox. Lerew the loss for KC (0-1, 3.86). The Red Sox now find themselves 5.5 games behind the front-running Yankees as the two teams begin a weekend series in the Bronx.

Homeruns:

BOS: Ortiz (26)
KC: Butler (19)

BOS (91-61)

NYY 3 - LAA 2 F; BOS 9 - KC 2 F

At least for now, the Yankees seem to have figured out Angel Stadium, completing their final West Coast road trip by taking the final two games of a three game series from the Halos. AJ Burnett (12-9, 4.19) got the win for New York, logging 5.2 and allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 11. His counterpart was familiar foe Scott Kazmir, who was recently acquired by the Angels last month. Despite a quality start (6.0 innings, 3 runs on 6 hit, 4 strikeouts), Kazmir (9-9, 5.06) got pinned with the loss. This was the only homerless game of the series, but the Yankee offense was provided by Robinson Cano (2 rbis; 78,79) and Melky Cabrera (65). For the Angels, Bobby Abreu posted his 98th rbi of the season - Gary Matthews Jr. his 46th. Mariano Rivera picked up his 42nd save.

Homeruns:

NYY: None
LAA: None

New York (97-56)

It was the Red Sox 9-2 over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night at Kaufman Stadium, getting off their small skid. Josh Beckett logged a solid performance, picking up his 16th win of the year (16-6, 3.78). Luke Hochevar got the loss for KC (7-11, 5.98).

Homeruns:

BOS: Ortiz (25)
KC: None

BOS (90-61)

Nick and Mac's Football Predictions

Falcons vs. Patriots

Nick: Patriots W 24-17
Mac: Falcons W 35-21

Browns vs. Ravens: Ravens (both)
Redskins vs. Lions: Redskins (Mac) Lions (Nick)
Jaguars vs. Texans: Texans (both)
Packers vs. Rams: Packers (both)
Titans vs. Jets: Titans (both)
Giants vs. Bucs: Giants (both)
Chiefs vs. Eagles: Eagles (both)
49ers vs. Vikings: 49ers (Mac) Vikings (Nick)
Saints vs. Bills: Saints (both)
Bears vs. Seahawks: Seahawks (Mac) Bears (Nick)
Steelers vs. Bengals: Steelers (both)
Broncos vs. Raiders: Raiders (Mac) Broncos (Nick)
Dolphins vs. Chargers: Chargers (both)
Colts vs. Cardinals: Colts (both)
Panthers vs. Cowboys: Cowboys (both)