Red Sox Defeat the Yankees - Again!

Wednesday night marked a new low for the New York Yankees in their century-long rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. The game was their seventh straight loss against the Red Sox, the Yankees’ longest losing streak against Boston since 1912, when the Yankees were still known as the Highlanders.

The Red Sox won the game 6-5.

The Red Sox have been able to claim the American League East for four years, since 2004, and now it looks as if they’re going to have it for a fifth. The Yankees may have begun the season with big hopes for a division title and plenty of confidence against their longtime rivals, but their repeated losses against Boston seem to have squelched both entirely.

“They’ve definitely got the upper hand on us now,” Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon confessed after Wednesday night’s loss.

Definitely.

The Yankees bullpen has been absolutely overwhelmed, with starter Chien-Ming Wang the primary culprit. Wang, who brought the team 38 wins in the 2006-07 season and maintained a 46-15 record through 2008, appears to have lost control of the ball. Of 17 hitters faced, Wang allowed 9 to walk with balls, managing to retire only 8.

“His arm slot’s all over the place,” pitching coach Dave Eiland complained. “Sometimes it’s in the right place, the next time it’s too high, the next time it’s too low. If you have varying arm slots, you can’t command the baseball.”

In other words, Wang has no idea where his baseball is going to end up.

In the first inning, Wang threw 29 pitches; of those, he allowed one run but gave up three walks, two of which occurred back-to-back. The second inning brought another 29 pitches, and Wang gave up two runs on a single and two doubles. He tried to salvage the losses by striking out Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay with sliders.

Then, at the bottom of the third, Wang handed Boston’s Mike Lowell a homer then allowed hits by David Ortiz and Mark Kotsay. He managed to strike out Nick Green before he was replaced by Phil Hughes.

In the last 5 starts, Wang has only managed to last a total of 13 1/3 innings. His earned run average dropped from 14.46 to 14.34. Nor is it clear that Wang will continue in the rotation.

“It’s definitely frustrating for me,” Wang admitted. “I haven’t thrown a good ballgame for a while.”

But Wang isn’t the only player who deserves the finger of blame. The New York team appears to have lost its focus. Alex Rodriguez been hitless in his last 13 at-bats and has gone 0-for-7 in the series. Derek Jeter has also gone 0-for-7.

The Yankees are holding onto a few glimmers of light: Mark Teixeria, who added four more hits on Wednesday – including a homer; CC Sabathia, a big lefty who is nearly unhittable; and Phil Hughes, who, in relief, besieged Tampa Bay on Monday, allowing only two hits in 63 pitches.

Sabathia is set to pitch in Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. He will be facing a lineup with the best on-base percentage in the American League, while his team will be facing a deadly Red Sox bullpen. The Yankees are desperately hoping to avoid another sweep.