CC Sabathia might have won the game, but did he erase the perception that the Red Sox don’t fear him?
The chunky Yankees lefty pitched six laborious innings last night at Fenway Park and allowed only two runs but 10 hits in a 5-2 win. It seemed more of a case of the Sox shooting themselves in the foot with missed opportunities (16 left on base) rather than Sabathia finally dominating to earn his first win in five starts against Boston this season.
Progress, sure. But did Sabathia, who went only those six innings because his pitch count got to 128, engender any more confidence in his ability to beat the Sox in a meaningful game?
Hardly.
Sabathia’s win allowed the Yankees to improve to 3-10 against the Sox this season and pulled them within a half-game of first place. The three-game series seemed far more important to the Yankees than the Sox, two teams who are going to make the playoffs, simply because the Yankees needed to answer the question about whether Sabathia can beat Boston.
“I felt I had good stuff all the way through,’’ Sabathia said. “I had to control my emotions and make good pitches when I needed to.’’
Asked whether he felt he needed to beat the Sox, he said, “Of course, so you guys stop talking about it. It’s always a big game when you’re playing the team you’re chasing. Happy to get a win tonight.’’
Tonight the Yankees need to show they can beat Josh Beckett, 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA against them this season. And tomorrow night, A.J. Burnett, who has been horrible this month, needs to pitch well for a change. A breakthrough game vs. Boston would go far in improving the veteran righthander’s confidence.
The Yankees will take last night’s result, no question. It beats the alternative.
There’s still something that Sabathia will be going up against when facing the Sox. It’s the lack of a fear factor. Sox hitters still don’t fear the big man.
He took a 10-4 loss at Fenway Aug. 6, lasting six innings and allowing nine hits and seven runs, the most he’s allowed against any team during a season in which he’s 18-7 with a 2.99 ERA and in the Cy Young mix. He started the night 17-3 with a 2.40 ERA against everyone else.
He managed to ward off the dreaded fifth loss to the same team. No Yankee pitcher ever has done it.
There had been no logical reason why Sabathia couldn’t beat the Sox, a team with a plethora of lefthanded hitters he should have been able to conquer. Sox manager Terry Francona tried to be diplomatic earlier in the day when he said how much the Sox respected Sabathia, but added, “We’ve made him pay for some of the mistakes he’s made.’’
That’s the only logical explanation. They’ve made him pay. And maybe that was the difference last night. They didn’t make him pay.
