Yankees vs Red Sox (5/21-5/23)

Game 1: Tim Wakefield struggled on Monday night and allowed 6 earned runs in 5 innings. That was all the help the Yankees needed as the Red Sox offense was only able to put together 2 runs. Both Red Sox runs came off the bat of David Ortiz.

The Yankees got homeruns from Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi as well as a strong start from Chien-Ming Wang. They won by the final score of 6-2.

Game 2: Julian Tavarez wasn't exactly dominant on Tuesday night, but he got the job done. Tavarez allowed 2 runs over 5.2 innings and struck out two.

The Red Sox were able to take the lead early in the game courtesy of a 3-run homer by Manny Ramirez. Mike Lowell also added a homerun. The Yankees began to pull closer in the middle innings but the Red Sox were able to put them away with a nice display of offense in the top of the 7th inning.

Javier Lopez pitched a very impressive 1 1/3 innings of relief. Okajima relieved Lopez and struggled in his appearance. Okajima allowed his 1st run since allowing a homerun to John Buck of the Royals on his first pitch in the MLB. Papelbon was equally as shaky in the 9th, but was able to get the job done without allowing the Yankees to score and the Red Sox won 7-3.

After the game, some were questioning the takeout "slide" by Alex Rodriguez. In order to attempt to break up a double play, Rodriguez backed into Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia and brought his elbow up near Pedroia's groin. After the game, Pedroia called the tactic "a little cheap" but also claimed that it was no big deal. It will be interesting to see if Curt Schilling will retaliate against Rodriguez as the two men have a history with one another.

Game 3: The Yankees offense didn't waste any time getting started on Wednesday night. By the time their first three hitters had completed their at bats, the Yankees had a 3-0 lead on Curt Schilling who was not at his best. Schilling ended up pitching 6 innings and giving up 5 runs. He struck out only 3 on the night.

Andy Pettitte turned in a nice performance for the Yankees (7 IP, 8 H, and 1 ER) as he picked up his 3rd win on the season to even his record at 3-3.

Hideki Matsui gave the Yankees the lead in the 1st inning with his 3-run homerun. Doug Mientkiewicz also hit a homerun for the Yankees. Coco Crisp hit his first homerun this season as well. Rivera closed out the 9th for the Yankees, but did not pick up a save. Rivera entered with a 5-run lead. The Red Sox lost a game to the Yankees by losing 2 of 3 games in this series. The division lead is still at 9.5 games.

Notes: CB Bucknor's strike zone was called into question on numerous occasions during the game. It is one thing to have a tight strike zone or a wide strike zone, but its completely different if you are inconsistent on a pitch by pitch basis. I felt that he did an awful job calling that game, but it probably affected both sides equally.

Also, Roger Clemens pitched against top Red Sox pitching prospect Clay Buccholz. Buccholz outpitched Clemens who struggled on the evening. Clemens allowed a total of 10 baserunners and left the game with the bases loaded after walking in a run. I realize that he was probably not trying his hardest and still might be a little rusty, but allowing 10 baserunners in just over 5 innings to an AA team has to be reason for concern. Another concern might be that his fastball averaged only 89 MPH tonight. He has been a dominant pitcher throughout his career, and the last 3 years in the National League, but something tells me he's going to have some tough times in the American League. I'm expecting an ERA of around 4 for him, which is respectable. Savior? I think not. The Yankees could still easily win the AL East, there are tons of games left to play. If it does happen, however, I don't think much of the comeback will be attributable to Clemens himself.

On Deck: The Red Sox have Thursday off and will head to Texas for a 3-game series with the Rangers. The series will begin on Friday night and Daisuke Matsuzaka will oppose Brandon McCarthy in that game. JD Drew, who received the night off on Wednesday, should be back in the lineup on Friday night. Hopefully he can get things turned around, he is a much better player than he has shown thus far.