tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Yankees Draw First Blood With 10-8 Win

The New York Yankees erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox 10-8 at Fenway Park. In a game that has become familiar when these two teams meet, especially at Fenway, the Yanks blew a 5-run lead and and fell behind 7-6 heading into the 7th. After Robinson Cano was called out on strikes, Mark Teixiera delivered with a long triple to center field which put the Yankees ahead 8-7. Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez added to the lead with RBI's and the team of David Robertson and Rafael Soriano held the fort to secure the victory.

The Yankee victory gives them an 8 1/2 game lead over Boston and a 5 1/2 game lead over second place Baltimore. As a fan, the length of Red Sox - Yankee games is borderline ridiculous. It makes it pretty difficult to watch. The hype build-up for these games is over the top and you really need to take a step back and realize that this is not a playoff series. The criticism of Hiroki Kuroda by some Yankee fans is not justified. Kuroda has pitched well up to last night and it was evident that he did not have his best stuff. However, he did give the Yankees nearly 6 innings which allowed Joe "The Binder" Girardi to conserve his bullpen with a doubleheader today.

A split today would be great ensuring that the Yanks could be in the same position as they were on Thursday, 7 1/2 games ahead of Boston. The key for the Yankees is to get ready for the second half of the season and not worry about their blood rivals. Freddy Garcia will start Game One and Phil Hughes will go in Game Two. Of course the late game is on FOX which means we will have to endure the authoritative duo of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.