There's a gleam!

This game had disaster written all over it in the early and middle innings, but the Yankee bats came alive in the eighth as they racked up six runs and stunned the BoSox 8-7 at Fenway Park.  Andy Pettitte was off, and the Yanks blew several excellent scoring opportunities, but Bobby Abreu's two-run double in the eighth tied the score and A-Rod's RBI single proved to be the game winner.  The Boston lead in the AL East is now down to 4.5 games and the Yanks kept the Tigers 3.5 games back in the wild card chase with the victory.

I experienced this game in two parts.  The first part was spent listening to John Sterling bemoan the Bombers inability to get the big hit in key situations.  Sterling was livid.  There were moments when I believed he was going to strike his broadcaster partner Suzyn Waldman.  The second part was spent watching the game with Vinny from Kearny, Chucky from Newark, and Bert and Chrissy from Hoboken at Vinny's father-in-law's bar in Elizabeth (got all that?).

Anyway, I hope I can do this game justice as I'm extremely tired and I have to get up in a few hours.

The Good:

Bobby Abreu.  Abreu's clutch two-run double brought the Yanks back from a five-run deficit and tied the score at 7 a piece.  It came against Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who entered Friday night's game holding left-handed batters to an anemic .088 batting average on the season.  El Comedulce obviously didn't get the memo about that stat.  It was Bobby's 95th and 96th runs batted in on the year.  Abreu finished 1 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and 2 big ribbies.

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod also had only one hit in the ballgame, but it was the game-winner.  Rodriguez's RBI single in the eighth capped the scoring and gave the Yanks their first lead of the night.  What else can be said about A-Rod's season that hasn't already been said?  Nothing.  The guy is a machine.  MVP finished 1 for 4 with his 141st RBI.

Johnny Damon.  Damon burned his former mates and angered the Boston faithful on Friday night.  Johnny D collected four hits and bounced in a key run in the sixth to cut the Red Sox lead to 5-2.  The BoSox would score two runs in the bottom of the frame, but Damon's single kept the flicker of hope alive for the Yanks.  Damon finished 4 for 6 with a run scored and an RBI.

Jason Giambi.  Giambi had a terrible night in the field (one error and one that was an error, but wasn't counted as such) and was on his way to becoming a goat, but his lead-off homer in the eighth started the improbable Yankee rally.  I don't remember the last time I saw a rally started with back-to-back home runs (Cano followed The Giambino's clout with one of his own).  Anyway, Giambi finished 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a run scored and an RBI.

The Bad:

Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte labored from the beginning and wasn't long for this game.  His defense didn't help him out, but Andy wasn't sharp.  He threw a ton of pitches (101) and was hit hard.  Pettitte has been great against the Red Sox in his career (15-6, 3.32 ERA), but he didn't have it on Friday night.  Pettitte's no decision: 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 earned), 2 BB, 5 K.

The Ugly:

A good one, but a long one.  The outcome made it all worth while, but this contest clocked in at 4 hours and 43 minutes when all was said and done.  Man, I'm tired.

Saturday afternoon will pit Chien-Ming Wang (18-6, 3.69 ERA) against Josh Beckett (18-7, 3.27 ERA) on FOX.

Wang is 5-4 lifetime versus the Sox with a 4.27 ERA, but he's won his last three games against the folks from Beantown (all coming this year).  Beckett is 3-3 against the Bombers in his career with a 7.49 ERA.  Beckett is 1-0 in two starts against the Yanks this season with a 5.54 ERA. 

Round two should be a good one.

Ding. Ding.