The Yankees topped the Red Sox 3-2 last night, giving them their eighth straight victory and sole possession of first place in the American League East for the first time since July 7. That’s like an eternity in “Yankee years,” by the way.
The game really turned when Joe Girardi pulled Bartolo Colon with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning. Boone Logan was able to get Adrian Gonzalez to strike out on a check-swing to end the inning, setting up a decisive three-run rally by the Yankees in the top of the sixth. Logan, Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in the victory.
Naturally, most of the country will see the Yankees and Red Sox later today on FOX and this will be the matchup on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. And we all know why. Still, it’s a little tough to get excited about this series when the eventual loser of the division is a virtual shoo-in to make the playoffs.
Your Friday box scores:
Indians 7, Rangers 8 (11 innings)
Tigers 4, Royals 3 (10 innings)
Mariners 0, Angels 1 (10 innings)