Yankee Bats on Fire

The Yankees came into Boston for the first game of three at Fenway Park and obliterated the Red Sox pitching for ten runs, and nine of them were earned. The Yankee offense wasted no time getting to work as in the first four innings they pounced on Felix Doubront who has actually fared well against the Bombers in his career. Big reasons that the Yankees were again, able to blow their opponent out was because of Alfonso Soriano. The red hot left fielder went 3-4 with another home run and four total runs batted in. Newest Yankee Mark Reynolds, went 2-5 with a home run in his first Yankee at-bat and a tack-on RBI single late in the game to give the Yankees more of a cushion. Reynolds could be a threat to opposing pitchers because of his power and the friendly dimensions at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. Reynolds killed the Yankees for the last two years when he played for the Orioles, and now it's time for him to help the same team he demolished in previous seasons with other teams. Alex Rodriguez continues to get his hits, with a pair tonight to raise his average to an even .300 on the young season (for him). Cano extended his hitting streak to eleven straight games with an RBI single in the fourth inning. The offense went 7-15 with runners in scoring position and have gone 22-49 in such situations over their last four games for a .549 average. In their last four games, the Yankees have hit seven home runs and they have come mostly from right handed hitters. The Yankees couldn't get a base hit from a righty hitter for the past two months and now they have legitimate threats up and down their new and improved lineup. Also, the Yankees smacked 15 hits tonight. This is the first time the Yankees have had 12+ hits in four consecutive games since the four they had last year to end the season.

Andy Pettitte finally benefited from a potent Yankee offense tonight after being on the losing end of close games over his past few starts. Pettitte said that this was one of the first times in recent memory where everything seemed to work. He picked a great night to put everything to work against a scary Boston lineup. The lefty went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs (0 earned) on 6 hits and struck out six batters. Girardi mixed and matched with his bullpen while it was still a close game but the Yankees ultimately added on runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach for the Red Sox.

If the Yankees can win tomorrow, they will be in a great position to win the series, and possible sweep the Red Sox at home. Anything less than a series win after taking the first game would be an utter disappointment as every single game could mean better chances at making the postseason in some capacity. The Yankees will send their best to the mound tomorrow night in Hiroki Kuroda to face a tough Boston lineup. The Yankees' old pal John Lackey will make the start for Boston. While Lackey has pitched to a very respectable ERA, he has a record of 7-10 which the Yankees should take advantage of tomorrow afternoon.