In the 11th inning of Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees defeated the Twins and set up a series against the Red Sox. Credit Alex Rodriguez, and a wild pitch by Kyle Lohse, for the 6-5 Yankee victory. In the 11th, A-Rod had a double, a stolen base, and scored on the wild pitch. Talk about manufacturing runs. For the game, Rodriguez went 2-4 and is hitting .421 in the post-season.
A-Rod's extra-inning performance would not have happened, if it was not for Ruben Sierra's bat in the 8th inning. Sierra hit a 3-run home run in the inning to tie the game at 5-5. Mariano Rivera pitched the final two innings for the Yankees, picking up the win.
All this sets up the series that the ratings whores at Fox have been waiting for, the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, a rematch of last year's ALCS. During the offseason, the two teams have added some players, and the series promises to be exciting. Of the 64 games since 2002, including playoffs, the Yankees and Red Sox have both won 32. After this series, one team will have more victories. Then again, after this series, one team will have several more World Series trophies than the other. All that matters for the teams now is this series and who can win four games first.
Game one starters are Curt Shilling for the Red Sox and Mike Mussina for the Yankees. Mariano Rivera, who has returned to Panama because of deaths in the family, says he will be back for game one on Tuesday.
Photo by Torrie/Daily News
