Yanks Win First Series

As the sole writer for this blog, I made the executive decision to write about the Yankees on a series by series basis rather then game by game.  Frankly with the semester winding down it's a busy time and there aren't enough hours in the day to write about a game that could potentially last four hours each night.  The lone exception will be any late breaking news regarding injuries, trades, suspensions, etc, or any controversial areas from a specific game.  With that being said let's talk about the first Yankees - Red Sox series of the season.

Opponent: The Boston Red Sox
Location: Fenway Park
Outcome: Yanks win 2-1.
Series MVP: Curtis Granderson
Honorable Mentions: Andy Pettitte, Chan Ho Park, Nick Swisher
Yankees overall record: 2-1

After a heartbreaking loss to begin the series the Yanks rebounded and won the next two games.  Ironically, there were six top tier starting pitchers from both sides and they all earned no-decisions.  The first two games were relatively high scoring and were won by miscues by each team.

The Red Sox won on Sunday due to the ineffectiveness and wild pitching of Damaso Marte and Chan Ho Park. The Sox eventually won with a score of 9-7.  Tuesday, the Yankees were helped with the error that newly acquired (and supposedly excellent defender) Marco Scutatro made, which allowed the Yanks to score the game winning run.

Wednesday's game was truly a pitching battle all around.  John Lackey for the Sox and Andy Pettitte for the Yanks started the game and each gave up one run.  They turned it over to their respective bullpens after pitching six innings a piece.  (We'll ignore Pettitte's "graceful" tumble at first for now. I'm sure it's all over Sports Center).  Park took over for Pettitte and pitched three easy scoreless innings.

After Lackey, a series of pitchers came in before Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth.  The game remained tied after the ninth.

In the top of the 10th inning,  new Yankee center fielder Curtis Granderson solidified his new position in the Yanks-Sox rivalry by hitting his second homer in three games.  The home run was the go ahead run, with the Yankees eventually winning 3-1 and Mariano Rivera earning yet another save in the history books.

Quote of the Series: Comes from Alex Rodriguez

"We won two out of three, and Tex and I really didn’t do much to help out,” he said. “The bottom of our lineup did a great job all three games. They came up big for us.”

- Courtney