New York Yankees vs Chicago White Sox: CC Sabathia Grinds Out 16th Win

The month of July proved that when the Yankees took the field behind their ace, CC Sabathia, the game was basically theirs. Sabathia went 4-1 during the month with a 0.92 ERA, the third lowest by a Yankee in a month.  

The month of August started off with a bit of a different tone against the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Their offense started off well, as Curtis Granderson doubled and was later brought home by Robinson Cano in the first inning. By the fourth, Sabathia was given a 3-0 lead, but things did not go as smoothly as planned. Following a Juan Pierre single, Alexei Ramirez drove his 10th home run into the left-field seats, closing the gap to 3-2.

A true ace competes no matter what the situation, though, and Sabathia showed why he is their No. 1 from that home run on. His stuff was not as sharp, with a more rolling changeup and slider instead of his usual knife's-edge movement. He still battled, getting timely double plays and strikeouts through the eighth inning.

One would figure the Yankees offense would provide run support, but a pleasantly surprising and gutsy performance by Jake Peavy stifled their attempts at breaking open another game.

Peavy, who has struggled to return to his greatness of years past after an experimental shoulder surgery, provided the White Sox with a solid start, going seven innings and holding the Bombers to those three runs.  Though his stuff is reported to dramatically decline later in games, his grittiness and intensity on the mound kept his team alive.

Unfortunately for Chicago, he nor any player could help them against Mariano Rivera, who closed the door in just nine pitches.

With a Red Sox loss, the win brought the Yankees within one game of the AL East lead. If New York can hold serve in this four-game set with a split or even a series win, it should set up nicely for the first big Red Sox-Yankees series of 2011. 

Boston has owned the Yankees so far, winning all eight contests in convincing fashion.  One must figure that with the way the two teams have played thus far, however, that the the majority winner of the remainder of their head-to-head clashes may take the AL East crown.