http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070914&content_id=2207452&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb (不會縮網址) 09/14/2007 2:05 PM ET Beckett, Wang face off at Fenway in AL East showdown BOSTON -- Here come the Yankees. This time, a series charged by regional loyalties and division title repercussions comes with an awards-season jolt. The drama continues at 3:55 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, in the second to last Red Sox-Yankees game of the regular season. Cy Young candidates Josh Beckett and Chien-Ming Wang will take the mound, each seeking to scrape out his 19th win at the expense of the other. [註] repercussions 1.彈回;反衝 2.後果;影響 jolt 1.搖動;顛簸 2.令人震驚的事 mound 投手的踏板 scrape out 1.刮落,擦去,削掉 2.挖出;挖成 Their 18 victories co-lead the majors. Each of the other playoff contenders features at least one ace in the running for the award. Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia, Los Angeles' Kelvim Escobar and Detroit's Justin Verlander all have 17 wins and sub-3.50 ERAs. The Indians' Fausto Carmona and the Angels' John Lackey have won 16 games. For now, the buzz surrounds Beckett and Wang, aces of two of the Majors' most dynamic teams. Without Wang, the Yankees almost surely would not lead the American League Wild Card race. Without Beckett, the Red Sox rotation, thanks to injuries and recent underperformance, might be falling apart at the seams. [註] buzz 流傳;謠言 嘈雜的聲音 underperformance 不好的表現 But Beckett's sturdy, consistent performance in 2007, powered by 18 quality starts, has frayed against the Bronx Bombers. No team has given Beckett more fits this year. The Yankees have pounded 30 hits against him in 19 2/3 innings, running up an average of .353. They have walked six times and scored 13 runs. Wang has faced the Sox four times this year, with much better results. Despite allowing 36 baserunners in 25 innings, he is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA against Boston , numbers bolstered by his last start. He took a no-hitter into the seventh at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 30, eventually beating the Red Sox with seven innings of one-hit ball. [註] sturdy 1.健壯的,結實的;健康的 2.堅決的 fray 使緊張 Meanwhile, fans know that the weekend series is about more than the Cy Young race. "Boston is a team that we're going to have to see, I think, more than these three games," said Roger Clemens. "When you have two teams that are very good at what they do fighting for the same thing, it always makes for some excitement." After a late loss to Toronto on Thursday night, New York entered the series 5 1/2 games back in the AL East race. They had run off a spectacular 41-20 record since the All-Star break. With Boston threatening to shrink its magic number into the single digits, the Yankees had no margin for error. They have taken a very long road back. [註] threatening 脅迫的;險惡的 shrink 1.收縮,縮短 2.變小,變少 margin 1.邊緣 2.限度 "We need to keep grinding it out," New York outfielder Johnny Damon said. "The good thing about being in the situation that we were in is that we had to grind it out for a number of months in an airtight atmosphere. We're starting to feel like it's closer, but we can't take it for granted." "It's not a time to pat ourselves on the back," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But the fact that we're in a position now to decide our own destiny, I think, has been great. It's very satisfying that we've got into this routine of coming to work every day. It's really paying off for us." Meanwhile, new faces abound in the first meeting of the archrivals at Fenway since June 3. They have played significant roles on both sides of the race: from New York's Joba Chamberlain, who still sports an ERA of 0.00 after 16 big-league innings, to Boston's Clay Buchholz, who threw a surprise no-hitter on Sept. 1. [註] grinding out 持續累積 "This is my first one," says Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who was toiling at Triple-A Pawtucket during the last Sox-Yankees series. "I'm excited for it. I've only seen [the Yankees] and heard about them on TV, but to be a part of it is a totally different story." Ellsbury is batting .400 (16-for-40) since he was recalled from Pawtucket on Sept. 1, hitting safely in all 11 games since the rosters expanded. The hit parade includes three doubles, a triple and three homers. He homered only twice in 436 at-bats between Double-A Portland and Pawtucket this season. Trends, rosters, awards -- they all go out the window during Red Sox-Yankees. What really matters, at this point in the season, are wins. [註] toil 辛苦,勞累 --

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