Yankees Defeat Red Sox 3-2 Thanks To Dramatics From Jason Giambi

The New York Yankees avoided a three game sweep from the Boston Red Sox by defeating them 3-2 in the Bronx this afternoon thanks to a bases-loaded single from Jason Giambi in the ninth inning.

The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in dramatic fashion this afternoon in the Bronx thanks to Jason Giambi's heroics. They avoided a three-game sweep from the 2007 champions by tying the game in the seventh inning with a pinch-hit two-run homer from the Giambino. If they lost the game, they would be trailing the Red Sox by eight games instead of six. The Yanks have 29 regular season games remaining in their schedule. New York has a regular season record of 71-62 while the Red Sox are at 77-56 with today's loss. Mike Mussina pitched for the Yankees today. He hurled a good game going seven innings. The Moose gave up six hits total as Boston scored both of their runs in the fifth inning. Mussina gave up an RBI single to Jason Varitek and a run-scoring groundout to Jacoby Ellsbury. MSG.com reports the following from the game regarding Boston pitcher Jon Lester: ''New York was unable to do much of anything off Boston starter Jon Lester, who allowed one run and six hits in 6 2/3 sharp innings but had thrown 118 pitches after Cody Ransom doubled to left in the seventh.'' Mariano Rivera is now 5-5 after winning the game for the Yankees. He pitched 1 1/3 innings. Derek Jeter contributed three hits as well. The Bronx Bombers had a chance for a big inning in the sixth after getting two runners on with nobody out but they failed to score off Lester. Manager Terry Francona lifted Lester with two out and one runner on in the seventh for reliever Hideki Okajima. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi made a move of his own by sending up Giambi to bat for Jose Molina. Giambi fouled off the first pitch but sent the second pitch over the center field wall to tie the score 2-2. MSG.com reports what happened in the ninth inning that led to Giambi's heroics: ''Xavier Nady led off the ninth with a single and was lifted for Gardner, whole stole second with one out. Boston rookie Justin Masterson (4-4) issued an intentional walk to Hideki Matsui and also walked Ivan Rodriguez before being replaced by All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon.'' Papelbon tried to strike out Giambi with fastballs. The Giambino took two straight fastballs from the Bo Sox's hard-throwing reliever but he smashed the next pitch into center field to score Gardner with the winning run. One of the reasons the Yankees lost the series to the Red Sox was this statistic: 3-22 with runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, this has been one of the major problems all year for the Yankees: their failure to get the big hit with runners on base. What good is getting 12 hits in a game if you only score 2 or 3 runs? I refer to Jason Giambi as the Giambino because I'm borrowing the expression from Yankees radio announcer John Sterling. When Giambi hits a home run, Sterling always refers to him as the Giambino.