Speaking of which, they went for the sweep this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays, and sent the Big Man out to face the Pesky Ones. CC Sabathia for 7 innings, David Robertson for the 8th, Mariano Rivera for the 9th? In Major League Baseball in 2011, that's as close to a guarantee as you can get.
Of course, as John Sterling tells us, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." (Maybe not, but you can predict Sterling saying that to Suzyn Waldman an average of 2.6 times per game on WCBS.)
Neither Robertson nor Rivera pitched today. That tends not to happen when the Yankees score a lot of runs.
They did, which is what I like to see. The Yankees scored a run in the 1st, and giving CC (19-7) a lead is never a good idea for the opposition. Brett Cecil (4-8) ran into trouble in the 3rd, and then Derek Jeter ran his bat into a fat pitch and sent it over Death Valley for his 5th home run of the season -- roughly in the same spot where he hit his 4th, a.k.a. his 3,000th career hit.
Thankfully for Squawker Lisa's nerves, Alex Rodriguez stepped up in the 6th and hit his 15th homer, and the sizzling Nick Swisher added his 22nd in the 8th. Rafael Soriano wasn't so hot in the 8th, allowing a run, but Cory Wade pitched a scoreless 9th. Yankees 9, Blue Jays 3, completing the sweep.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox got beat 11-4 by the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, thus losing 2 out of 3 at home, albeit to the defending AL Champions.
So the Yankees are now a game and a half ahead of The Scum in the AL East, 2 in the loss column.
I'm starting to enjoy this Pennant race, especially with the hopeless Baltimore Orioles coming to town, starting with a Labor Day matinee tomorrow, while the Sox now have to go to Toronto to deal with the Pesky Blue Jays. Hee hee hee hee...
*
Jeter hits 3064 DONE
Rivera saves 596 6
A-Rod homers 628 135
A-Rod hits 2767 233
Magic Number 23 (to eliminate Scum, 15 for Rays, 7 for Jays, O's done)
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