The 2009 Yankees defeated the 1978 Yankees four games to two in their six game series. The 2K9 Yankees improved their record to 58-68 while the '78 Yankees fell to 36-30.
The 2K9 Yankees won Game One 3-2. Melky Cabrera hit two RBI doubles including one in the 7th to give them the lead. The '78 Yankees won the next two games. Thurman Munson has a double and three RBI in a 6-4 win in Game Two. In Game Three, they trailed 4-1, 6-4, and 7-6 and came back to tie the game each time. Graig Nettles hit a grand slam in the 8th to give them the lead for good in a 13-9 win; the grand slam capped off a 5-5 performance by Nettles with five RBI. The 2K9 Yankees won the final three games of the series. In Game Five, Alex Rodriguez went 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored in a 11-1 win. They clinched the series with a tight 3-2 win in the finale. All of their runs were scored on solo blasts by Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, and Rodriguez.
Jeter retook the team lead in hitting at .288 with 19 homeruns, 83 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. A Rod hit .346 in the series with three homeruns and nine RBI to raise his average to .252 with 26 homeruns, 92 RBI, 94 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases. Mark Teixeira has 18 homeruns and 76 RBI while hitting just .209. Mariano Rivera picked up his 25th save; he is 3-3 with a 2.63 ERA.
Reggie Jackson leads the '78 Yankees in hitting at .324 with 20 homeruns, 51 RBI, 51 runs scored and a 1.013 OPS. Mickey Rivers is hitting .311 with 17 stolen bases. Nettles is hitting .287 with 11 homeruns. Ron Guidry and Ed Figueroa have identical 2.50 ERAs; Guidry is 6-5 while Figueroa is 11-1. Goose Gossage has 22 saves with a 2.98 ERA. The '78 Yankees will face the 41-37 1951 Yankees in the next series.
