Regardless of what happens tomorrow, the Sox take the series against the Angels, and I like their chances this weekend against New York. Here are my game by game predictions for the Yankees series:
Game 1: W 2-1. Beckett pitches like a true ace and out-duels Phil Hughes in a game with very little offense. Victor Martinez hits a double down the 1st base line in the 8th inning on Hughes's 104th pitch to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Papelbon almost blows it in the ninth but the Sox hold on to win.
ACTUAL RESULTS: L 10-3. Beckett pitched like an ace for three innings then imploded. Phil Hughes did pitch well, but it obviously wasn't a duel.
Game 2: L 8-2. The Sox score early on Sabathia, but he settles down and overpowers them, striking out 8 and almost going the distance. Mark Teixiera hits 2 home runs as Buchholz has trouble finding the plate in a lopsided loss.
ACTUAL RESULTS: L 14-3. The Sox scored early on Sabathia, Buchholz had trouble finding the plate in a lopsided loss, and at the end of 7 innings, Mark Teixiera had two home runs and the score was 8-3. I was feeling like a mystic until the Yankees poured on 6 runs in the last two innings.
Game 3: W 6-3. Lester goes 7 strong innings for the win. Girardi leaves Burnett in too long and the Sox chase him in the 6th. J.D. Drew goes 2-for-4 with a homer and I drink 3 cans of Moxie before the seventh inning stretch.
ACTUAL RESULTS: W 9-2. Another positive prediction, as Lester did indeed go 7 strong innings for the win and Girardi did leave Burnett in for too long, but he was chased in the 5th. Drew went 2-for-3 with an RBI (no homer) but I didn't have any Moxie, let alone 3 cans before the bottom of the 7th.
Sox take series 2 games to 1.
Yankees took series 2 games to 1.
Post your predictions in the comment box below.
