Before we get to the game wrap, reports are that Jordan Danks was pulled from tonight’s game in AAA Charlotte and is heading back to Chicago, likely meaning that Alejandro De Aza will be placed on the 15-day disabled list tomorrow.
That’s horrible news, as even though DeWayne Wise has been playing well, this team needs a catalyst at the top of the order like Alejandro. He’s done a fantastic job all season long in the leadoff spot and out in center field, so it will be up to Wise and everyone else to pick up the slack. It also means he won’t be eligible to come off the DL until after our series in Detroit early next month.
Now, onto the good news….
A lot of fight in this team!
Alexei Ramirez’s two run bomb in the seventh inning gave the Sox the lead for good (credit: zimbo).
The game looked like it was going to end up like one of those Kansas City games. However, the Sox were able to steal the momentum from the Yankees twice, coming back after trailing 3-0 and responding after the Yankees took a 6-5 lead. It was a great game for the offense because their hitting was so timely.
Pitching woes continue
Once again, the pitching had trouble keeping the momentum the offense gave them. Hector Santiago (although he did well up until the sixth inning) and Donnie Veal promptly gave back the lead after the offense took it. It’s getting to be a disturbing habit. Also, Gavin Floyd could not find the plate tonight and didn’t even last three innings. However, kudos to Robin Ventura for realizing early on that it just wasn’t his night, as you can’t let a team like the Yankees see a ton of pitches.
With all of that said though, the back end of the bullpen of Brett Myers, Matt Thornton and Addison Reed did the job and was able to nail it down in the end. This was despite Reed not pitching in a while as well.
Doing yard work
Bombs tonight were courtesy of DeWayne Wise (who must have read this blog after my article yesterday), Adam Dunn, Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. Beckham’s, to me, was most impressive, as he was able to make solid contact on a 94 mph fastball, something he really hasn’t done very often in three years. Also, AJ Pierzynski was able to tally three hits tonight, while Dayan Viciedo continued his hot streak with a line shot to right field. For someone who can’t grasp the strike zone, he sure can take pitches off the plate to the opposite field really well.
The call in the fifth inning
The umpires got the call wrong in the fifth inning, and there really aren’t any doubts about that. However, if you missed my twitter rant, that inning proved that a manager doesn’t have to get ejected after every bad call. I see fans clamor for that all the time, and honestly, I don’t understand it. Sure, there is a time and a place for it, but the team can get themselves motivated after a bad call the majority of the time. Look what happened in the fifth: after the blown call, the Sox went on to score five runs with one out and nobody on base. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter whether a manager gets tossed or not about 99 percent of the time.
What a long game!
The thing about the umpires that was the worst tonight was the way they let the Yankees turn the game into conversation place on the mound. We’ve been hearing about how long Yankees-Red Sox games tend to go, and tonight we saw why: the Yankees seemed to go visit the mound each inning, whether it be the catcher or one of the coaches. There’s no way a nine inning game should go four hours, and that’s on the umpires for letting it happen.
Tomorrow night
It will be Francisco Liriano opposing Ivan Nova tomorrow on the South Side. I like the matchup for Liriano given the amount of lefties Joe Girardi likes to put in his lineup, so it will be interesting to see if Girardi fills out the lineup card any differently tomorrow.