Yanks nail down first sweep of the year

It’s a sweep. It may only be two games, but hey, a sweep is a sweep is a sweep. And the Yanks come back to the Bronx to face the Red Sox riding a two-game winning streak.

Overall, tonight’s game wasn’t the best game. Andy Pettitte didn’t have his best stuff but persevered. The Yankee offense didn’t come through too often, but their five runs stood up. And Mo — good ol’ Mo — nailed down this one for his fifth save in five chances this year.

Since a lot of little things struck me during this game, let’s break it down bullet-point style:

• Derek Jeter sure didn’t like missing games. He went 5 for 9 in Tampa. He’s recorded just one extra-base hit this season, but I’m not too worried about that quite yet. The leg will turn some doubles into singles for now.
• Jason Giambi wuz robbed! With A-Rod on third, the Rays drew the infield in during the fourth inning. An Edwin Jackson wild pitch allowed A-Rod to score and the infield to move back to normal depth. Giambi scorched a ball that, two pitches earlier, would have been an RBI double, but Carlos “Vacuum” Peña turned it into an out. Maybe Giambi’s coming out of it.
• Hideki Matsui looks very comfortable at the plate no matter his defensive role. I like his as the long-term DH this season.
• When I saw Kyle Farnsworth warming in the pen, my heart dropped. But then he nailed down a 1-2-3 eighth for a huge hold. That’s about as surprised as I’ve ever been during a Farnsworth inning.
• The Yankees left eight runners on base during the last three innings of the game. That’s an alarming stat that will be forgotten because they won. At some point, the Yanks have to start driving in runners.
• On the season, Mariano Rivera has thrown 6.1 innings over six appearances. He has allowed 3 hits and no runs or walks while striking out seven. He has five saves. Rivera did not pick up his fifth save last season until May 3 when he was 0-2 with two blown saves. What a difference a year makes.

The Yanks are now 8-7, and the sky isn’t falling. They’re one game out of first and are playing better as a team. It’s funny how fan attitudes can shift after seeing the team go from a 1-2 weekend in Boston to a 2-0 swing through Tampa. It’s a marathon, folks, not a sprint, and today was another good leg of the race.