Yanks beat Sox again

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox this afternoon by the score of 5-0. CC Sabathia dominated for 7 2/3 innings giving up 0 runs on 2 hits with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts. Phil Hughes came in and struck out the only guy he faced and David Robertson finished off the shutout in the ninth giving up a couple of hits but striking out Big Papi to end the game. A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia were signed over the winter for moments like this and they really stepped it up this weekend pitching brilliantly and earning there pinstripes, you can envision them both pitching well the rest of the way and into the playoffs. There is one game tomorrow but the Yankees have stepped up and shut the critics up and proved that right now they are the best team in the AL east. The offense hasn't been too good the last couple of days but they have done enough to win. Robinson Cano was the only Yankee with multiple hits today going 3 for 4, Derek Jeter had a 2 run homerun for his only hit. Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera and Jose Molina had a hit each. The bottom line is this the Yankees want to win a championship and to do that they need pitching and defense and just enough hitting and right now they are doing all of that, a lot of people have been saying they can't beat the good teams but I don't think they are saying that anymore. Andy Pettitte will be on the mound tomorrow against Jon Lester which will be a tough game but the Yankees have it set up for Pettitte to go 6 innings and then they can turn it over to Phil Hughes, Phil Coke, Mariano Rivera and hope to sweep the Red Sox and leave them 6 1/2 games out and maybe knock them out of the wildcard for now. A couple of quick notes, Josh Towers was on the team today, he will be gone tomorrow when they put Chad Gaudin on the roster. Gaudin will be out of the bullpen for now but I expect him to be starting pretty soon although they can have him caddy with Sergio Mitre. The reason Josh Towers was brought up today is just in case CC had to leave the game early or they went to extra innings again, they would of been in trouble and he would of been a guy who could give them length. The Red Sox were shutout in back to back games for the first time since 2002. They are now under 500 on the road and really reeling. The Yankees are 12-1 in their last 13 home games. These 3 games Yankee stadium has been sold out and really rocking like the old stadium, it still isn't the old stadium but this was a huge step in the right direction.

More from last nights classic

That game was the longest a Yankees/Red Sox game has gone being scoreless. Junichi Tazawa was making his major league debut replacing Hall Of Famer John Smoltz on the roster. A-rod ended his longest single season homerun drought with his walkoff in the 15th at 72 at bats. You knew how much this game meant when you saw Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett hanging out in the dugout when usually they would be in the locker room. CC Sabathia also hung around, he is today's starting pitcher. The Yankees clubhouse is so big and nice though maybe he just slept there last night. It was amazing how many bad swings there were, it was like no matter who came in to those last couple of innings, no one was going to hit them. The Yankees only used Hughes for 1/3 of an inning and Mo for 1 inning so they will be ready to go today. Bucholz is pitching for Boston and their bullpen is depleted a bit, this could be interesting for them. The stadium was finally alive and most people stayed right to the end, i give them credit but it was a friday night and how could you leave that game.

A-rod hits 2 run walkoff in Classic game

I have managed to stay up for this great game. I am not going to do the statistics like I usually do. The pitching was the name of the game tonight for both teams, A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett were just brilliant, A.J. gave up 1 hit in 7 2/3 innings and Beckett gave up 3 hits in 7 innings. The bullpens were equally brilliant as both teams pretty much used everyone. The Yankees have had a few chances but couldn't get the one big hit. Ok as I am writing this A-rod hits a 2 run walkoff homerun. He said it best everyone is exhausted including me so I am going to go to bed while watching the post game and will be back tomorrow with more. This was some game and now the yankees have a 4 1/2 game lead and can really stomp on the Sox, this has to be crushing for them as they used their whole pen that was already tired and they have Clay Bucholz going tomorrow. CC needs to come up big and get the Yanks a win and a chance for a 4 game sweep.

Red Sox at Yankees

The New York Yankees will try to make it two in a row over their rivals and 5 in a row overall. A.J. Burnett goes up against his old friend Josh Beckett, this is the third time they have faced each other this year. A.J. has not fared well this year against the Red Sox but has done well overall in his career against them. Here are the pregame notes and lineups via Peter Abraham and the great Lohud Yankees Blog. The Yankees have won 15 of 20, 28 of 38 and 51 of 76. The Yankees last night drew 49,005 could they get to 50,000 tonight and tomorrow with the weekend games?? The weather looks good and its a great matchup tonight. Melky Cabrera has 11 homeruns which is career best. Josh Beckett is 10-2 with a 2.02 in his last 14 starts. He is 2-0 with a 5.82 in 2 games against the Yankees this season. A-rod has gone 66 at bats without a homer, his longest streak since going 77 at bats between 1997 and 1998. Boston is 27-28 on the road having lost 9 of their last 14 on the road. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF) Jason Giambi was released by the A's today and Carl Pavano was traded to the Minnesota Twins from the Indians. Boston DFA'D John Smoltz and Billy Traber. They called up Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa and aquired Chris Woodward from Seattle.

Yanks get monkey off back and beat up on Sox

The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox tonight by the score of 13-6. Joba Chamberlain started and struggled but got the win going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 6 hits with 7 walks and 5 strikeouts. The story of the game was the Yankees just beating up on John Smoltz and Billy Traber as Jorge Posada had 3 hits and 3 rbi's, Johnny Damon had 3 hits and a rbi and Big Tex had 3 hits and a rbi. A-rod and Matsui had a hit each and Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher each had 2 hits, Cano had a rbi. Melky Cabrera had 2 hits and 3 rbi's. The biggest thing is that the Yankees got the monkey off of their backs, they don't have to hear anything anymore about beating the Sox and can just move on, they also now have a 3 1/2 game lead over them. Tomorrow they will send A.J. Burnett to the mound against Josh Beckett. Burnett who usually pitches well against Boston has struggled in 2 starts against them this year, he will be looking to turn that around and outduel his old teammate. Jason Bay being out of the lineup helps the Yankees and Jed Lowrie left with a elbow injury tonight. The Yankees announced during the game that they aquired Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a player to be named later and it looks like he will replace Sergio Mitre as the fifth starter. It will be interesting to see the reaction from the players later on, I am sure they are relieved.