The New York Yankees are doing everything possible to put the matter of their earlier difficulties against the Boston Red Sox not simply in the rearview mirror, but beyond that: out of sight, up in the attic, in storage, gone, vanished, disappeared.
In a captivating 3-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park, the Yankees did something well in every phase of the game. The victory put them in first place in the American League East, and put at least a little distance between them and their 1-8 start this season against Boston.
During what has otherwise been a superb season, that was the one shadow that has persistently hung over the Yankees. They hadn't even seen the shadow for nearly two months, and yet they still knew it was hanging around somewhere in their otherwise nifty environment.
The Yankees could take some solace in the fact that they had also started 1-8 against the Sox in 2009, but finished 9-9 in the season series, and then finished the postseason as the World Series champions. But a 1-8 record against the Red Sox does not immediately bring forth thoughts of championships. And so it was up to the Yankees to move in an upward direction, one game at a time, starting Friday night at Fenway.
"We can't worry about the way we played against them earlier in the season," Derek Jeter said. "We just need to continue to play well."
The Yankees' play against the rest of their schedule has been so good that it has neutralized Boston's big advantage in the season series. With a seven-game winning streak coming into this series, the Yankees had tied the Red Sox for first place in the American League East, and for the AL's best record.
Jeter injured? No problem. Alex Rodriguez injured? No problem. The Yankees, since being swept by the Red Sox in early June, have gone 36-15, the AL's best record over that period. Their offense has displayed obvious power, but also speed, in a highly effective blend. Their starting rotation has developed admirable depth and efficiency. Their bullpen is back to good health and full effectiveness. There is only one club in baseball with a higher winning percentage, and it is in Philadelphia, in the other league. The Yankees have had a substantial stretch of excellence, which was missing only the element of beating the Red Sox. The remaining schedule offers an opportunity to fill that gap. The teams play eight more times this season.
Did the Yankees need to beat the Red Sox?
"We need to beat everybody, anybody," Mariano Rivera said. "What happened in the past is past. What is important is what we do now."What Rivera does next these days typically includes achieving another milestone. Friday night, in gaining his 588th save, Rivera made the 1,022nd appearance of his career. That tied him for 10th place on baseball's all-time games pitched list with Jose Mesa and Lee Smith. Next up, Trevor Hoffman at 1,035.
All of the Yankees forces were aligned Friday night -- the opponent was the Red Sox, the play was crisp. The Yankees came from behind against a tough lefty, Jon Lester, who had been particularly tough on them, with an 8-1 record coming into this start.
And five Yankees relievers combined to throw 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief against the imposing Boston lineup. That included one inning -- the seventh -- from Rafael Soriano. It was his first pressure situation since coming back from an elbow injury that caused him to miss 63 games. Lefty Boone Logan got the Yankees out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, with a strikeout of Adrian Gonzalez.
The Yankees only had five hits for the night, but three of them came in the sixth inning, when all three New York runs scored. Add it all up -- clutch pitching, clutch hitting -- and it was the difference in a tense, taut, one-run victory.
"Overall, it was a tremendous ballgame," Rivera said. And there was the bonus aspect, the fact that this tremendous ballgame for the Yankees came against The Rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The season series still obviously leans in a pro-Boston direction at 8-2, but the Yankees, for the moment at least, were up at the pay window, in the standings.