Oooh, baby. Well, what did you expect? The Sox to go down easily? Not likely. Mike Mussina was considerably sharper than he was in Game One, but Tim Wakefield was even better as the Sox edged the Bombers, 3-2. Tom Boswell noted in his column today that:

You could almost see Joe suppressing the most famous of all baseball sayings about knucklers: “Everyone knows there are two ways to hit a knuckleball. Unfortunately, neither of them works.”

Mussina, who has lost all three games he’s started this post season expressed himself after the game. According to the Boston Globe:

Asked if he felt helpless watching the Yankees lineup struggle against Wakefield’s knucklers, Mussina said, “Completely. I can only control 60 feet 6 inches. That’s it. I’m doing my job the best I can. The other stuff has to be attended to by other people, not me.”

…”We always seem to do OK when I don’t pitch, so let the other guys have it and we’ll win the series and we’ll move on.”

Both teams squandered scoring opportunities, which resulted in a frustrating night for both Boston and New York fans. Jason Giambi couldn’t come through with runners in scoring position again. He lined out hard into a double play in the first inning, and that proved to be a sign of things to come. Nomar Garciaparra continues his post season slump as well.

Trot Nixon and Todd Walker and Ruben Sierra hit solo homers, and the winning run scored when Jason Varitek beat out a double play. The pivot was botched by Alfonso Soriano. Another fielding mistake cost the Yankees and now the Serious is tied.

Game Five comes late this afternoon in the harsh Fenway Park shadows with Boomer Wells going against Derek Lowe. Wells, who has been a big-game pitcher for the Yanks, has historically faired poorly in Boston, while Derek Lowe enjoys a comfortable home field advantage.