Yankees Win Under the Big Top

Last night was your typical Yankees-Red Sox game- ejections, raucous fans, hit batters, benches/bullpens emptying, and lots of anti-A-Rod sentiment. What was not typical was the Yankees winning another ball game, 9-5.

The game started out simple enough. Tim Wakefield used to dominate the Yankees, now the rivalry has done a 180. Robinson Cano smacked a 2-run shot over the Sox bullpen to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the 2nd. Bobby Abreu followed with a double, and Wakefield issued 3 straight walks. The last one to Johnny Damon forced in a run for a 3-0 lead.

Just as Michael Kay and Ken Singleton were discussing the merits of Derek Jeter working the count versus swinging at a 1st pitch Wakefield fastball, Jeter did the latter. Unfortunately for the Yankees it resulted in a inning ending double play.

Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his best stuff or his best command, but battled to get the win. The Sox reached him for 2 runs in the 2nd and rallied again in the 3rd. Dustin Pedroia doubled in the tying run, but runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, Wang escaped without further damage. Then it was the Yankees turn to batter Wakefield again.

Cano lead off the 4th with a single and moved to 2nd on a passed ball (thankfully for Doug Mirabelli, Tim Wakefield is nothing like Carlos Zambrano. Abreu worked a walk and Josh Phelps was hit by a pitch to load the bases. All 3 runners came home on wild pitch, Melky Cabrera single, and a wild pitch.

Later in the inning, manager Terry Francona sent for Kyle Snyder who immediately hit Alex Rodriguez, loading the bases again. Jorge Posada promptly emptied them with a double in the gap, breaking the game open, 9-3.

Then the fireworks began. In the 5th, Abreu was throwing out stealing third, at least that's what the 3rd base ump Jerry Crawford said. Replays showed Abreu was safe and Torre came out to argue. In the middle of the inning Francona switched pitcher and Torre came back out and went at it with Crawford and was tossed from the game.

Wang had hit Mike Lowell in the hand to start the 3rd inning, and Lowell later had to leave the game. But when the 8th inning started, the Yankees still had been hit by pitches 2:1 - a usual scenario in Yankeeland. Sox side arming reliever Javier Lopez nailed Robinson Cano on the left elbow. Thankfully Cano has a solid pad to protect him. The Yankees turned things up a notch in the 9th though.

Scott Proctor, who earlier season was suspended 4 games for a throwing incident against the Mariners, went headhunting at Kevin Youkillis (who I quickly called Poukillis for his reaction). Youkillis dove back and took a Proctor fastball off his shoulder. Posada quickly got between them as Poukillis cursed Proctor out. Home plate ump Brian O'Nora immediately tossed Proctor as the bullpens and benches emptied. There was much milling about no further incident.

With Schitbag Schilling going for the Sox today, this could be far from over.

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Every pop up by a Red Sox batter brought shouts of "I GOT IT" from their fans. There were also many chants of AAAAAA-Rodddddddd in the old "Daryl" mode.