Yankees Take Series Opener in Fenway

Usatoday.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 16^th, 2013

New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox Post Game Recap

Final Score: Yankees 10 Red Sox 3

The New York Yankees were able to start their big series in Boston against the Red Sox on a very positive note with the blowout victory in Game 1 of the series. The win moves the Yankees to (63-58), which is now 7.5 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, and six games behind the two Wild Card spots.

Red Sox Starter Felix Doubront got roughed up by the Yankees offense early in this game, as he was handed his sixth loss of the season. In the first inning Alfonso Soriano had an RBI infield single that scored Brett Gardner. Newly acquired Mark Reynolds made his presence felt in the second inning, as he too Doubront over the Green Monster for his first home run as a Yankees, that scored Vernon Wells. In the third inning Soriano would strike again hitting a three-run home run, which tied him for the MLB record of 18 RBIs in a four-game span, and gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead. The final run off Doubront would come from a Robinson Cano base-hit that scored Eduardo Nunez. Doubront would pitch just four innings allowing seven runs, six of which were earned on eight hits and two walks.

NFL Training Camp Battles to Keep an Eye On

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

We are almost halfway through the NFL Preseason and rosters are finally starting to take shape. Players are being cut to trim down to the mandated 53 man rosters and depth charts are being finalized for the start of the regular season. There are some teams that will need a little more time in figuring out their depth charts as position battles wage on throughout the end of training camp and into to the first week of the season. Here are some battles to keep an eye on throughout the rest of training camp.

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox

photos.nj.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 16-18^th

W2W4: New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees will be heading into Boston to face their arch rivals the Red Sox in what is an important series for both teams, as the Yankees look to gain ground in the Wild Card and AL East, and the Red Sox will look to improve on their two game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays for first place. The Yankees are now (62-58), which is 8.5 games behind the Red Sox in the division, and six games behind the two Wild Card spots.

- Pitching Match-Ups

On Friday night to kick off the series the Yankees will be sending Andy Pettitte (7-9, 4.62) to the mound, who will be making his 40^th career start against the Red Sox, and he will be looking for his 20^th win against Boston, as he faces Felix Doubront (8-5, 3.66). In Game 2 the Yankees will have their ace Hiroki Kuroda (11-7, 2.33) on the mound facing John Lackey (7-10, 3.32), who is having a nice bounce back season. Game 3 will be on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, as C.C Sabathia (10-10, 4.66) will be facing Ryan Dempster (6-8, 4.50).

Yankees Unable to Sweep Angels

latimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 15^th, 2013

Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Angels 8 Yankees 4

The New York Yankees were unable to complete the four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday afternoon, as poor hitting with runners in scoring position hurt the Yankees in this one. The loss moves the Yankees to (62-58), and they slide back to six games behind the two Wild Card spots.

Phil Hughes was on the mound for the Yankees in this game, which usually means a loss, and even though he pitched better than he has most of the season it wasn’t good enough to keep him from getting his 12^th loss of the season. It looked like things were going to be ugly for Hughes in this one, as in the first inning Josh Hamilton had a RBI single that scored J.B. Shuck. Hughes would however settle down until the fourth inning when the Angels would get two more runs on a sac-fly by Hank Conger, which was followed up by a solo-home run from Chris Nelson. Hughes ended up going six innings allowing three runs on six hits, one walk, while striking out five, but it was a much better version of Hughes on Thursday afternoon.

Soriano's Monster Night Gets Yankees Victory

espn.go.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 14^th, 2013

Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Angels 3 Yankees 11

The New York Yankees were able to pull off their fourth straight win on Wednesday night, which guarantees them a series win against the Angels even if they lose on Thursday. The win moves the Yankees to (62-57) and they are now five games behind the Rays and Athletics for the two Wild Card spots, as they keep inching closer and closer to the teams ahead of them.

The Yankees offense has certainly come alive of late, and that continued against one of the better Pitchers in the MLB in Jered Weaver, who was handed his sixth loss of the season on Wednesday. Alfonso Soriano has been on fire lately, and in the first inning he gave the Yankees a nice lead with a Grand Slam off Weaver for his sixth home run since putting the pinstripes back on. In the second inning the Yankees would tack on four more runs essentially ending the game, as Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson both had RBI singles, and then none other than Soriano would hit a two-run double, which gave him six RBIs in the first two innings. In the fifth inning Soriano would strike again off Weaver, this time being a solo-home run. Weaver finished the game going five innings allowing nine runs on nine hits, three walks, and he saw his ERA go up to 3.49.

Iman Shumpert's New Music Endeavors

Bleacher Report via Google Images

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Monday night the music world was abuzz with the verse that Kendrick Lamar dropped on Big Sean’s single “Control (HOF)” in which he called out virtually the whole rap game and claimed to be “King of New York” (even though he hails from California). While that received a ton of buzz and still is today, another person closer to home dropped a new verse as well.

New York Knicks guard/forward Iman Shumpert released “Versace (Freestyle),” Tuesday and it happens to actually be pretty good. This is not the first track that Shumpert has released. 

During the lockout he recorded quite a bit of music and also during his rehab when he could not get on the court. He has an good hearted song he dubbed “Knicks Anthem” that is a play off of Big Sean’s “Clique.” He made another song that plenty of people enjoyed as a good track as well entitled “Anarchy,” featuring Phlyy B.

Listen to the tracks here:

Yankees Offense Breaks Out Against Angels

nytimes.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 13^th, 2013

Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Angels 7 Yankees 14

The New York Yankees were able to win their third straight game on Tuesday night, which was their second straight win over the Los Angeles Angels, and the Yankees continue to gain ground in the Wild Card race. The win moves the Yankees to (61-57), and they are now 5.5 games behind the Rays and Athletics for the two Wild Card spots.

Yankees Starter C.C. Sabathia once again didn’t look like an ace, but with plenty of run support it made up for some poor Yankees defense. Nonetheless he was able to earn his 10^th win of the season, and it was his first win since July 3^rd. Things started out tough for Sabathia though, as in the first inning Mark Trumbo hit a two-run home run, which scored Mike Trout and was his 26^th home run of the season. The final run Sabathia would allow came in the third inning with the bases loaded, as he walked Chris Nelson which scored J.B. Shuck. Sabathia finished going six innings allowing three runs, only two of which were earned on three hits and six walks, while striking out seven. Tuesday was definitely better for Sabathia compared to almost all of his starts in the past month, which is a great sign for the Yankees.

Kuroda Dominates in Yankees Victory

riveraveblues.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

August 12^th, 2013

Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Angels 1 Yankees 2

The New York Yankees were able to keep up their momentum from winning a crucial series against the Detroit Tigers, as on Monday night they were able to defeat the Los Angeles Angels to start off their four-game series. The win moves the Yankees to (60-57) on the season, and they are now 6.5 games behind the Rays and Athletics for the two Wild Card spots.

Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda was once again sensational in his start, as he picked up his 11^th win of the season, and saw his ERA go down to 2.33 on the season. Kuroda went eight shutout innings allowing just three hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. Kuroda's name should be starting to get some serious consideration for the American League Cy Young award, as in the last five games hes gone 48 innings allowing just five runs, and he now has the second best ERA in the American League behind only Felix Hernandez.

W2W4: Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees

losangeles.cbslocal.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

W2W4: Los Angeles Angels vs New York Yankees

August 12-15^th

The New York Yankees will be continuing their home-stand after an impressive series win against the then red hot Detroit Tigers, and now after taking two out of three games against them, the Yankees will be hosting the Los Angeles Angels, who will be coming into the Bronx 10 games under .500.

- Pitching Match-Ups

The four-game series will kick off with the pitching match-up of Hiroki Kuroda (10-7, 2.45) will be facing Garrett Richards (3-4, 4.20), which on paper looks to be a great chance for the Yankees to win. In Game 2 it is undecided right now who will be getting the ball for the Angels, but for the Yankees it will be C.C. Sabathia (9-10, 4.73), who looked better in his last start against the Chicago White Sox. Game 3 is probably the best match-up of the series, as Ivan Nova (5-4, 2.93) will be facing Jered Weaver (7-5, 2.87). In the finale of the series the Angels will send C.J. Wilson (12-6, 3.49) to the mound against the struggling Phil Hughes (4-11, 4.99).