Sabathia’s 21st win guides the New York Yankees to the playoff berth (Part 1)
The New York Yankees faced the Toronto Blue Jays, yesterday, for the 2nd last time in the season. The game was played in the Rogers Centre and both teams were looking for a way to beat the other. For
the blue birds, the purpose behind the winning desire was their disappointing position in the league. They rank 4th in the American League East division. The side regards it an important deal to get their last games through with wins, given manager
Cito Gaston’s recent announcement, concerning his future, in the club.
The skipper declared a few days ago, that he will be retiring this year, after the season’s conclusion. For the roster, winning most of their games would prove to be a parting gift from the players to the manager. The blue birds
have been trying to bring in some consistency in the team. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case as they faced a resilient Yankees side.
The New York ball club has been on the pursuit of the playoff berth since a long time. Before August, it looked like the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox were going to give the team a hard time in the run. Fortunately, the
team was a game away from the post season spot and a possible face off with the Texas Rangers.
The division title however, is still 1/2 a win away given the fact that the Rays lead the table by that margin. The Yankees are 4 games away from the end of the season, whereas the Rays still have 5 games
to play in. The problem aligned with the team has been itching manager Joe Girardi for a while now and that issues deals with the pitching roster. Most of the ball throwers on the squad are hitting bad form. Allan James Burnett and Andy Pettitte are two members
of the starting pitching faction who have been performing badly in the recent days. Before tonight, Carsten Charles Sabathia was also a concern for the ball club.
Sabathia was the star player in the night and it was his inclusion in the team that brought some tranquillity in the concession rate of the squad. For starters, the blue birds have been on a bad run against the player and Sabathia’s
12th start against the Jays, brought him a 9th win in his career. On a second note, the big man has been on a campaign to grab his 21st win in the season. The match offered the ball thrower a chance to redeem his last two chances
and pull an important win. He did so by conceding just 1 run, off 3 hits. He struck out 8 players and gave away 2 walks in the 8.1 innings of play. Carsten decreased his Earning Run Average (ERA) to 3.18 and ensured his team maintained an upper hand in the
encounter.
Kyle Drabek was the pitcher to lose his bid for his first victory in Major League Baseball. The rookie had featured in 2 fixtures, prior to the game and manager Gaston was most probably hoping for the player to score an upset Sabathia
in the match. He pitched for 6 innings and allowed 3 runs off 5 hits. The young ball thrower went out of the encounter with 4 strike outs and 1 walk. He reduced his ERA to 4.76, but that was not good enough to get the Toronto team a win.
The Blue Jays were not anticipated to win the game given their starting pitcher’s reputation. The rookie had no chance, in some analysts’ eyes, of denting Sabathia with an upset win. The Yankees, on the other hand, were trying
for a win desperately and one could not blame Joe Girardi. The side got the playoff spot after winning just 2 of their last 7 games. For the fans, this trend can be regarded as a hard lined concern, given the form of the other teams, heading into the post
season.
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