Mike Mussina, RHP (19-9, 3.47)
Yankees (88-72)
Tim Wakefield, RHP (10-11, 4.24)
Red Sox (94-66)
Scouting Report:
Yankees: Defeating the Blue Jays in his last start, Mussina collected his 19th win of the season, matching a career high. The right-hander allowed no runs on four hits over his five innings of work. In the third frame, Mussina was hit on his right elbow by a comebacker to the mound, but managed to stay in the game for two more innings. He will pitch in New York's final game of the season on Sunday in Boston, as he attempts to reach the 20-win plateau for the first time in his 18-year career. Lifetime in Fenway Park, Mussina is 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA.
Red Sox: Wakefield pitched well in his last outing at Fenway, allowing four runs on six hits against the Indians on Tuesday. The numbers are a bit deceiving, as all four runs came in the fifth inning thanks to uncharacteristic misplays in the Red Sox outfield. The 5-4 win ensured Boston a spot in the 2008 postseason, with the team's most tenured player earning the victory. The veteran knuckleballer will make his final start of the season in the Red Sox's final tilt -- an afternoon showdown with the Yankees. Wakefield is 1-1 in three starts against the Bronx Bombers this season.
Tim Wakefield came off the disabled list and beat the Yankees, 7-3.
Normally this is a news segment, not a commentary, but we're going to go out of character for a minute.
Your telling me, that a guy who throws the ball 40mph got hurt? How does that work? I can get off my ass, walk up two flights of stairs at my office, get a cup of coffee, walk back down, and the ball still hasn't made it to the plate yet. And my trip for coffee was far more perilous than throwing a baseball at 40mph.
Anyway, A-Rod muffed another chance to play hero in NY; bases loaded, grounds into a double play, yada-yada....game over.
| New York Yankees | ||||||||
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| J Damon CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .313 |
| D Jeter SS | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .294 |
| B Abreu RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .298 |
| A Rodriguez 3B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .308 |
| J Giambi 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .247 |
| X Nady LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .321 |
| H Matsui DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .310 |
| R Cano 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .269 |
| J Molina C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .230 |
| a-I Rodriguez PH-C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .283 |
| Totals | 37 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20 | |
| a-struck out swinging for J Molina in the 7th | ||||||||
| BATTING HR: J Damon 2 (11, 1st inning off T Wakefield 0 on, 0 Out; 5th inning off T Wakefield 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: J Damon 2 (57), J Molina (15) 2-out RBI: J Molina GIDP: A Rodriguez 2 Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: I Rodriguez 1, J Damon 1, J Giambi 1 Team LOB: 10 | ||||||||
| FIELDING E: A Rodriguez (10, throw) DP: 1 (R Cano-J Giambi). | ||||||||
| New York Yankees | |||||||||
| Pitchers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
| A Pettitte (L, 13-10) | 4.2 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 101-60 | 4.37 |
| B Bruney | 1.1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33-16 | 2.38 |
| D Robertson | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13-10 | 5.76 |
| E Ramirez | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15-8 | 3.59 |
| C Britton | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18-12 | 4.30 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 180-106 | |
| PITCHING IBB: K Youkilis (By E Ramirez) Batters faced: A Pettitte 26; B Bruney 7; D Robertson 3; E Ramirez 6; C Britton 5 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: A Pettitte 8-3; B Bruney 1-3; D Robertson 0-0; E Ramirez 1-2; C Britton 0-2 | |||||||||
Tim Wakefield, RHP (7-8, 3.67)
Red Sox (74-55)
Andy Pettitte, LHP (13-9, 4.17)
Yankees (69-60)
Scouting Report:
Red Sox: With the tingling and numbness in his right arm still an issue, Josh Beckett will be skipped against the Yankees, leaving a vacancy that will likely be filled by Wakefield, who pitched a side session on Saturday and was pronounced ready to start on Tuesday. The knuckleballer has been on the disabled list since Aug. 7 with tightness in his right shoulder and is expected to be activated in time to face the Yankees on Tuesday. In his two starts
before going on the disabled list, Wakefield had gone 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. In his career against the Yankees, the 16-year veteran is 9-17 with a 5.14 ERA.
Yankees: Pettitte picked up his 13th win of the season and his first since July 26 with seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday at the Rogers Centre, holding the Blue Jays to just Alex Rios' run-scoring single in the sixth inning. Pettitte has given up five hits or fewer in 11 of his 27 appearances this season. He is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox this season, having beaten them on July 26 at Fenway Park with six innings of three-run ball, though only one was earned.
Alex Rodriguez just tied Yankee legend Mickey Mantle on the All-Time home run list, hitting number 536 off of Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield.
The home run was A-Rod's seventh career off of Wakefield, and yes, it was a knuckleball.
The ball landed in the left field seats.
