For as hard as it is to listen to the painful commentating of Rick Sutcliffe, I actually found myself in agreement with him as the New York Yankees delivered a much need win against the division leading Boston Red Sox. As the game played on, Sutcliffe pitched the first piece of good color commentating since his departure from the mound when pointed out the return of the swagger the Yankees lineup hasn’t boasted during their most recent slide. As expected, the Bombers plan to run, run, run against Tim Wakefield opened the doors for the hitters, but the aggressive flair that followed around the diamond carried some much needed relief to fans gripping the panic button. The 6-2 victory against the Red Hot Sox couldn’t have come at a better time, where coming into the game the Yankees were looking up to a 10 1/2 game deficit in the standings. The win also marked their first back-to-back victory since early May after avoiding the Subway Sweep at Shea Stadium this past weekend.

On again-off again, Chien-Ming Wang delivered a brilliant performance against baseball’s number 2 run producers (232) giving the bullpen its second straight night of moderate relief. Wang pitched 6.1 innings of seven hit, two run ball, striking out a season high five Red Sox batters en route to his third win of the season. But the real story of the night was the run support from the struggling lineup. Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano broke out of mini-slumps as each contributed at the plate getting 6 of the Yankees 9 hits including a solo homerun from Giambi and a two-run triple from Cano. Alex Rodriguez continued his softball swing against Wakefield with a first inning bomb to left field, his Major League leading 18th of the season and third homerun in consecutive days. Johnny Damon collected three hits after going 4 for his last 17 and had two stolen bases as he appeared to shake up Wakefield every time on base.

Overall, the Yankees returned to form last night with their aggressive approach at the plate and on the basepads as well as on the mound keeping the Red Sox lineup off their game. Look for the trend to continue as the Yankees prepare to carry the momentum through the rest of the series with their two veterans, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte commanding the hill for Game’s 2 and 3. With a sweep, the Yankees could close the gap on Boston’s division lead to 7 1/2 games, and with New York savior Roger Clemens on track and waiting in the wings, the Yankees could potentially turn their season around with start fresh upon his return. But back to reality, Game 2 of the Rivalry Series continues tonight with Mike Mussina (2-2, 5.64) squaring off against Julian Tavarez (2-4, 5.59).

(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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