Game Recap

The Boston Red Sox should be glad that they are leaving New York on a high note.  There is nothing more encouraging than being able to steal a tight game from the defending World Champions in Yankee Stadium. 

Today's 2-1 win over the Yankees may have saved the Red Sox' season.  Traveling to New York to play a four game set with the Bronx Bombers, it looked very bleak for the Sox.  The Yankees were ready to send a knockout blow and send the Red Sox ten games back with a sweep.  But the Sox wouldn't have it.

It was supposed to be a matchup built for national television.  AJ Burnett vs. Josh Beckett, two hard-throwing, old-school pitchers facing off in Yankee Stadium.

PHILADELPHIA-- The Mets made some bold moves after last night's loss to the Phillies, calling up some younger players to try to install energy in the team.

It's not as if the Mets were completely energized tonight, but they did more than enough to earn a victory.

Johan Santana was on the mound, and he was as dominant as possible. He was opposed by Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, and they locked up in a classic pitchers' duel.

Randy Wells pitched a quality start, but that was not enough for the Cubs to win.

Once again, the Cubs stumbled in front of their home crowd, losing a heart-breaking 4-3 ballgame to the Cincinnati Reds.

After two terrible starts, Wells showed up today, giving the best he could to hold the Reds until the seventh. 

Some of you might be thinking who is J.P. Arencibia. Well Arencibia was drafting No. 21 overall by the Blue Jays in the 2007 draft. He was a highly regarded catcher who could hit for average and for power and he sure made himself known today.

Arencibia went 4-for-5 with two home runs today against the Tampa Bay Rays. His parents were in attendance and they were so happy about what he did. In his first at bat he homered on the first pitch he saw.

Under normal circumstances, it is already tough to beat Bronson Arroyo.

And when the Chicago Cubs showed up in the game with cold bats, they just made it even tougher to win.  They suffered a 3-0 loss in this weekend three-game series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. 

The Boston Red Sox disabled list is long, but even crippled, this is a darn good ball club.

Winning the first game against the Yankees proves the Red Sox are still in the mix in the AL East.

Boston’s starting rotation is now all active and healthy, and they are ridiculously good.

Red Sox ace Josh Beckett's being back is huge because his passion and fiery attitude demand a lot of respect. Clearly, Beckett is the leader of the staff and his absence was apparent.

PHILADELPHIA — The Mets are now a losing ballclub. After Jon Niese pitched another fine game against the Phillies, the Mets bullpen exploded in the eighth inning, and a Mets rally fell short.

The Mets were entering what could be their last important series of the season, and for a while, it looked good.

Jon Niese got off to a rocky start in the first inning, allowing a run and walking two. He was all over the plate and was not helped out by a Josh Thole passed ball.

The Mets have an uncanny ability to not rise to the occasion.

Good teams find ways to win and bad teams, like the Mets, find ways to lose. Although, Mets fans can't pretend they didn't know this was coming. 

In probably the most important game so far this year (in terms of attempting to make the rest of August relevant) the Mets never showed up. They did not field (four errors including three infield errors in one inning), they did not hit (per usual), and of course they did not pitch (Mike Pelfrey was on the mound).