New York State of Mind

So the Yankees split their series with the Orioles, now it's on to Boston. The Yanks are back in first place the AL East, but still, a very close race. Baltimore is one game behind and Tampa Bay is two behind. The Rays and Orioles are going head to head in a three game set starting tonight. It is CRUCIAL that the Yanks win this series against the Sox. This is their chance to take advantage of a struggling team and have a secure lead in the AL East.

In their last game against the Orioles, the Yanks won 13-3, with their offense exploding. Not only did the Yanks escape Baltimore with their lead intact, Curtis Granderson worked his way out of a frustrating slump. Granderson came off the bench to hit his 35th home run and drive in five runs. The Bronx Bombers dominated this game, only allowing the Orioles to score three runs in the fourth inning. Robinson Cano started it off in the first with a single, scoring Jeter. The Yanks scored 4 innings in the fourth and continued the outstanding offense scoring 9 more runs, with 2 home runs, 1 from Granderson and 1 from Jeter. Overall, it was a great series for the Bombers. They did win 2 games out of 4 but the third game was a tight race. Mark Teixeira was called out at first, after hustling down the line and sliding in for their last chance at scoring a run to tie, and possibly win the game. Teixeira was indeed safe at first, yet the umpires insisted he was out. The game was over. Days later, umpires agreed that it was a bad call, but nothing was pursued. The Yanks rallied in that game, showing their offensive ability, despite their latest troubles.

Before this series with Baltimore several players were struggling, and in some cases were still struggling through that series. Nick Swisher, as well as Curtis Granderson are in frustrating slumps. Like mentioned above, in the last game against the Orioles, Grandy showed signs of life.

Derek Jeter has been the all star of this team. What a captain he has been!

In order to win this series against the Red Sox the Yankees must be able to hit, drive in runs, have solid pitching, and not commit defensive errors. One of the ways the Yanks succeeded in the 4th game with the O's was the amount of RBI's. Granderson had 5 RBI's alone. The Yanks can deliver home runs but they have to be able to drive in runs and not only rely on the big hits.

Tonight's pitching matchup is Hiroki Kuroda (13-10, 3.14 ERA) for the Yankees against John Lester (9-11, 4.99 ERA) for the Red Sox.

Baltimore is taking on the Rays in a 3 game series. This is a crucial set for the Yanks as both the Orioles and the Rays are within two games of them. Who do you want to see win that series?

As always, Let's go Yanks!