I’m happy to return from L.A. and our coverage of the NBA Finals to a Yankee team that looks primed for its series with rival Boston.
Let’s quickly recap the weekend series. Four more homers by the Bronx Bombers Monday night backed Andy Pettitte in a 5-3 victory over Tampa, their second in as many days. Sunday Mariano Rivera righted the ship after one of his worst relief outings. Unlike Saturday, when his manager ordered him to walk Evan Longoria, Rivera got his chance to face the Tampa slugger, this time with two outs in the ninth and a one-run lead to protect.
This time, the outcome was more familiar for Rivera and the Yankees. He got Longoria to ground out meekly to second, closing out the Yankees 4-3, come-from-behind victory for his 495th career save.
New York scored three in the eighth on a walk, an error and a fielder's choice in winning seven of their last 10.
Saturday, Rivera was simply off his game. Joe Dillon hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth and the Rays got to the all-time great for the second time this season, topping the Yankees 9-7. The Rays committed four errors, but came through when it counted most. B.J. Upton added an RBI single off the star closer, part of a four-run rally that carried the AL Champions to their fourth straight victory and sixth in seven games.
Friday night's scheduled game between the Rays and Yankees was postponed because of rain, pushing back David Price and CC Sabathia to Saturday afternoon.
That was a highly anticipated matchup, pitting Tampa’s promising young lefty versus the more established Yankee ace, but with the game tied late, it once again became a matchup of the bullpens. Unfortunately, Rivera didn’t have his best stuff.
Thankfully, baseball gives you a chance to redeem yourself the very next day. It was a terrific series for New York, serving as a good warm-up for the Red Sox this week.
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