Sabathia on a roll heading into postseason
CC Sabathia finished his regular season on a high note, producing his third strong outing in a row Monday to lead the New York Yankees to a crucial 10-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Sabathia allowed two runs on four hits and one walk, striking out seven over eight innings. It marked Sabathia's third straight eight-inning outing, as he's given up only four runs in those 24 innings.
"I thought he threw the ball great," manager Joe Girardi said. "I thought he had all three pitches tonight, his changeup was maybe one of the better ones we've seen from him in the course of the year. That was really good to see."
Sabathia finished the regular season 15-6 with a 3.38 ERA in 28 starts. The eight-inning performance Monday gave Sabathia exactly 200 innings for the season, his sixth straight 200-inning campaign and the seventh of his career. Sabathia is also the only pitcher in the majors to record 15 victories in each of the past six seasons.
"You want to be able to say that you threw as many innings as you can," Sabathia said. "I went on the DL a couple times, and I was still able to get 200 innings, so it feels good."
The Yankees feel good about regaining sole possession of first place in the AL East. The Baltimore Orioles fell 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Rays, dropping them one game behind New York with two games to play.
