Entering last night’s battle with the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees were in an interesting predicament. They were up 5 games on the Red Sox in the AL east while the Sox are just 1 game up in the loss column over the Rays in the Wild Card race.
This means that in theory, losing to the Rays would have a negative effect on the Yankees but would also doom their struggling rivals from maintaining a lead in the Wild Card race. Its hard to imagine that Red Sox fans would actually rout for the Yankees, however, with 6 games remaining between the Rays and Yanks down the stretch they have little choice.
Never mind the politics, last night a game was played. The Yankees put Ivan Nova on the mound looking for the 16th victory of his dazzling rookie season against Wade Davis of the Rays. Nova cruised through 7 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing 6 hits and adding three strikeouts. Curtis Granderson drove in four of the five Yankee runs, three of which came on a bases clearing double in the bottom of the 2nd inning.
Other than Granderson however, the Yankees struggled to cash in on opportunities as they left 18 men on base. With the playoffs steadily approaching, the Yankees need to get their big bats going as Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Brett Gardner had all been struggling coming in to today. Gardner added 2 hits tonight, and looks to right the ship down the stretch as Granderson has.
On the other side of the ball, a number two starter has been a huge question mark for the Yanks this season. With Nova’s recent dominance (he hasn’t lost in his last 15 outings) their prayers may have been answered. He has showed the poise of a seasoned vet, which was best seen, in the top of the 7th inning. Nova loaded the bases with no outs and proceeded to get Desmond Jennings to fly out to left and B.J. Upton to ground into an inning ending double play. Boone Logan and Luis Ayala added an inning and a third of scoreless baseball to continue the great bullpen pitching as of late.
If the Yankees want to make another deep run into the playoffs, Nova will be an integral part of the ride and from his recent outings, he is more than ready to take the stage.
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