Jorge Posada doubled and belted a three-run homer to highlight the Yankees eight-run fourth inning.
(Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
Yankees zinging different tune
Jorge Posada doubled and belted a three-run homer to highlight the Yankees eight-run fourth inning.
(Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - These weren’t the same Yankees from April or May or June, the Yankees with a papier maché bullpen, the team the Red Sox shoved around, and that their owner taunted.
The Yankees beat the Red Sox last night for the first time this season, the 13-6 victory nearly emphatic enough to expunge their thoughts from their eight consecutive losses to begin the season series. They looked the same. They were not.
“It’s a different team, same players,’’ Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said. “I think we have our real team and feeling good about it right now.’’
These Yankees, last night, overcame an early deficit, thrashed John Smoltz, then brought in a reliever named Mark Melancon who threw two pitches close to Dustin Pedroia’s head, the second of which drilled him in the shoulder. (Melancon said it was not intentional.) Late last night, John Henry’s Twitter account remained dormant.
The Yankees have won 15 of 19, and they’re playing like a serious threat to pull ahead of the Red Sox by 6 1/2 games at the end of this series. They held onto the best record in the American League, and they are a half-game behind the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
“They’re a really good team,’’ Sox manager Terry Francona said, “feeling really good about themselves.’’
“We’ve been playing well for two or three months here,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I think it is a different club. Our bullpen is much different. Our starters have been much different. It is a different club.’’
On June 11, the day the Yankees dropped their eighth straight to the Red Sox, their bullpen had a collective 4.69 ERA. From then until last night, it is 3.73. When the Yankees moved Phil Hughes to a setup, eighth-inning role, everything about the relieving corps clicked.
Outfielder Johnny Damon gave a simpler take for why the Yankees have improved. “We have A-Rod back,’’ he said. Alex Rodriguez did not play until May 8, and he played only the third series against the Red Sox. After a slow start, Rodriguez is batting .316 with 10 home runs, 30 RBIs, and a .418 on-base percentage in 35 games since June 25.
“When we put him back on our team,’’ Teixeira said, “it’s a different team.’’
Before last night, the Yankees’ record against the Red Sox hovered over them. They may have insisted the season was long and they had time to reverse the trend but their fans disagreed, and the standings necessitated, at some point, that the Yankees beat the Red Sox.
“This team is in second place right now, and we’ve got to beat this team,’’ Teixeira said. “We want to play these guys well.’’
The Yankees’ win last night guaranteed they will end the weekend still in first place, but they were not celebrating. The Red Sox still hold an 8-1 advantage over them after all, and “we’ll have to answer those questions tomorrow,’’ Damon said.
They answered several last night. As Nick Swisher held court for a cluster of reporters, they peppered him with questions about the meaning of winning a game against the Red Sox, and how much different the Yankees are now than they were a couple months ago.
“Who cares?’’ Swisher said. “Nobody cares about that 1-8. We’re playing great baseball right now. What matters is now.’’
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
