American League East Standings taken from MLB.com
Yankees vs. Red Sox
…think you can play nicely?
As far as rivalries go, folks always say you can’t beat the brutality of the Yankees and Red Sox. Well, maybe what they say is true after all. Or after this weekend, at least. Only A rainstorm that postponed game three could cool down the bloodbath in Boston, where both teams fought tooth and nail amidst the 100-year celebration of Boston’s beautiful Fenway Park.
By now you probably know about the Bronx Bombers wild rally on Saturday’s game, when they came back from a 9-0 start by scoring 7 runs in the tops of the seventh and eighth innings. There were more astounding parallels in that game, including Nick Swisher (yeah, the Swish is back in action) and Mark Teixeira’s hefty contributions of 6 RBI’s each.
Was it the Red Sox’s flailing bullpen (five arms took the mound through innings 7-8-9), or the Yankees matchstick bats, that suddenly caught fire and all but burned down the House that Ruth Ain’t Built? Either way, talk about a true Fenway Birthday Bash!
Brett Gardner, the man who sold his soul to the devil for a pair of running shoes, should be back at the end of his 15-day disabled list duty. The
Byrd is the new word around Boston. Veteran outfielder Marlon Byrd is a transfer student from the Major League University of Chicago (Home of the Cubs) and is eager to make it to the postseason. Also Lars Anderson was promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket. First baseman/ outfielder Anderson had an A-grade spring training semester and batted .343 with one homer and eight ribeyes.
And Mr. Valentine, the Sox new skipper for this season, is being a little hard on himself… but don’t worry Beaneaters, he promises to start doing better now!
Toronto Blue Jays
After struggling against their last series against the Rays (how many ways can you collapse? any way, it’s not pretty) The Jays took a nice Royal vacay in Kansas City, crowned with a sweep. TO’s ace Ricky Romero continued to charm and delight, and used the rough winds to his advantage. RickyRo gave up two runs on five hits through and impressive eight innings.
All-Star Jose Bautista is having a slow-to-warm-up season, with only 2 homies in the books thus far. (Last season, JoBau lead the leagues with 43 bombs. Also playing it cool so far this spring is catcher J.P. Arencibia, who is only batting .196. Meanwhile, the Jays back-up back-stop Jeff Mathis is batting .400 and slugging .900, though the totals are only through four games. Colby Rasmus continues to impress fans both on offense and defense. The young guy had a two-homer night on Saturday, and has shown off some exciting skill in the outfield.
Tampa Bay Rays
Although previously the Rays got swept away in Boston, though their past two series they have hoisted heavy bats and taken 2-for-3 against the Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins The Rays are looking pretty good out there with James Shields on the mound. Shields threw over eight innings on Saturday night for Tampa Bay’s win against the Twins. He’s won his last nine games for the Rays, with a record of 7-0 and an earned run average of 2.56.
On the offensive front, Matt Joyce is continuing a trend of greatness. In the past seven days, he’s averaged .385 with 3 home runs (Joyce leads the club with 4) and 10 hits.
B.J. Upton is expected to return to the Rays lineup Friday after spending time on the DL due to soreness after a collision with teammate Desmond Jennings.
Baltimore Orioles
Nick Markakis is taking care of business in Baltimore. Markakis was responsible for batting in all three runs scored in the 10-inning victory over the Halos. But Markakis was not the only Oriole who was fired up over the game. Manager Buck Showalter was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing a strike called on Markakis. Showalter’s toss-out might have served a greater purpose, beyond just the blowout.
And there’s something about orange and black and errors. the O’s collectively have 19 E’s (tied with the SF Giants) but this over-the-shoulder grab by Endy Chavez is a thing of defensive beauty.
In other news, left fielder Nolan Reimold is on the day-to-day due to neck spasms. In April, Reimold was batting .370, with 17 hits, 10 RBI, and 5 homers in the season thus far. Cheers to a speedy recovery!
