MLB: Day Seventy-Eight
Well, the Boston Red Sox have obviously gotten the message that the New York Yankees are coming. The Red Sox have turned things back on again and they seem poised to make it as hard on the Yankees as they possible can.
The Red Sox beat-up on the San Francisco Giants by a score of 9-5. This was a game that saw Barry Bonds creep one step closer to immortality and the all-time home run records that is currently help by Hank Aaron.
Tim Wakefield took the win and Matt Morris, who’s probably been the best pitcher for the Giants this year, took the loss. Manny Ramirez went yard too. So it looks like he might be waking up along with the rest of the Red Sox.
The New York Yankees did manage to keep pace with the Red Sox, however. The Yanks beat the New York Mets 8-2. It was a great effort all around for the Yankees. But the same can’t be said for the New York Mets.
How is it possible that the Mets – the team that many thought might be the best in baseball – can seem so plain for so many games? The Mets only managed 2 late runs and six hits in the loss. This from a team that was arguable the best offensive team in baseball about a month ago.
Lucky for the Mets that the Braves don’t seem overly interested in playing good ball either. But the Braves are keeping within striking distance and the Mets can’t be happy with their slim lead.
Speaking of slim leads, the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers are locked in a battle for first place in the American League Central. The Yankees winning lately has made this race even more exciting. Before it could be assumed that whichever team lost the division crown would still get the wildcard. But not with the Yankees making a charge the Indians and Tigers better not be banking on a wild card spot.
Both the Indians and the Tigers won on Sunday. For the Tigers, Justin Verlander was on the mound for the first time since his no-hitter during the week. Verlander lost his no-hitter in the 2nd inning but he did earn the win 7-4. Verlander is now 8-2 with an ERA of 2.90. Now that’s impressive.
