The New York Yankees have started their second half of the season very nicely, completing a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers by beating them 2-1 on Sunday. It was another nice pitching matchup, this time between Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees and Edwin Jackson of the Tigers. On Saturday, the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia and the Tigers' Justin Verlander pitched a very good game as well, which resulted in a Yankees 2-1 win as well. The two runs for the Yankees came on solo home runs from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixiera. The Tigers got their lone run on a solo home run from Clete Thomas.
The Yankees sweep of the Tigers, combined with the Red Sox loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, brings the Yankees to only a game behind the Red Sox in the AL East division. The Red Sox and Yankees own the two best records in the American League altogether, and they're only behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors. The Yankees easily could've been ahead of the Red Sox, however, if they would've just taken a couple of games from the Red Sox this year. They're currently 0-8 against them so far.
Barring a collapse, I expect the Yankees to be back in the playoffs. The Yankees and Red Sox will both be in the playoffs because one of them will win the division and the other will win the Wild Card. The Yankees have to find a way to beat the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who are currently leading the AL West division. The way they've been playing against both teams, they will not see any success in the playoffs at all.
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