Wake gets rocked, Wang comes up big in NY win

New York 6, Sox 2
WP: Wang (3-3)
LP: Wakefield (4-5)
HRs: NYY-Rodriguez (18), Giambi (6)

RECAP:
Tim Wakefield was awful, Chien Ming Wang frustrated the Boston hitters by pitching out of numerous jams and the Stanks got homers from A-Rod and Giambi to defeat the Sox for just the second time in seven meetings this season.

HERO: Wang 6.1IP, 7H, 2ER, 3BBs, 5Ks
The gangly righty stymied the Sox hitters all night with a variety of off-speed pitches combined with his devastating sinker, which the Boston batters beat into the turf for eight groundball outs.

GOAT: Wake 5IP, 9H, 6ER, 5BBs, 2Ks, 2HRs
The Stankees have suddenly become the knuckleballer's kryptonite; in the last two years covering nine starts, Wakefield is a miserable 1-7 with a 6.00 ERA vs. the Bummers.

In two starts against them this year, Wakefield is 0-2 and in 10.1 innings has allowed 14 hits, 9 earned runs, 3 homers and a staggering 11 walks-yikes!

SUMMARY:
For some reason when Tim Wakefield steps onto the field against the Stankees he turns into Tim from Wakefield, looking like an average Joe Schmo trying to throw a crazy pitch to a bunch of professional hitters who don't swing at the bad ones and sit on the fat ones, waiting to pummel those high rollers far into the night sky.

And because of this sudden lack of ability to contain his team's arch enemy, Wakefield has now fallen into "let's try to set up the rotation so he doesn't have to face New York" status.

You may have noticed the stats I mentioned above, regarding how Wakefield has fared against New York since May of 2005, but I dug a little deeper and realized the numbers are downright scary when Wake pitches against New York:

-9 starts, 58IP, 49 hits, 38 earned runs, 33 walks, 42Ks, 12 homers all add up to a 1-7 record with a 5.90 ERA

The Stanks wasted no time jumping on Wakefield tonight, too, as Judas Demon (3-4, R, 2SBs) led off with a single and one out later Alex Rodriguez hit his third homer in the last three days, a titanic 2-run shot that landed behind the concrete pathway in leftfield. That blast gave New York a 2-0 lead after one and served notice that despite the disparity in records, or more likely because of it, the Stanks were coming out to win this series.

The Bombers added two more runs in the second inning, first when noted user of "the stuff", Jason Giambi, hit a right field third-deck moonshot with one out, and then after Cano doubled and Judas Demon singled again eter singled in Cano for a 4-0 New York lead.

As the Stanks were spanking Wakefield's pitches all over the yard, Boston was getting on base vs. Wang but couldn't get the big 2-out hit it needed to break the seal and close the gap. The Sox left two men on in the first inning and the bases loaded in the second and had nothing to show for it. Boston finally broke through against Wang in the 5th, thanks to back-to-back doubles by Youk (2-5, 14gm hit streak) and Papi to cut the lead to 4-1.

Unfortunately Wake gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning when he surrendered a single to Abreu, a walk to Giambi and then a triple to Cano (2-4, R, 2BI) that cleared the bases and, with the way the Sox were missing scoring opportunities, made the 6-1 gap seem almost unreachable.

The Sox cut the deficit to four runs in the 7th when Youk doubled, Lugo walked and Papi hit a sac fly to score Youkilis to cut the score to 6-2. That score got Wang to exit the game, but Brian Bruney came on to fan Manny looking to end the inning.

Boston had one more chance to make a game of it in the 8th, when they loaded the bases again with two outs on a walk, error and a hit batter, but Scott Proctor got Lugo to ground out to second and Cano made a nice play to end the threat and effectively end the game.

So the Stanks cut the margin in the East to 9 1/2 games and must feel pretty confident with the way their offense came alive and the way their pitching lines up for the rest of the series.

The best thing Boston has going for them right now is that Wakefield doesn't have to pitch again this series.

NOTES:

-The Stanks were aggressive from the get-go tonight, stealing four bases and taking big leads, using the hit & run and generally wreaking havoc on the bases

-Although Mirabelli had a rough go behind the dish, he did nail A-Rod trying to steal third with one out and two on in the third inning

-Youk's career high hitting streak was extended to 14 games with his 5th inning double; Lowell's streak ended at 10 games (0-4)

-Manny did register a hit (1-5), but he looked foolish & lost on most of his at bats, swinging at the first pitch every time and striking out twice; he did have a nice rolling catch in the 7th, though, robbing Cano of a hit

-Manny (13 games) and Papi (12) are in extended homerless droughts and the two have combined to hit just five homers in May

-J.D. Drew's hitting nightmare continues: the rightfielder was 0-5, left four men on base, and ended four innings, including the 9th; he's now batting .244-UGH!

-The Stanks made two errors, one by Jeter (8) and one by the Bruney (1)

-Mattappan Manny Delcarmen made his '07 debut and pitched a 1-2-3 7th

-J.C. Romero got into a jam by loading the bases on walks in the 6th but escaped without allowing a run; Pineiro actually pitched a scoreless 8th

-A-Rod's homer was his 6th off Wakefield, the most he has allowed to any batter

QUOTES:

-"We won two in a row. We haven't done this in a while. It's not something we usually trumpet, but we haven't done this a lot."-Joe Torre.

'Nuff said.

RECORD: 30-14

AL EAST: Up 9.5 gms on NYY

UP NEXT: @ NYY Tue 7P NESN