Yanks Have High Tex Drive: Bombers Broom BoSox | Mike Gwizdala's Blog

The New York Yankees gave Mark Teixeira an eight year contract this off-season. Meanwhile the Boston Red Sox have used eight first basemen this year alone. If this weekend's four game sweep didn't indicate who got the better dividends of that deal, then one must believe in the words of CC Sabathia that, "the best is yet to come."

The man who delivered the early winning go-ahead RBI single in the third inning Saturday, came up in the eighth inning of Sunday's contest and taught a physics lesson to young Daniel Bard that if you throw the ball straight and hard to Mark Teixeira it quickly leaves the yard.

With two outs Teixeira connected for this 29th off Bard, just after Johnny Damon had tied the game against Bard with his 21st on the 2009 campaign. With those two homers, Damon and Teixeira broke a team record with six back-to-back HR's in a season, passing Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig who all had five, giving the Yankees back the lead.

For the Red Sox who hadn't led or scored a run in 31 innings since Casey Kotchman hit a two run shot in the top of the fourth off of Joba Chamberlain to go up 3-1 on Thursday, one has to wonder if Manager Terry Francona doesn't regret not putting in closer Jonathan Papelbon to get a four out save after not using him the previous contest.

Before both bullpens buckled, this game "shockingly" saw another pitcher's duel. Jon Lester and Andy Pettitte were very efficient, tossing seven innings of solid ball, taking the game down to the wire.

However Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees cracked through first in the seventh, hitting his 21st bomb of the year, a solo job off of Lester, making it 1-0 Yanks.

The Sox shot right back in the eighth with a two-run jolt off the bat of Victor Martinez, his 17th of the 2009 campaign off reliever Phil Coke, which put Boston out front 2-1.

But it was the Yankees who were able to cue up the dramatics in their half of the frame with the consecutive clouts, coupled with Nick Swisher tacking on some insurance runs with a two-run single of his own off Hideki Okajima.

After that it was all a formality as Mariano Rivera locked down his 32nd save, good enough for a 5-2 Yankees victory.

With the win the Yanks have now taken four in a row from the BoSox in perhaps their biggest sweep of importance since taking a five game series at Fenway Park in 2006. Hence the Yankees have the best record in baseball while the Sox have sunk into a tie with the Texas Rangers for the AL Wild Card.

And while the Yanks may have sent the Sox a "Tex-message" after Boston had their number early on this season, they know that even with a season high 6 1/2 game divisional lead, it is still August, time to take on Toronto today... first things first.