New York Mets news and notes from the weekend

Terry Collins said there is currently no timetable for Shaun Marcum to pitch again. He was diagnosed with nerve inflammation in his neck at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He received trigger point injections in his neck, he will return to Port St. Lucie and rest for 48 hours. He is on the 15 day disabled list with biceps tendonitis. 
The Mets hit five homeruns in their first three games of the season which is the most since 2006. They did not hit their fifth homerun last year until the seventh game.

The Mets optioned Jeurys Familia to AAA-Las Vegas and that they have moved Johan Santana to the 60 day disabled list. The Mets will make a corresponding move on Sunday.

David Wright played his 60^th straight game without an error extending his own franchise record. John Buck has been hitting really well so far this season and that continued on Saturday.

The Mets will go for the series win on Sunday against the Marlins and try to win their first two series of the season.

The Mets starting pitching has been great so far this season but their bullpen has struggled. Their offense is hitting a lot of homeruns which it really hasn’t done in recent seasons.

Terry Collins is still planning on mixing and matching in the outfield. A lot of fans want to see Colin Cowgill playing everyday at least for now. We will have to see if Collins will change his mind, I don’t think he is going too.

The New York Mets lose their second in a row 7-5 to the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets were defeated by the Miami Marlins by the score of 7-5 on Friday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jeremy Hefner started for the Mets and pitched well but the bullpen was terrible. The Mets offense didn’t wake up until the seventh inning. Daniel Murphy had a big homerun for the Mets. 
Hefner pitched six innings giving up five hits and one run with two walks and three strikeouts. Greg Burke pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up one hit and four runs with one of them being earned. He walked one and struck out one, Scott Rice pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run, Scott Atchison pitched a perfect inning and LaTroy Hawkins pitched one inning giving up three hits and a run with a strikeout.

Jordany Valdespin had two hits and a walk, Murphy had a hit, three RBI and drew a walk and David Wright had a hit and drew a walk. Ike Davis drew a walk, Marlon Byrd had a hit and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit and an RBI. Lucas Duda had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, John Buck had a hit and Ruben Tejada had a hit and drew a walk. Mike Baxter had a hit and drew a walk, Tejada and Nieuwenhuis each hit a double and Murphy hit a homerun. The Mets were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base, Tejada committed an error, Buck had a passed ball and Valdespin had an outfield assist.

Alex Sanabia got the win pitching six innings giving up six hits and no runs with three walks and a strikeout. Chad Qualls pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a walk, Mike Dunn pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a strikeout and A.J. Ramos pitched an inning giving up two walks and a strikeout. Steve Cishek pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts.

Juan Pierre had a hit, Placido Polanco had three hits and two RBI and Mike Stanton had a hit. Gregg Dobbs had a hit and two RBI, Justin Ruggiano had two hits and two RBI and Rob Brantly had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Hechavarria had a hit, Solano drew a walk and Austin Kearns drew a walk. Brantly hit two doubles, Ruggiano and Stanton each hit one. Dobbs hit a homerun and the Marlins were 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Ruggiano had two stolen bases, Brantly had a passed ball and Sanabia had a pickoff.

Dobbs hit a solo homerun in the second to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. In the seventh the Marlins scored five runs to take a 6-0 lead. Polanco hit a two run single, Dobbs hit a sacrifice fly, Ruggiano an RBI double and Brantly an RBI double. Murphy hit a three run homerun in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 6-3. Ruggiano hit an RBI single in the ninth to make it 7-3 but the Mets would come back with two runs to make it 7-5. Nieuwenhuis hit an RBI double and Duda hit an RBI single but that would be it as the final score was 7-5.

The Mets after winning the first two games have now lost two in a row and are 2-2 on the season. The Marlins picked up their first win and are now 1-3 on the season. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon.

New York Yankees behind lousy pitching drop another one in Detroit

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers by the score of 8-3 on Friday afternoon. The game took place at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and he had no control right from the beginning. The Yankees offense wasn’t that bad against Doug Fister but were completely shut down by the Detroit bullpen. Kevin Youkilis hit his first Yankees homerun. 
Nova pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs. He walked two and struck out five and took the loss. Boone Logan pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk, Shawn Kelley pitched two innings giving up three hits and three runs with a walk and three strikeouts and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning.

Robinson Cano had a hit, Youkilis had two hits and two RBI and Travis Hafner had a hit and drew a walk. Brennan Boesch had a hit, Lyle Overbay drew a walk and Chris Stewart had a hit. Youkilis hit a homerun and the Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

Doug Fister earned the win pitching five innings and giving up six hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Doug Smyly earned the save pitching four perfect innings with five strikeouts.

Austin Jackson had two hits and drew a walk, Torii Hunter had two hits and Miguel Cabrera had an RBI and drew a walk. Prince Fielder had two hits and five RBI, Victor Martinez drew a walk and Andy Dirks drew a walk. Alex Avila had a hit and an RBI, Omar Infante had two hits and an RBI and Fielder hit two homeruns and Infante one. The Tigers were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base and Dirks had a stolen base.

In the first the Tigers took a 1-0 lead on a Cabrera groundout. Infante had an RBI single in the second to make it 2-0 Tigers. In the fifth the Yankees scored three runs. Gardner scored on a wild pitch and Youkilis hit a two run homerun to make it 3-2 Yankees. The lead was short lived as the Tigers came back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Fielder hit a three run homerun to make it 5-3 Tigers. Avila hit a solo homerun in the sixth to make it a 6-3 game and Fielder hit a two run homerun in the seventh inning to make it 8-3. 8-3 was the final score as Smyly was able to retire the last 12 Yankees he saw and end the game.

The Yankees are 1-3 on the season and the Detroit Tigers are 2-2. The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon. Max Scherzer will pitch against David Phelps.

New York Yankees notes after the first series which they lost 2 out of 3

Hiroki Kuroda came out of the game on Wednesday night with an injury. It doesn’t appear to be serious though and no one thinks he will miss a start. He reached up on a hard liner up the middle and it glanced his hand. The Yankees have enough injuries and they just have to find a way to survive the first month until they get some of their guys back, they don’t need any more injuries. 
Cody Eppley didn’t pitch well but Adam Warren did and really saved the bullpen. Warren pitched one game last year and got knocked around, it is nice to see him get another chance and do well. He is a young guy who has had success in the minor leagues.

I didn’t think the Yankees offense was that bad, they had some good at bats and were unlucky in some situations. They did hit a couple of homeruns after not hitting any on Opening Day.

Vernon Wells had three hits including a homerun, he is a new guy who is older so it is nice for the Yankees to see that. He wasn’t having a good time in Los Angeles with the Angels but maybe a change of scenery will really help him like it did with Ichiro last season.

The Yankees said you never want to lose but the bottom line is they haven’t played well enough to win. I am not really worried because it was only two games. The offense isn’t going to be as good but if the pitching does what it is supposed to do they don’t need as much offense.

Eduardo Nunez and Francisco Cervelli have looked good early in the season. They both had good nights on Thursday night. Cervelli hit a homerun and made a very good defensive play in the first inning to save a run.

Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera added to their record for a combination of starting pitcher and closer with wins/saves. Pettitte also became the only pitcher in major league history with decisions in 18 different seasons and he doesn’t have a losing season.

The New York Mets are unable to sweep as they lose 2-1 to the San Diego Padres

The New York Mets were defeated by the San Diego Padres by the score of 2-1 on Thursday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Dillon Gee started for the Mets and pitched well. Justin Turner led the Mets offense as they only had five hits. 
Gee pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with three walks and four strikeouts. Gee picked up his first loss of the season, Scott Rice pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits, Jeurys Familia pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up one hit and one run with a walk and Josh Edgin pitched 2/3 of an inning walking one. Brandon Lyon pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Mike Baxter drew a walk, David Wright drew a walk and Turner had three hits. Ike Davis drew a walk, John Buck had two hits and an RBI and Ruben Tejada drew two walks. Turner hit a double and Buck hit a homerun. The Mets were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Valdespin had a stolen base.

Eric Stults picked up the win pitching five innings giving up three hits and no runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Brad Brach pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts, Joe Thatcher faced one batter and struck him out and Dale Thayer faced two batters and struck them both out. Luke Gregerson pitched 1 1/3 innings striking out three and Huston Street saved his first game pitching an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Everth Cabrera had a hit and drew two walks, Mark Kotsay had a hit and drew a walk and Denorfia drew a walk. Yonder Alonso had two hits, Jedd Gyorko had a hit and an RBI and Cameron Maybin drew a walk. John Baker had a hit, Gyorko hit a double. The Padres were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Cabrera had a stolen base and Kotsay was caught stealing.

In the fourth Gyorko hit an RBI double to make it 1-0 Padres. In the eighth the Padres scored the second run on a wild pitch making it 2-0. The Mets scored their only run of the game in the ninth on a Buck solo homerun.

The Mets record is 2-1 and the Padres 1-2. The Mets will begin a three game series with the Miami Marlins at home on Friday night.

The New York Yankees avoid the sweep behind a dominant Andy Pettitte

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by the score of 4-2 on Thursday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees and pitched great and Mariano Rivera got into his first game and earned his first save of the season. Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli each hit a homerun. 
Pettitte pitched eight innings giving up one run on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three, Rivera pitched one inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Pettitte earned his first win and Rivera his first save of the season.

Gardner had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk, Robinson Cano drew a walk and Kevin Youkilis had a hit. Travis Hafner had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki drew a walk and Eduardo Nunez had two hits. Lyle Overbay had a hit and two RBI and Francisco Cervelli had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Nunez and Youkilis each hit a homerun and Gardner and Cervelli each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Gardner and Nunez were each caught stealing.

Ryan Dempster pitched five innings giving up five hits and three runs with four walks and eight strikeouts and he took the loss. Junichi Tazawa pitched one inning giving up a hit and Clayton Mortensen pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run.

Shane Victorino had a hit, Dustin Pedroia drew two walks and Mike Napoli had a hit. Jonny Gomes had a hit, Will Middlebrooks had two hits and an RBI and Jackie Bradley Jr. had a hit and an RBI. David Ross had a hit and Jose Iglesias had two hits. Bradley and Gomes each hit a double and the Red Sox were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Victorino had an outfield assist.

In the second Overbay hit a two run single to make it 2-0 Yankees. In the third inning the Yankees took a 3-0 lead on a Gardner solo homerun. In the seventh the Red Sox got on the board with a Bradley RBI double. The Yankees got the run right back in the bottom of the seventh on a Cervelli solo homerun to make it 4-1. The Red Sox scored a run in the ninth on a groundout after a walk and a double and the final score was 4-2.

The Yankees record improved to 1-2 and the Red Sox are 2-1. The Yankees will head to Detroit to begin a three game series. The Yankees and Tigers will play on Friday afternoon. The Red Sox will head north to take on the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday night.

The New York Mets win their second in a row with an 8-4 victory over the San Diego Padres

The New York Mets defeated the San Diego Padres by the score of 8-4 on Wednesday night. The game was played at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Matt Harvey made the start for the Mets and was great. Lucas Duda and John Buck led the Mets offense with multiple hits. 
Harvey pitched seven innings giving up one hit and no runs with two walks and ten strikeouts. He picked up the win, Greg Burke pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run, Josh Edgin faced one batter and retired him and LaTroy Hawkins pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with one of them earned. Bobby Parnell pitched to one batter and retired him.

David Wright had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Ike Davis had a hit and two RBI and Marlon Byrd had a hit and drew a walk. Duda hit two hits, two RBI and drew a walk, Buck had two hits and three RBI and Harvey had a hit. Duda and Wright each hit a double, Duda, Buck and Davis each hit a homerun. The Mets were 3-5 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Tejada committed an error and Harvey had a pickoff.

Clayton Richard took the loss pitching 4 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and eight runs with seven of them being earned. He walked two and struck out one. Andrew Cashner pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts and Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Everth Cabrera had two hits, Venable had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Quentin had an RBI and drew a walk. Gyorko had a hit, Hundley had two hits and an RBI and Carlos Maybin had an RBI. Hundley hit a double and the Padres were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Cabrera was picked off and Gyorko committed an error.

In the second Duda hit a two run homerun to make it 2-0 Mets. In the fourth Buck hit a two run homerun to make it 4-0. The Mets scored four runs in the fifth inning to make it 8-0. Wright hit an RBI double Davis a two run homerun and Buck an RBI single. Maybin grounded into a force out in the eighth to make it8-1 Mets and then the Padres scored three runs in the ninth to make it 8-4 which was the final score.

The Mets are now 2-0 on the season and the Padres are 0-2. The two teams will play the final game of the series on Thursday afternoon.

The New York Yankees are 0-2 as they drop another to the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox by the score of 7-4 on Wednesday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and was knocked out in the second inning after being hit in a hand by a line drive. Vernon Wells led the Yankees offense with three hits. 
Kuroda pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout. Kuroda took the loss, Cody Eppley pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and four runs with a strikeout, Adam Warren did a stellar job pitching 5 1/3 innings giving up five hits and a run with a walk and four strikeouts. Warren really saved the bullpen and he gets a star for the job he did in this game. Shawn Kelley pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout.

Ichiro Suzuki drew a walk, Kevin Youkilis had two hits and Wells had three hits and three RBI. Travis Hafner had a hit and an RBI, Lyle Overbay had a hit and Eduardo Nunez had two hits and drew a walk. Hafner and Wells each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Nunez had a stolen base and was charged with a tough error.

Clay Bucholz picked up the win pitching seven innings giving up six hits and a run with two walks and four strikeouts. Andrew Miller pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a run and Alfredo Aceves pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs. Joel Hanrahan picked up the save pitching an inning giving up a hit and striking out one.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk, Daniel Nava had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Dustin Pedroia had two hits and an RBI. Mike Napoli had a hit, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had two hits and an RBI and Will Middlebrooks drew a walk. Shane Victorino had two hits and an RBI, Jackie Bradley Jr. had a hit and an RBI and Jose Iglesias had two hits. Iglesias and Nava each hit a double and the Red Sox were 5-13 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Victorino had a stolen base.

In the first Saltalamacchia had an RBI single giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. In the second the Red Sox made it 2-0 when Nava was hit by a pitch. The Red Sox broke it open with a four run third inning to make it 6-0. Victorino hit an RBI single, Bradley hit an RBI single and Ellsbury hit a two run single. Hafner hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 6-1 Red Sox. In the sixth the Red Sox got the run back on a Pedroia ground out. Wells hit a three run homerun in the eighth to make it 7-4 and that was the final score.

The Yankees are now 0-2 and the Red Sox 2-0. The Yankees will try and salvage the final game of the series on Thursday night. Andy Pettitte will pitch against Ryan Dempster, the Yankees will then hit the road for seven games before returning home.

New York Yankees Notes from Opening Day

The New York Yankees lost on Opening Day but it is just one game out of 162. CC Sabathia the ace didn’t pitch so well but this was his fifth opening day start for the Yankees and he has yet to win one. He also has not fared well at all in opening days period. The talk was about Sabathia and his velocity but he says that he is fine. He had off-season elbow surgery so of course it is going to come up. If you look at his past seasons though it is common for his velocity to be a little bit down in April, he is a slow starter and then once he gets going as the weather warms he is fine. 
The offense is what the critics have been talking about all winter. The thing I saw though is that they had their opportunities they just didn’t capitalize. How many times did that happen last year when they had a supposedly great offense?? It is just one game but of course it looks worse when what the critics have been saying comes to fruition.

Why was David Phelps in this game when he is in the rotation. It was his throw day and he is still on schedule to start the Saturday game in Detroit. He said he knew that he could pitch in the game and it was no big deal.

Yankee Stadium was really a ghost town by the end of the game. The game was bad and it was raining by then but it was still an ugly scene. If there were a couple of hundred people there that is a lot. Vernon Wells said that he didn’t blame them and Francisco Cervelli said if he was a fan and it was raining he would of run also.

Joba said about his bad outing that walks kill you and he just wasn’t making his pitches. Elias had some nuggets to share from this game. It was the first Yankees opener without a switch hitter in the lineup since 1992. The Yankees had Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada for many years and then Teixeira the last couple of years. The Yankees also snapped a major league record streak of homering in 14 straight opening day games.

There were six players that made their Yankees debut, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, Shawn Kelley, Kevin Youkilis, Travis Hafner and Ben Francisco. Youkilis joined Johnny Damon and Wade Boggs to start an opener for the Yankees one year after doing so for the Red Sox since Steve O’Neill did it in 1925.

The Yankees and Red Sox will play game two of the series on Wednesday night and conclude the series on Thursday night. Hiroki Kuroda will face Clay Bucholz on Wednesday and Andy Pettitte vs. Ryan Dempster on Thursday.

The big news from the off day on Tuesday was that Robinson Cano fired his agent Scott Boras. He is now represented by CAA which Jay-Z is partnered with through his PR firm. It looks more likely that Cano will stay in New York and play his entire career with the New York Yankees.

The New York Mets win on Opening Day as usual

The New York Mets defeated the San Diego Padres by the score of 11-2 on Monday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched well, Colin Cowgill hit a grand slam and a bunch of guys had a couple of hits. 
Niese pitched 6 2/3 innings picking up the win. He gave up four hits and two runs with a couple of walks and four strikeouts. Brandon Lyon pitched to one batter and retired him, Scott Atchison pitched a perfect inning and Scott Rice pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts.

Cowgill had two hits and four RBI, Daniel Murphy had two hits and an RBI and David Wright had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Marlon Byrd had two hits and two RBI, Lucas Duda drew two walks and John Buck had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Ruben Tejada had two hits and an RBI and Niese had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk. Tejada and Cowgill each hit a double, Cowgill hit a homerun and the Mets were 7-14 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Wright had two stolen bases and Tejada committed an error.

Edinson Volquez took the loss pitching three innings giving up six hits and six runs with three walks and four strikeouts. Anthony Bass pitched three innings giving up three hits and a run with three strikeouts, Brad Brach pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and four runs with a walk and a strikeout and Dale Thayer pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two. Joe Thatcher pitched to one batter and retired him.

Chris Denorfia had a hit and drew a walk, Yonder Alonso had a hit and an RBI and Carlos Quentin had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Jedd Gyorko had a hit and he hit a double and Alonso hit a homerun. The Padres were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Cody Ransom committed an error.

In the second Tejada hit an RBI double and Niese had an RBI single in the second inning to make it 2-0 Mets. In the third Quentin hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1. Byrd hit an RBI single and Buck hit an RBI single in the third to make it 4-1 Mets. Murphy hit an RBI single, Wright had an RBI groundout and Byrd hit an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it a 7-1 lead. In the sixth Alonso hit a solo homerun to make it 7-2 Mets. The Mets scored four runs in the seventh on a Cowgill grand slam to make it 11-2 and that was the final score.

The Mets are now 1-0 and the Padres 0-1. The two teams will have an off day on Tuesday and play on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.

The New York Yankees have a rough Opening Day as they lose 8-2 to the Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Boston Red Sox by the score of 8-2 on Monday afternoon. It was the first Opening Day at home that they lost since 1986, they had won 14 of those in a row. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and he wasn’t very good, Joba Chamberlain also had a bad outing in relief. The Yankees offense left a lot of runners on base, Francisco Cervelli provided their only RBI. 
Sabathia pitched five innings giving up four runs on eight hits, he walked four and struck out five. Sabathia took the loss. David Phelps pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with two walks, it was his throw day and he is still in line to start on Saturday in Detroit. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit, Shawn Kelley pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Chamberlain pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Cody Eppley pitched to one batter and retired him.

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk, Robinson Cano had a hit and Kevin Youkilis had a hit. Vernon Wells drew a walk, Ben Francisco drew a walk and Travis Hafner had a hit. Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, Cervelli had a hit and two RBI and drew a walk and Youkilis hit a double. The Yankees were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Jon Lester started for the Red Sox and pitched five innings giving up five hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Koji Uehara pitched a perfect inning, Andrew Miller walked two and struck out two in 2/3 of an inning and Andrew Bailey struck out the only batter that he faced. Junichi Tazawa pitched one inning giving up a hit and Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and two RBI, Shane Victorino had two hits and three RBI and Dustin Pedroia had two hits and an RBI. Will Middlebrooks drew a walk, Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a hit and drew three walks and Jonny Gomes had two hits and drew a walk. Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI, drew three walks and made a run saving catch in the outfield. I would say it was a good debut for a kid that hadn’t played a day over AA in his career. Jose Iglesias had three hits and an RBI , Saltalamacchia hit a double and Ellsbury a triple. The Red Sox were 6-18 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

The Red Sox took a commanding 4-0 lead in the second inning. Saltalamacchia walked, Gomes had an infield single, Bradley walked and Iglesias had an RBI infield single. Victorino had a two run single and Pedroia had an RBI single. In the bottom of the fourth Cervelli hit a two run single to make it a 4-2 game. In the seventh the Red Sox added to their lead with a run on a Bradley ground out. It was 5-2 and the Red Sox scored three runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Ellsbury hit a two run single and Victorino hit an RBI single. The final was 8-2 Red Sox.

The Yankees are 0-1 and the Red Sox are 1-0, the two teams will have an off day on Tuesday. They will play on Wednesday night at 7:05PM with Hiroki Kuroda matching up against Clay Bucholz. The finale of the three game series will be on Thursday night when Andy Pettitte goes up against Ryan Dempster.

New York Yankees Opening Day 2013

The New York Yankees will open their season on Monday afternoon against the archrival Boston Red Sox. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:05PM. The teams will be honoring the victims of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. The first pitch will be thrown out by Lou Piniella who will be receiving an award at the welcome home dinner Monday night following the game. Constantine Mauroulis will be signing the National Anthem. 75 West Point Cadets will unfurl a giant American flag. 
The pitching matchup will be CC Sabathia vs. Jon Lester. The teams will have an off day on Tuesday and then Wednesday and Thursday night will be the last two games of the series. The other pitching matchups in order are Hiroki Kuroda vs. Clay Buchholz and Andy Pettitte vs. Ryan Dempster.

The Yankees will be going with Kevin Youkilis at first on Opening day because it is a lefty starter. Jayson Nix will be at third base. Vernon Wells will be the regular left fielder for now. Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are expected to be back in May, Teixeira believes he could be back May 1^st, he will see a doctor on Monday and hopes to get his splint off. If he does indeed do that, it will be a sign that things are going in the right direction and maybe he is right that he will be back sooner then later. Ben Francisco could start at DH on opening day, Travis Hafner will be the DH against righties. He was scratched from the game on Saturday with some general stiffness. The Yankees said it is nothing to be concerned about. Brennan Boesch will also be on the bench for the Yankees. Eduardo Nunez will be the starting shortstop. It is the first time in a very long time that someone other then Derek Jeter will be at shortstop on Opening Day. I would expect him to be back towards the end of April.

Adam Warren and Cody Eppley got the final two spots in the Yankees bullpen. Phil Hughes is on the disabled list and may only miss the first time through the rotation. David Phelps and Ivan Nova are both in the rotation for now. Vidal Nuno will be in AAA but he is a guy to keep your eye on. He won the James P. Dawson award for best rookie in Yankees camp and has really opened some eyes. The Yankees designated Clay Rapada for assignment on Sunday. It was just a numbers game and they feel that they have other lefties such as Nuno that could step into that role. Boone Logan is their lone lefty right now. He isn’t just a situational lefty though.

The Yankees and Red Sox will be sporting very different teams on Opening Day. there is a huge loss of the usual firepower. The Yankees lost some guys to free agency such as Nick Swisher and Russell Martin and then they have Curtis Granderson, Teixeira, Jeter, Alex Rodriguez all hurt. The Red Sox are without David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury got hurt late in spring. Youkilis is now a Yankee, Adrian Gonzalez is out west. Dustin Pedroia is the one big star left for the Red Sox while the Yankees have Robinson Cano.

It could be a very tight race this year, I don’t necessarily by the hype of the Blue Jays although I do think they are good. I think the Yankees are worse right now due to the injuries, Tampa Bay is always good because of their pitching. I think the Red Sox will be better but not that much better and the Orioles will be a little worse. I think the Yankees could still win the division and they could at the very least make the playoffs. I think they need to survive April and then start getting their guys back and they will be ok.