AL Playoff Preview

If anyone was unsure up until this point what the AL East was made of and why it is a tough division, you need to check out the Yankees and Rays game that took place last night. This game was the stuff that playoffs are made of and the type of game that showcases what great pitching does for a team, especially in a short series.

Despite the lack of fans in the stands (roughly 26,000) to see their team fight for first place, David Price came out like a prize fighter and gave the Rays everything he had. Yankees had C.C. Sabathia on the mound going for his 20th win of the season, and he and Price matched each other zero for zero the whole game. Sabathia threw 119 pitches over 8 innings striking out 9, while Price threw 114 pitches over 8 innings and had 4 strikeouts. You could not ask for more out of two starters than what Price and Sabathia gave their teams.

The game was turned over to the bullpen in the 9th with Rays closer Rafael Soriano
and Yankees pitcher Kerry Wood. While I will admit Kerry Wood pitching is still a little frightening for me to watch, he has been lights out with the Yankees. Maybe all he needed was a team that was fighting for something to be re-born. Both Soriano and Wood put up zeros in the 9th…. Benoit (Rays) and Logan/Gaudin put up zeros in the 10th despite Gaudin loading the bases and getting out of it on luck.

The Yankees came up empty in the 11th against Grant Balfour despite a leadoff hit by Austin Kearns. Mitre came in to lose, I mean, pitch in the 11th inning and gave up a leadoff homerun to Reid Brignac to end the game. The loss extends the Yankees to a 4 game losing streak, and the fans are on their 4th straight night of indigestion and Tums.

Despite the game outcome, the game was great with 2 Cy Young candidates battling it out for 8 strong innings.

Here are some rookie cards of Sabathia and Price:

C.C. Sabathia Rookies