The New York Yankees falter as the Red Sox batter them 8 – 4 (Part 4)
The New York Yankees were always going to be the underdogs for the American League East Title bid in Major League Baseball. They needed a win and there was the stipulation that the victory would only count if the Kansas City Royals
managed to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the fixture going into the final day. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case as the Yanks crashed out of the bid with a 4 – 8 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.
Much of the loss was owed to Joe Girardi’s weak pitcher rotation policy and for Dustin Moseley who started on Sunday’s game as the leading pitcher; things were not going to go his way when he faced a more experienced ball thrower,
in John Lackey.
Moseley started his 9th game on the mound and given his weak presence in the season he managed to keep his Earning Runs Average below 4.96. His loss was the fourth of the season and given the fact that he had 4 wins
on his record, the result was subtle one to document. He pitched 94 times and struck out just 3 hitters. He conceded 4 runs off 5 hits and allowed 2 walks.
For John Lackey, the last match marked the 33rd time the veteran started the fixture in the 2010 season. The player was formidable and proved too much for the Yanks. It was hard for the hitters to connect with his throws
and he walked away with respectable figures at the end of the day. He allowed 3 runs off 6 hits and struck out 10 batters in 7.2 innings. On the final result of the league, Lackey commented on the Red Sox season and playoffs bid: “We'd still be playing right
now if a lot of things hadn’t happened. I pretty much can guarantee that."
The Red Sox were unfortunate to make it to the playoffs and with the season ending, the third ranking East ball club would have felt heartbroken, given their recent form. Many believed that if the team had penned up on their consistent
performances, the ultimate result in the league would have been different at the conclusion of the season.
General Manager, Theo Epstein had a similar view on the overall view: "We're proud of the effort and proud of some of the things we accomplished but disappointed in the ultimate result. We didn't reach our ultimate goal of getting
to the playoffs and then trying to do some damage in October. That said, there's still a lot to be proud of."
The Yankees, on the other hand, would now go on to face the Minnesota Twins in their playoffs. With the first game being played on the 6th of October, not many days are left till the side goes into play in Minneapolis.
The team enters its 49th post season and hopes to earn the 28th World Series title. This will mark the 15th
time the side has entered the post season in the last 16 attempts.
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