Sabathia outduels Verlander

Pitching at its finest was on display in Yankee Stadium this afternoon. C.C Sabathia (9-6) out pitched Tiger's starter Justin Verlander (10-5), and the bombers took a 2-1 victory in a prime pitching matchup that lived up to its billing. Sabathia went seven strong, and did not surrender a run while striking out four. Verlander was the hard luck loser. He had a shutout going into the bottom of the seventh. Then Alex Rodriguez hit a popup that left the stadium in rightfield. The Yankees plated their second run on a Melky Cabrera infield single that scored Robinson Cano. The righty finished with seven innings of two run ball, and six strikeouts.

I don't think I'm alone when I say I love a great pitchers duel. In an era built around the long ball, it's great to see two craftsmen just go at it. Verlander has a chance to win the AL Cy Young Award this year - he's been that dominant (how's 155 strikeouts sound). Sabathia is also rounding into form for the Yankees - his ERA keeps creeping lower and is now at 3.66. Great pitchers duels are just good for baseball. They add a certain juice to the game, when each hurler is trying to match the other pitch for pitch. They also make the games shorter, (today's game was 2:39) which is never a bad thing.

The Yankees are now 53-37, and with the Red Sox 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays today, are just 2 games back in the AL East. The bombers go for the series sweep tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. It will be a good young pitching matchup - Joba Chamberlain (4-2) and the Tiger's Edwin Jackson (7-4).

Other notes:

• The Yankees have won 15 of 20 and are 40-22 since Rodriguez came off the disabled list on May 8 - the best record in the majors.
• New York improved to 18-5 against AL Central teams.
• A-Rod's homerun was number 571 of his career, leaving him two behind Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew for ninth place on the career list.
• Today is the 10th anniversary of David Cone's perfect game. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Yankee manager Joe Girardi, who was the catcher in that game.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)