Joba earns first win since August 6 as Yanks crusie past Red Sox

While beating the Red Sox always makes for interesting storylines of its own, tonight’s game produced two occurrences of note:

1) Joba Chamberlain pitched well. If anything, Chamberlain may have been hampered by the long innings the Yankees had at the plate, but he pitched six innings completely and used only 86 pitches to get there. It wasn’t the best start anyone has ever had, but it was a marked improvement from his disaster start in Seattle.

One start does not mean that all concerns about Joba are alleviated, but it does mean that a game four LCS start is not necessarily a lost cause.

2) Melky Cabrera took Jon Lester out with a liner off of the plant leg. Officially, it’s a contusion on the quadriceps, but every fan of the Red Sox has got to be concerned–Lester appeared to be in serious pain, and he is easily one of the two best Red Sox pitchers (though he didn’t pitch like it tonight.)

The Yankee offense has Alex Rodriguez to thank tonight–his four RBI ended up as the difference in the final 9-5 score.

It should also be mentioned that the Yankees ran roughshod over Boston’s defense, stealing bases at will and not even coming close to getting caught. If the Red Sox have to contend with the Angels’ running game in October, this may not be a good omen.

The Yankees have reduced their magic number to three–the same as Boston. If, however, the teams split the remaining games and Texas keeps winning, it’s actually possible that neither team clinches this weekend.