Things started out well for the New York Yankees but then slowly started going downhill.

Chien-Ming Wang was dominating in his 2-hit complete game on Friday evening as the Bombers won 4-1. Clay Buchholz pitched a very respectable game for Boston, but his performance couldn’t match Wang’s. Boston had to go to Timlin, Okajima, Lopez and Aardsma to finish the game,and their bullpen was a little depleted heading to game 2.

The second game of the series featured Mussina against Beckett. Both pitchers were decent, but Beckett was just a little better, going 6 innings compared to Mussina’s 5 and was the difference in the game. There was quite a bit of controversy when Joe Girardi, down 2-1, decided to let Mussina pitch to Manny Ramirez with 2 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd rather than walk him and face Kevin Youkilis.

In the end, Manny drove in runs and the Sox padded their lead. The Yanks had a few chances but couldn’t deliver in the clutch. Mussina kept Yankee fans on their toes, pitching into and out of some tight spots each inning. Bruney and Hawkins kept it close in relief but New York hitting wasn’t up to the challenge and Boston’s core relievers can get the job done. The final score had Boston on top 4-3.

For the final game of the series, Phil Hughes got the start against Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K was wild, throwing quite a few pitches and giving up some runs in his 5 innings of work. Hughes was horrendous and couldn’t even get out of the 3rd inning. Ross Ohlendorf pitched 3 solid innings of relief and could turn into the long reliever NY is looking for. The Yankees once again had some chances to narrow the gap or even take the lead but in the end the Bombers just left men on base and couldn’t drive in enough runs in critical situations. Boston gave the Yankees every opportunity, once again bringing in Timlin to give up a solo home run and to put a couple other runners on base, but Javy Lopez pitched out of the Jam and Yankee hitters fell short as Boston won 8-5.

Red Sox fans should be pleased with the results. Manny Ramirez is on a tear and the rest of the team is hitting well. Sean Casey is hitting well off the bench. David Ortiz can’t get near the ball and continues his horrible slump. Terry Francona sat the big man on Sunday and Ramirez went 2 for 3 hitting in the DH slot. Dice-K looked his usual crazy self on the mound, Beckett started looking more like his old self and Buchholz was solid. Papelbon delivered in the clutch and the only real weakness Boston showed in pitching was with rusty Timlin, who’s still working the kinks out after being on the DL.

Yankees fans might be a little worried at this point. Mussina wasn’t bad, but only lasted 5 innings and probably should have been pulled an out or two sooner. He needs to be able to pitch a full 6. Wang has proven that he’s the club’s ace and Hughes hasn’t shown anything good in his last couple of outings. The Yankees bullpen continues to be strong with Ohlendorf impressing and Hawkins settling down. The Yankees next biggest problem after starting pitching is their offense. They’ve been getting more hits and scoring some runs, but clutch hitting has been non-existent. Jose Molina injured his hamstring on Sunday and Posada’s arm was poor, allowing two stolen bases in one inning. The Yankees are going to need to make a move at catcher. Francisco Cervelli is still recovering from breaking his arm during spring training. Chad Moeller is the most experienced guy waiting in the minors, but at this stage in his career, you’d hate to see him in your starting lineup.

The Red Sox are coming around and looking like a defending World Series championship team. The Yankees are sitting at the bottom of the AL East and have some issues to work out before they start challenging good teams.

Tags: boston red sox, mlb, new york yankees