NYY 5, CHI(A)1: Wang Stands Tall

This is what an ace is supposed to do. Chien-Ming Wang's line from the Yanks’ 5–1 win tonight: 9 innings, 1 earned, 5 hits, 1 walk, 4 Ks, 104 pitches, 63 strikes, 15 ground ball outs. This was an absolute masterpiece.

The Yankee bats showed up again: 11 hits, 5 for extra-bases. Abreu went deep to left center in the eighth for an insurance run, A-Rod hit a shot off the fence in left-center with the bases loaded.

The only disappointing thing for the Yanks tonight was their base running. A-Rod spent a second or two admiring the aforementioned shot off the fence, and got thrown out at second. Posada was thrown out at second on a fly ball to center (although he did draw the throw and allow Abreu to score from third). Posada also got caught in no-man’s land on a ball that squirted away from Pierzynski, he was tagged out after a feeble run down. Melky was picked off first late in the game. The Yanks gave away four outs. Luckily, Wang didn’t need the extra runs, in most cases, they wouldn’t have been so lucky.

On defense, playing Melky in center is really paying dividends. He gunned down the speedy Jerry Owens at the plate on a single up the middle.

Boston lost its fourth consecutive game tonight, 3–2 to Oakland. Detroit destroyed the Rangers. The Yanks now stand 10.5 behind Boston in the A.L. East, and 6.5 out of the wild card. The Yanks have gained 4 games on Boston in the past 7 days.

Player of the Game: Wang. His record is now 5–4, and his ERA dropped to 3.73 on the strength of the Yanks’ first complete game of the season.