Sabathia's Saturday Sox Shutdown

C.C. Sabathia became the majors’ first 19 game winner and Robinson Cano belted his 24th homerun of the season as the Yankees cruised to a shutout win at home against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees won for the second time in the three game set by skating past Boston 3-0. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Marino Rivera combined for a two-hitter and Cano provided all the offense the Bombers would need with his sixth inning opposite field shot.
Boston’s magic number for a playoff berth stands at three and New York can clinch the AL East title with a win today against the pesky Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka was outshined by a stellar Sabathia performance Saturday. The ace tossed seven innings of one-hit ball and retired the first 11 Boston batters he faced. Victor Martinez was the first Red Sox to reach base on a walk in the fourth inning. Martinez extended his 25-game hitting streak with a single off Rivera in the ninth. Mike Lowell mustered the only hit off the southpaw with a crack up the middle in the top of the fifth. C.C. lowered his ERA to 3.21 and fanned eight Red Sox on a crisp Fall afternoon in the Bronx.
Matsuzaka, pitching to Martinez for just the first time, was not great but asserted an encouraging effort in his third start off the disabled list. He only allowed one run, but gave up six hits in seven innings. Matsuzaka’s control was a troubling factor. He walked five Bombers and hit a batter. Cano homered in the sixth to break the taut affair, and Johnny Damon clubbed a soft two -run double off Billy Wagner in the eighth. As it turned out, it would only take one run to beat Boston on this day. The Red Sox left five runners on base, but it wasn’t often they reached the bags. Sabathia faced the minimum three batters in the first three frames before Boston plated four hitters in the fourth. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Lowell all struck out twice as the Red Sox couldn’t get any wood on the ball. They seemed sluggish, shoddy and overmatched when Sabathia was stymieing their sticks.
The Red Sox have lost eight of their last nine meetings with the Yankees. The season series finale could be the game that crowns New York champions of the division. Saturday, Sabathia looked like the Game One playoff starter the Bombers expect come October. The lefty had stupendous command but come post-season time, he will need even more. The Yankees’ ace struggled in the playoffs against Boston as a Cleveland Indian. His ERA was over ten in just two ALCS starts two years ago. Last year, Sabathia yielded five runs as an NL post-season starter with Milwaukee. Although he is undefeated in his last 11 starts in pinstripes, the Yankees are not ensuring he will rise to the occasion in the next month. The difference in 2009 could be the bullpen. The Yankees have a solid relief core and arguably still have the best closer on the bench in Rivera. Sabathia should not have to do it all himself on the mound, but the former CY Young winner must be an innings-eater when the level of play increases.

Parting Points: Song for Sunday- “On Bended Knee”- Boyz II Men
Who would have thought Ohio State would be good for their second shutout in as many weeks? I am a Buckeye backer, but I admit, I didn’t.