How Sweep It Is ~ On The Block NY

The brooms were out in full force yesterday in the Bronx as the Yankees completed their 3-game sweep of the first place Red Sox. They now stand 5 games out of first. Not too bad considering they were coming off a 2-5 road trip and dropped 4 games to the Sox in the standings before the series. Now as the calendar turns to September, the race for October gets a lil more tense.Yesterday's 5-0 win for the Yanks also put them ahead of the Seattle Mariners (who lost last night) in the wild card standings.

Pitching for the Yanks dominated in this series. Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Chien Ming Wang all delivered quality starts. Via Bill Madden NY Daily News

"We got outpitched three days in a row," said Curt Schilling. "Outpitched and outplayed."

Clemens and Wang both held Boston hitless through the first 5 innings. Mariano Rivera came in and got 2 saves, Joba Chamberlain made 2 appearances and left the Yankee Stadium crowd wanting more. Joba added some juice to the next Yanks-Sox series Sept 14-16 by "throwing" at Kevin Youkillis, that according to home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, who ejected the rookie pitcher in the 9th inning. Derek Jeter went 7 for 11 in the series.

"We need every game, I'd tell you the same thing if we beat a high school team three games in a row. We need victories, no matter who we play."

Robinson Cano hit a pair of HR's off of Schilling Thursday, the first lefty to do it since Barry Bonds did it in 2001.. Via Bryan Hoch, MLB.com

"Nothing's over until your last out," Cano said. "We've got a month left. We've got to keep playing hard and win games."

Even Jason Giambi did his best Tino Martinez impression in the series by playing an ourstanding first base. Johnny Damon hit a go ahead 2-run HR on Tuesday night against Boston, the way he used to hit them when he was on the other side of this rivalry. The Yankees made their pitches, got their hits, and made their plays when they needed them the most. The end result... picking up 3 games in the standings, leading the wild card, and Boston leaving town shaking their heads.

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