Too Much CC For Red Sox...NYY 3 Boston 0

Seven innings pitched, six hits, one earned run, three whiffs and five walks...that's a good outing by anyone's standards. But it wasn't good enough yesterday at the new Yankee Stadium as the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees for the second to last time in this 2009 regular season. The stats were those of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who danced into and then quickly out of trouble throughout his stint. But he was facing Yankee starter CC Sabathia, who has been at the top of his game in this latter part of the summer. He usually is untouchable in August and September and this year has been absolutely no exception.

It was a zero zero tie going into the bottom of the sixth when Daisuke left a pitch that was meant to be inside right over the plate. BOOM. Cano clubbed it into the stands. Here's his manager, Terry "Tito" Francona...

“I think the answer that he’s back is that he got the bases loaded and got right out of that,’’ Francona said of the fifth inning. “Seems to be a comfort level there. All the things that happened, it comes down for him to a fastball that he tried to get in to Cano that stays in the middle, he hits it out. Against that lineup to give up the one, I thought was really a strong effort.’’

One bad pitch...but let me stress this. NOBODY would have beaten Sabathia yesterday in the Bronx. PERIOD. He was just great. But the Boston brass and all of Red Sox Nation were encouraged about the performance of Matsuzaka. He's back and will be a solid number four starter in the playoffs. No, not number three...that spot belongs to Mr. Buchholz. Here's Daisuke on THAT pitch and more...

“It’s always a goal of mine to battle hard and to try and hang on and not let them take the lead and give our offense a chance to get going, but I let them take the lead today,’’ Matsuzaka said through interpreter Masa Hoshino. “I usually don’t feel too many regrets over the actual pitches that I threw, but that one pitch today I am a little disappointed in.’’

The way that Sabathia and the Yankee bullpen threw, there was no beating them. They'll be tough in the playoffs, too. Let's hope Verlander and his Tigers can knock them off in the first round of the AL playoffs, but maybe this is a Yankees year. Hey, that's why they play the games. And there's one more tonight in the house that Ruth didn't build, with Andy Pettitte, who's been pitching well of late, ready to face Paul Byrd, who I think will get absolutely clobbered by the fourth inning. That's just my opinion...I hope I'm wrong. I can't shake that doomed feeling, though.

Enjoy the nationally televised game on ESPN and, better yet, ESPN HD, starting at the unusual Sunday starting time, at least for ESPN, of 1:05pm EDT. The Jewish holiday starts at sundown so that's why the game will not begin in primetime. You can click on this post's title for more on last night's battle and as always, BE WELL. See ya...soon.