Splitting the series in Tampa was nice, but winning a series on your rival’s home turf is even sweeter. Last night, the Yankees won 14-5 against the Red Sox, which allowed them to take the series two games to one. They also ended their seven game inter-divisional road trip 4-3. Huzah! That being said, last night’s game was just a wee bit sloppy, especially for the last place Red Sox.

Despite all the runs, the real important part of this game was CC Sabathia‘s work on the mound. It was a cold night, which is never easy on pitchers, and Sabathia certainly didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled through it. Sabathia’s transformation into the Crafty Lefty™ continued in this game. I think the fastest pitch he threw all night clocked in at 90 mph, but he managed to hold the Sox to 2 runs on only 3 hits in 6 innings. The big man walked 3 and hit 2, but he never let this one get away from him, and he managed to keep the Sox off balance at the plate all night. I’m starting to believe in CC again, which leads me to believe he’ll get crushed next time out. Either way, I’m enjoying the moment, and riding the wave.

The second biggest story of the night was the terrible play by the Red Sox. Felix Doubront was plain terrible in this one. Through 2.2 innings, he threw 73 pitches, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, while only striking out one. That being said, only 3 of those runs were earned because of all the Red Sox errors on the night. Overall on the night, the Sox made 5 errors, including one by Doubront himself. The whole thing was just plain sloppy, and got tough to watch. When Doubront came out of the game, things didn’t get any better. The only reliever the Yankees didn’t score off was Burke “Boris” Badenhop, who pitched 2.2 scoreless didn’t allow Moose or Squirrel to cross the plate. Craig Breslow was the worst of the bunch, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in one inning. Thanks for coming out. Overall, the Sox walked 12 batters, although 5 of them were in the ninth inning by Mike Carp, who is not a pitcher by trade. It was kind of sad for Carp. By the end, the home plate umpire, Phil Cuzzi, was calling just about anything a strike, and Kelly Johnson popped out to end the inning on a pitch at his eyes. I think everyone just wanted to get Carp off the mound. I hope he’s grateful.

OK finally, let’s get to the Yankees offense. Any time you put up 14 runs in a game, it’s a good night. The Yankees scored 1 in the first, 3 in the second, 3 in the third, 5 in the seventh and 1 each in the eighth and ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury capped off his homecoming with 3 hits and 3 RBI, Derek Jeter had 2 hits and 2 RBI, Alfonso Soriano hit 2 doubles and Mark Teixeira hit his first home run of the year (a high fly ball off the top of the monster). Brett Gardner managed to score 3 runs, despite not getting a hit, so that’s an easy night for him. I was also happy to see the Yangervis Solarte MVP watch get back on track in this one. Solarte, who came into this game in an 0-14 slump and had bloggers everywhere giving him the 10 bell salute of death, had two big hits and 4 RBI on the night, doubling in 2 in the second and singling in 2 more in the seventh. He also continued playing very solid defense at third, which is always important.

That’s it for the Red Sox series. The Yankees are now 5-2 against the Sox this year, and 13-9 overall on the year. That’s good enough for a 1.5 game lead over the Orioles. The Sox fell back into last place because the Rays were off, but they’re only 3.5 games back of the Yankees, so all is not lost for them just yet. Tonight, the Yankees will welcome Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angels of Los Anaheim Angeles Anaheim Angels) for a three game weekend set. Here’s hoping they take another 2 of 3.