Game 150 - Joba Terrible, Again

Joba Chamberlain once again stunk up the joint and the Yankee bats took a Sunday sabbatical, as the Mariners won 7-1. Joba got roughed for all 7 runs in his 3 innings of "work". The Yanks re-opened their favorite charity, Help an Aging Slugger, with Ken Griffey, Jr. going deep and driving in 4 runs.

Meanwhile, the Yankee offense was nothing but offensive to the senses. They managed 5 hits - 3 by Mark Teixeira. This against Ian Snell, who's ERA soars over 5.00. With the loss, the Yanks were not able to clinch a playoff berth and will have to go to Anaheim for 3 games to try and clinch at least a wild card berth. In the mean time, the Red Sox continue to win as they are heating up at the right time before the playoffs. The Yanks are stuck in win one, lose one rut for the past week.

It wasn't all bad for the Yanks. Sergio Mitre relieved Joba and held the M's to 1 hit in 5 innings. Also, the creepy and feminine Ichiro Suzuki went hitless.

Yankees Record: 95-55

Game 149 - Sabathia, Tex Lead Yanks in Blowout

CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira put the Yanks previous night's rare blip behind them, as they cruised to a 10-1 pasting of the Seattle Mariners. Crooked Cap tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 8 and Tex went 4-5 with 2 HRs and a triple while knocking in 5 runs. With a chance for a cycle in the 9th, all Tex needed was a double. Instead, he deposited the ball over the left center field fence.

Tex has also turned into "Triples McGee" as he hit his 3rd in 5 games after having no triples all of last season and none up till 5 games ago. He leads the American League with 118 RBIs. Robinson Cano also had 4 hits in the Yankees 18-hit attack. ARod and Nick Swisher were the only Yankees who didn't join the hit party.

Sabathia earned his league leading 18th win, as the Bombers 2 biggest off-season acquisitions continued to pay huge dividends. He now stands at 18-7 on the year with an ERA standing at 3.31. CC has won 8 straight games and the Yanks have won in his last 10 starts. Despite leading the league in wins, Kansas City's Zach Greinke appears to be the odds-on favorite to win the Cy Young award. Due to his past issues with an anxiety disorder, he's become the media darling. Granted, his numbers are pretty impressive and his ERA is microscopic, but he does pitch in the highly mediocre AL Central Division, whereas, CC pitches in the toughest division in baseball. I'd be interested to see how well Greinke's numbers would translate in the AL East. He hasn't even faced the Yanks this year. He did finally pitch against Boston and pitched a great game, perhaps sealing the award.

Yankees Record: 95-54

Game 148 - Rivera Blows Game

AJ Burnett finally showed up and pitched 7 solid innings, holding Seattle to 1 run as he turned a 2-1 lead over to the bullpen. He even picked off the napping Ichiro Suzuki twice off of first base. Phil Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th inning, and as it's drafted up, turned the ball over to the great Mariano Rivera to finish up the game. It didn't happen.

Mo looked unhittable for 2 batters, striking them out both, but then lost the game on 2 pitches. He allowed a double to the feeble, decrepit Mike Sweeney, who hasn't played a 100 games in a season since 2005. And then, to my horror, he allowed the girl softball leadoff hitter, Suzuki, to turn on an inside cutter and drill it into the RF seats for the game-winning HR, giving Seattle an improbable 3-2 victory. Why can't this girly slap-hitter do this more often? I might almost respect him if he did. Nah, probably not.

Suzuki's still the only major leaguer I've ever seen lay on the ground for 5 minutes after being hit in the back with a pitch from my hero, Hideo Nomo. I saw Tino Martinez take a 98-mph heater from Armando Benitez in 1998 that touched off an ugly brawl against Baltimore, and he didn't crumple to the ground like nancy-boy Suzuki did.

It was Mo's first blown save since his Boston debacle in April. He recorded a career high 36 straight saves.

Yankees Record: 94-54

Blown Games: 8

Game 147 - Cervelli Wins It With a Walkoff

Cooler heads prevailed, as the Yanks and Blue Jays played a clean 9-inning game without any incident (although Robinson Cano was HBP). 3rd string catcher, Francisco Cervelli, helped the Yanks split the 2-game series with a walkoff single to score Brett Gardner in the bottom of the 9th. The genius brawler, Jorge Posada, began his 3-game suspension, as he also nurses a stiff neck.

Things looked grim for the Yanks, as they trailed 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th. As they've done all season though, they fought back, with Hideki Matsui hitting a tying 2-run shot off of lefty Scott Downs. Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless 9th and would improve to 3-2 on the season. Gardner led off the bottom of the 9th with a single and stole second. He moved to third on a Derek Jeter groundout before Cervelli's game-winning heroics. Gardner's legs also helped the Yanks beat the Angels earlier in the week. The Yanks finished their 9-game homestand 6-3.

Yankees Record: 94-53

Game 146 - Idiot Posada Starts Brawl as Yanks Are Crushed

The playoffs are within the Yankees sights, but Jorge Posada, perhaps the dumbest player on the team, decided to start a bench clearing brawl against the Toronto Blue Jays with the Yanks getting blown out. Earlier in the game, Yankee pitchers hit 2 Jays, including their star 2B, Aaron Hill, scare in the back. Toronto reliever, Jesse Carlson, taking exception for his teammates, threw a warning pitch that went well behind Posada in the 8th inning. Dummy Posada, instead of realizing the situation and perhaps accepting the warning, began yelling out at Carlson, saying "you don't want to go there". Jorge needs a reality check.

With the Yanks getting pummeled 9-2 at that point, and nothing to gain against a team trying to get through the season, Posada gave Carlson a slight elbow as he came in to score on a Brett Gardner double. Posada was promptly tossed, but he came after Carlson who had some choice words for him. That set off the brawl. Yankee fans would have loved it if Derek Jeter broke a finger or CC Sabathia injured his shoulder in a needless fracas 2+ weeks from the playoffs. How great would that have been? I'm all for brawls, but let's do this in July or August and against the Red Sox, Rays or Angels. Not when you're on the brink of making the playoffs against a team that has nothing to lose.

As for the game, the Bombers allowed Yankee killer, Roy Halladay, off the hook repeatedly, despite touching him up for 11 hits in 6 innings. Sergio Mitre was God-awful, serving up 4 dingers and 7 runs in 5 innings as the Blue Jays pounded the Yanks to a the tune of 10-4. I wonder how Joe Girardi turned that into a positive spin in his post game comments. Toronto was led by Travis Snyder, who mixed in 2 HRs around 3 strikeouts.

Yankees Record: 93-53

Game 145 - Gardner Beats Angels at Their Own Game

After Phil Hughes allowed the Angels to tie the game in the top of the 8th, it was Brett Gardner who helped the Yanks to avoid finding a way to lose, yet again, to their nemesis. In the bottom of the frame, Gardner pinch ran for Mark Teixeira at 2B, stole third and came home on catcher Mike Napoli's throwing error. ARod, who also stole second on the play, went to third and scored on a Robinson Cano single to make the score 5-3. Mariano Rivera came on the 9th to record his 40th save, the 7th time in his career he's reached that mark.

Tex paced the Bomber offense with 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Nick Swisher had a rare Yankee Stadium HR and Joba Chamberlain pitched well in his abbreviated stint. Joba went 4 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run on a Vlad Guerrero dinger. He didn't walk a batter while striking out 2.

This was a makeup game for an early season rainout. The Yanks have won a number of games this season on their way to the playoffs, but have struggled mightily against the Angels since the Joe Torre era began in 1996. Joe Girardi also had a losing record against the Angels last season. The Yanks were swept in Anaheim in a 3-game set right before the All Star break.

Yankees Record: 93-52

Game 144 - Yanks Pull One Out Against Mighty Baltimore

CC Sabathia won his league-leading 17th game, despite looking average against a bunch of no-name Baltimore players, in the Yankees 13-3 smackdown. The Yanks won despite leaving men on 3B with less than 2 outs all game long, with Mark Teixeira being the main offender, striking out once and hitting back to the pitcher twice in 3 chances.

Johnny Damon also embarrassed himself when he forgot how many outs there were. After making a catch, he nearly threw the ball into the stands with a runner on 2B. Realizing his mistake, he threw the ball in, but too late - the runner scored on the gaffe. Something tells me this team is just coasting into the playoffs and that is a dangerous sign. Joe Girardi cannot be pleased.

The game was actually close for awhile until the Bombers scored a huge 8-spot against the ghastly Oriole bullpen. Hideki Matsui paced the team with 5 RBIs, including a 3-run shot. Melky Cabrera also knocked in 4 runs.

Yankees Record: 92-52

Game 143 - Has Anyone Seen AJ Burnett?

For 1 inning, AJ Burnett looked like absolute crap again, getting lit up for 6 runs against Balitmore, as the Yanks lost 7-2 in another lackluster performance. Absolute Joke was smacked around in the 2nd inning, getting embarrassed by giving hits to recent Oriole call ups before Brian Roberts tagged him for a grand slam.

Burnett would recover and throw zeroes the rest of the way through the 7th - which he should be doing against a team playing out the season’s string with a lot of young ballplayers. Burnett’s inconsistency these past 2 months has to be a minor cause for concern in Yankeeland. Except for his 1 hit performance against Boston in the 15-inning marathon game against Boston and 12 Ks against Texas, he has looked God awful, posting only 1 win since July 28th. In the meantime, Boston’s starting pitching looks like it’s rounding into form just in time for the playoffs. I’m not liking the smell of this. Should the Yanks consider making Andy Pettitte the Game 2 starter in the playoffs?

Yankees Record: 91-52

Game 142 - Jeter Sets Record in Humiliating Loss

Derek Jeter went 2-4, passing the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, for the Yankees all time hit record, but other than that, there wasn’t much for Yankee fans to celebrate during a wet night. The game was delayed twice - before the game and before the 7th inning, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of a young Baltimore team as it smacked the Yanks, 10-4.

Andy Pettitte pitched 5 innings and left with a 4-3 lead. Damaso Marte and Edwar Ramirez got lit up for 7 runs in their brief, but terrible relief performances. But the loss and weather didn’t stop the Yankees and their fans from celebrating Jeter’s feat. The Captain broke the record in the 3rd inning when he slapped a single past the 1B into the rightfield corner. The Yankees came out of the dugout and hugged their teammate to share in his special moment. Yankee fans cheered long and loud for him as once again, he tipped his helmet to the adoring horde.

With the loss, I doubt this game will ever make Yankee Classics on the YES Network. I don’t believe the Yankees have ever lost a game in their Classics. I guess it will have to settle as a “Yankee Classic Moment”.

Yankees Record: 91-51

Game 141 - Jeter Ties the Iron Horse; Oh, and the Yankees Win, Too

The Captain was stuck in an 0-12 slump. Nothing major, but in NY, everything gets magnified as everyone waited with baited breath for Derek Jeter to pick up his quest for Lou Gehrig's all time Yankee hit record. Jeter didn't wait long, bunting for a hit in the first inning. He grounded out in his 2nd at bat, but hit a deep ground-rule double, fittingly, into Monument Park in his next turn at the plate, leaving him 1 behind the Iron Horse. He didn't waste any time to tie him. In his 4th plate appearance, Jeter slapped a single into RF, tying the legend and sending the crowd into a frenzy. The Captain, tying another Yankee Captain, doffed his helmet twice to acknowledge the adoring fans. His teammates came out of the dugout to cheer him and Tampa Bay even applauded from the top steps of their dugout.

Despite all the excitement, the Yanks found themselves losing 2-0 after 7 innings to rookie Jeff Niemann, who pitched brilliantly and deserved a better fate. Tampa Bay's manager, Joe Maddon, appeared to be terrified to take out Niemann, bringing him out again for the 8th. ARod led off with a single, and that was it for Niemann. In a strange move, the overrated and supposed "genius" Maddon brought in righty Lance Cormier to face the lefty hitting Matsui despite having his lefty, Brian Shouse in the bullpen. Matsui is 2-14 lifetime against Shouse. Matsui made them pay with a single, sending ARod to 3B. Nick Swisher then hit a grounder to first and 1B Chris Richard threw the ball into LF trying to force the runner at 2B. ARod scored their 1st run and the Yanks still had runners at the corners with no outs.

The "genius" Maddon finally brought in Shouse to face Robinson Cano. Of course, Cano choked brutally, striking out with the tying run on third. Jorge Posada was coming to the plate to pinch hit for Brett Gardner, who already failed twice to bring in a run from third base. For some strange reason, again, Maddon took out the lefty Shouse and brought in righty, Grant Balfour, to switch Posada around at the plate. 2 things - 1. Posada was 3-3 lifetime against Balfour and 2. Why would you have anyone turn around to bat left-handed at Yankee Stadium? Posada is now 4-4, as he deposited a full count pitch into the RF seats for a 3-run blast, giving the Yanks a 4-2 lead and eventually, the win.

In all the excitement, Joba Chamberlain had another unimpressive 3 inning, 2 run performance. He gave up a homer to Jason Bartlett (under high suspicion) to start the game and gave up another run in the 1st. The Captain appeared to give Joba a lecture on the mound, and wouldn't you know it, Joba responded with 2 Ks and ended up retiring his last 8 batters. The Yankee bullpen was outstanding, tossing 6 hitless innings. Alfredo Aceves tossed 3 innings, Jonathan Albaladejo pitched 2. Brian Bruney, not Mariano Rivera or Phil Hughes, came out in the 9th. He walked Evan Longoria to lead off the inning, but retired the next 2 batters. Joe Girardi brought in Phil Coke for the final out, and he struck out Gabe Kapler to pick up his 2nd save of the season.

But this night belongs to Derek Jeter. And YES' Yankee Classics can continue to be undefeated in their games when they replay this night over and over again when Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse. Yankee fans and Jeter will have to wait till Friday to break the record and stand alone as the All Time Yankee Hit King.

Yankees Record: 91-50

Photos Courtesy of AP and Yahoo! Sports

Game 140 - Swisher Wins it With Walkoff HR

Nick Swisher earned the pie. After connecting for his 2nd HR of the game, from both sides of the plate, Swisher earned the walkoff pie treatment that AJ Burnett has made the new tradition this season. It was the 13th walkoff for the Bombers this year. The HR just barely cleared the RF wall and gave the Yanks a 3-2 win over the reeling Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankee starter, Chad Gaudin, pitched a helluva ballgame, going 6+ innings and only giving up Evan Longoria's dinger to lead off the 7th frame. Manager Joe Girardi played with fire, letting Gaudin go out in the 7th with no one warming up in the pen. After Longoria's solo shot, Gaudin allowed a single and walk without retiring anyone. Girardi would mix and match Damaso Marte, Brian Bruney and Phil Coke to record 1 out each and get out of the jam.

Phil Hughes came on in the 8th and allowed the much improved, albeit, highly suspicious Jason Bartlett, to tie the game with a solo blast, stunning the stadium crowd. Hughes has been so good this year, it was his first blown save. Mariano Rivera pitched a quiet 9th, setting up Swisher's heroics. With the win, the Yanks magic number is down to 15.

Derek Jeter's quest to catch Lou Gehrig stalled again, taking another 0-4 collar. He is now a season-high 0-12 since returning from the road trip.

Yankees Record: 90-50

Game 139 - Yanks Complete the Doubleheader Sweep

The Yanks demonstrated yet again, why capitalism shall always overcome socialism. In the second game of the twin bill, the Bombers took the Tampa Bay Rays behind the woodshed and laid a beating on them, drubbing them to a tune of 11-1. The penny-pinching, cost saving, frugal and just outright cheap Rays dropped their 7th straight and probably flushed any chances at a wildcard berth, falling 7.5 games back of the Sawx. The Rays recently traded one of their better pitchers in Scott Kazmir and their bullpen has reeked all season of cutting corners with the payroll. Why the Rays management would skimp on such a talented team all season defies belief and I would imagine making it very hard to root for such a team.

Early, it appeared AJ Burnett's recent struggles were not behind him, as he was hit hard in the 1st inning, giving up 2 doubles as the Rays jumped out to a 1-0 lead. He quickly righted the ship and limited the Rays to only that first run, pitching 6 strong innings while striking out 8 and holding Tampa Bay to 4 hits.

Meanwhile, the Yankee offense exploded against Kazmir's replacement in the rotation, Andy Sonnanstine, in the 3rd inning. They put a huge 8-spot on the board, virtually putting the game in cruise control and allowed Joe Girardi to empty his bench and play a lot of the recent September call-ups. Every Yankee starter, with the exception of Derek Jeter, had at least a hit. Jeter, who needs 3 hits to tie Lou Gehrig for the all time Yankee hit leader, went 0-4 with a walk and 0-8 in the doubleheader. During the big 3rd inning, he made 2 of the 3 outs. Big Tex knocked 2 HRs, including one deep into Monument Park. Melky Cabrera and Jose Molina each had 3 hits apiece in the blowout. Molina reached base all 5 times, walking 2 times as well. Mysteriously, since the return of Brett Gardner began to lurk, Melky has begun hitting again. Apparently, Melky seems to need the extra motivation to keep the fire burning and produce. Let's hope the Yanks keep Gardner on the playoff roster.

Call-ups Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan "Smallest Glove in the World" Albaladejo and Michael Dunn each pitched an inning to wrap up the game. Dunn appeared to heading for another meltdown like his major league debut earlier in the week, when he walked 2 batters around an out. He settled down to K the final 2 batters, showing flashes of why this hard-throwing lefty is highly thought of in the Yankee organization. The win was Burnett's first since July, as he improved to 11-8 on the season.

Although The Captain went hitless today, he did pass Yogi Berra for 3rd on the All Time games played list in Yankee history. He just continues to reach milestones at this point in his career. There are some big names he's been passing, too. With the win, the Yanks division lead is a season-high 9 games and their magic number is down to 16.

Yankees Record: 89-50

Game 138 - Yanks Outlast Rays in Pitchers Duel in Game 1

CC Sabathia and Matt "Spitting" Garza both pitched 1-run ball for 7 innings, but neither pitcher would factor in the decision as the Yankees broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th with 3 runs to win, 4-1 in the first game of a Labor Day doubleheader. CC limited the Rays to 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 10. Garza was just as good, allowing an unearned run on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7 Bombers.

The Captain, Derek Jeter, went 0-4 as he remains 3 hits behind the immortal Lou Gehrig. ARod went 3-3 and nearly had half of the Yanks 7 hits in the game. He drove in a run with a double in the 1st inning. Robinson Cano broke the tie in the 8th with a bases loaded sac fly after the Rays intentionally walked ARod. Jorge Posada followed up with an RBI single and Eric Hinske also hit a sac fly for the final run. The Yanks finished the game 1-7 with RISP. The Captain and Cano both were 0-2.

The dominant Phil Hughes came out for the 8th inning, but made a huge mistake when he walked the speedy Carl Crawford. The Yankee bench, though, guessed correctly when they ordered a pitchout on the first pitch, and Posada nipped Crawford at 2B while Cano slapped a quick tag. Hughes would finish the inning without further trouble. Mariano Rivera made his return after a brief rest for his sore groin, and picked up his 39th save.

Mo wasn't the only one returning today. Brett Gardner, out for over a month with a broken thumb, returned and made the catch of the game when he robbed a run scoring double off the bat of Fernando Perez in the 5th. With the victory and the Red Sox loss to the Chisox, the Yanks went up 8.5 games again in 3 games. Their magic number now stands at 17. AJ Burnett is slated to start game 2 of the doubleheader.

Yankees Record: 88-50

Game 137 - Yanks Take Off for Labor Day Early

The Yankees defense and pitching apparently didn't get the word that there was a game on Sunday before their Labor Day doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, because both didn't show up in their atrocious 14-8 loss to the Blue Jays.

The Yanks committed 4 errors, with everyone in the infield accounting for one each. Jerry Hairston, Ramiro Pena and Robinson Cano each had a throwing error and Mark Teixeira booted a ball. Nick Swisher added to the comedy of errors by losing a ball in the sun in RF. Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon collided going after a ball and the pitchers would just as horrendous, walking in 2 runs and knocking in another when Josh Towers nearly killed Bronx-born Randy Ruiz when he hit him in the head.

Sergio Mitre was God-awful, giving up 11 runs, 9 earned in 4.1 innings. He quickly flushed the memory of his last brilliant start against the White Sox with this absolute dud of a performance. He couldn't get out of the 5th inning, again, as the Jays overcome a 5-4 deficit to tack on a huge 8-spot on the Yanks to go up 12-5. Mark Melancon was equally horrendous, walking in 2 runs in relief. The 3rd out of the inning alluded him, too, and Josh Towers came in relief. Pitching in his first major league game since 2007, he's the one that skulled poor Ruiz. Towers was clearly shaken up, but Ruiz was fortunate and only suffered some swelling on his face after being pulled from the game.

Offensively, the Yanks were led by Derek Jeter, playing DH, with 3 hits that put him 4 behind Lou Gehrig. Swisher hit a 2-run homer that briefly gave the Yanks a 5-4 lead. Cabrera had a 3-run shot in the 7th that merely served as window dressing on a clunker game.

Yankees Record: 87-50

Game 136 - Pettitte, Yanks Overcome Troubles

Andy Pettitte kept pitching out of trouble and the Yanks overcome a horrendous 5-19 with RISP to defeat the Blue Jays, 6-4. Pettitte, who has been superb since the All Star break, walked 5 and gave up 4 runs in 6 innings of work. He also benefitted from a replay reversal in the 2nd inning when Randy Ruiz hit a deep drive down the LF line in the second. Originally ruled a homer, the umps reviewed it and rightfully called it foul. Ruiz would still get his HR though, connecting off Pettitte 2 innings later in the 4th.

The Yankee offense put 21 runners reach base, but if there's been a weak spot this season, it's their inability to hit with RISP. They left 14 men on base. Nick Swisher single-handedly left 8 men on in his 5 at bats. Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano each had a solo HR. Cano went 3-4 and his buddy, Melky Cabrera went 2-4 with 2 RBIs. The Captain had 2 more hits as he inched closer to the Yankee hit record. He now needs 7 to tie Lou Gehrig.

The Yankee bullpen threw 3 scoreless innings to wrap up the victory. David Robertson, Brian Bruney and Phil Hughes continued their dominance out of the pen, allowing no hits. Hughes struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced, earning his 3rd save while Mariano Rivera nurses his sore groin.

With the win, Pettitte improved to 13-6 on the season and now has 191 wins as a Yankee, trailing only Whitey Ford and Red Ruffing. The Bosox lost to the White Sox, as the Bombers stretched their division lead to a season-high 8.5 games.

Yankees Record: 87-49

Game 135 - Thank God for Ramiro Pena

Joba Chamberlain tossed another unimpressive start, the Yankees defense didn't show up in the first inning, and the Yankee hitters didn't show up at all, as Yankee killer extraordinaire, Roy Halladay, pitched a complete game 1-hit shutout in the Blue Jays 6-0 win.

Joba lasted 3 innings under the "Joba Rules", surrendering 3 runs, 2 earned on 6 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 2. He routinely fell behind batters again and needed 59 pitches to finish his short work. Meanwhile, his defense absolutely fell asleep in the first inning. RF Eric Hinske didn't go back far enough on a ball hit by Aaron Hill and let it go off his glove. As is the norm in baseball, it was ruled a double. Rarely will an OF be charged an error if he's moving on a catchable ball. Later in the inning, SS Ramiro Pena let a grounder go through his legs for an error and allowed the 3rd run of the inning to come around and score. Joba probably should have escaped that inning unscathed.

The Yankee hitters, though, easily were worse than their fielding. Halladay retired 14 straight Yanks to start the game before Jorge Posada worked a 2-out walk in the 5th. Pena finally broke up the no-hit bid with 1-out in the 6th when he laced a clean double down the RF line. Halladay may have been a little rattled, because he walked Hinske and Tex to load the bases with ARod coming to the plate. Down 4-0 at the time, it would be the at bat that determined the game and killed the Yanks last shot. ARod struck out looking. Thank God Pena played in the stead of a resting Derek Jeter. I shudder to think that Halladay may have actually had his no-hitter in The Captain did play. Since his torrid August, he's gone 3-17 in his last 4 games and apparently has a very minor "pinky" issue according to Yankee announcer, Michael Kay.

The Yanks, though, were able to lower their magic number to 21 when the Bosox were mopped up by the Chisox, 12-2. Boston's latest reclamation project, Paul Byrd, was knocked out by the 3rd inning. Good thing the game was played in Chicago - the White Sox were up 12-1 after 4 innings. I'm sure if the game was played in Boston, the Red Sox would have pulled some miracle game out of their ass. Texas beat Baltimore and trails the Sawx by 2 games in the wildcard race.

Yankees Record: 86-49

Game 134 - Jorge Joins the 20-Club and Leads Yanks to 7th Straight

Jorge Posada led the Yanks to their 7th straight win, going 4-5 with a HR and 4 RBIs in a 10-5 victory over the hapless Blue Jays. He became the 7th Yankee this season to hit 20 or more HRs, breaking the team record set in 1961 and 2004. The Yanks jumped out 4-0 in the first inning against rookie, Ricky Romero, and never looked back. Even with Yankee starter, Chad Gaudin, only going 3.2 innings after tiring in the 4th inning and giving up 3 runs, the Bombers were able to keep the offensive pressure on Toronto.

Alfredo Aceves picked up his 10th win, restoring order in the 4th by striking out Adam Lind with runners on 1st and 2nd. He tossed 2.1 innings, giving up 2 runs, 1 earned in the 6th. David Robertson, Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte each pitched a scoreless frame. ARod also paced the offense, going 2-4 with 2 RBIs.

With the win, the Yanks magic number to clinch the division is now 22. Derek Jeter went hitless in his pursuit of Lou Gehrig for the Yanks All Time hits.

Yankees Record: 86-48

Game 133 - CC, ARod Help Yanks Sweep Baltimore

The Yankees highest paid pitcher, CC Sabathia, limited Baltimore to 1 run in 7 innings, and their highest paid position player, ARod, went 3-5 with 4 RBIs to lead the team to a 10-2 victory and sweep over the sad-sack Orioles. Crooked Cap allowed a 1st inning run on a bunt single, a check-swing single and a SF by Nick Markakis. He got into more trouble in the 2nd when he loaded the bases on 3 singles with 1 out. He struck out the next 2 batters to escape the jam and finished up with 9 Ks. He improved to 16-7 on the season and leads the AL in wins.

For a while, it appeared the Yanks were going to waste CC's effort, as they struggled to come through with a big hit against Jason Berken, who came into the game with an unsightly 6.33 ERA. For 5.1 innings, Berken allowed 8 hits and 2 walks, but the Yanks left men all over the place. Only Eric Hinske's HR, his 2nd in 2 days, kept the game tied at 1 till ARod broke the tie with a 2-run single in the 7th.

To my horror, Brian Bruney came out for the 8th inning. Mariano Rivera was unavailable after saving the previous 2 games as Joe Girardi was saving Phil Hughes for the 9th. Why not a 2-inning save? Bruney didn't disappoint in scaring Yankee fans everywhere, allowing a 1-out dinger to Nolan Reimold to bring the Orioles within 1. Girardi, like Yankee fans everywhere, had seen enough, and brought in Phil Coke. He retired Markakis and Girardi brought in Hughes to get the last out of the inning.

In the top of the 9th, the Yanks erupted for 7 runs on 7 singles and 2 walks. Unlike last night, when they scored 8 of their 9 runs via the long ball, only 1 of the 10 runs tonight came on a HR. For the game, they pounded out 17 hits. Johnny Damon led the way with 4 hits. Robinson Cano, who's been absolutely en fuego, had 2 more hits, tying the Yankee record for hits in a season at Camden Yards with 17. He shares the record with Alfonso Soriano.

Phil Hughes struck out the Oriole side in the bottom of the 9th for his 2nd save. With the win, the Yanks moved 7.5 games over Boston, who lost to Tampa. Josh Beckett tossed another unimpressive game and was on the hook for the loss, but Boston tied it in the 8th before their bullpen coughed up 3 runs in the 8-5 loss.

Yankees Record: 85-48

Game 132 - Yanks Overcome (A)nother (J)unker From Burnett

The Yanks hit 5 long balls to overcome an Atrocious Job from AJ Burnett in their 9-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Burnett flushed 2 leads in his 5.1 innings of work, blowing leads of 3-1 and 5-3, despite 2 HRs from Jorge Posada and a 2-run shot from the hot-hitting Robinson Cano. Burnett was roughed up for 11 hits and 2 walks while only striking out 2. He's winless in his last 7 starts, going 0-4, and has allowed 31 runs in 42.1 innings of work while watching his ERA climb from 3.53 to 4.29.

Posada gave the Bombers their second lead with his 2nd blast of the game in the 5th inning. Burnett quickly flushed it in the bottom of the 5th when he surrendered a 3-run shot to Luke Scott that barely stayed fair down the rightfield line. Amazingly enough, Joe Girardi allowed Burnett to come out again in the 6th inning after ARod tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the frame - the only run that came in for the Yanks not via the long ball. AJ was pulled after Teixeira made an error on a throw from ARod.

The Pinstripers pulled out in front to stay on a 2-run shot from Nick Swisher and Eric Hinske followed up with a solo shot of his own in the 7th. Swisher now has 13 HRs in 26 career games at Camden Yards. According to Kim Jones of the YES Network, he has 4 HRs at Camden this season and only 3 at Yankee Stadium. Go figure.

Damaso Marte relieved Burnett and tossed a scoreless inning to pick up his first win this season. He's thrown 3.1 shutout innings since his return from the DL. David Robertson, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera finished out the game, with Mo picking up his league-leading 38th save.

Burnett's performance has to create some concern for the Yankees brass. He's been touched up for double digit hits in 3 of his last 7 starts. Of course, the Yanks can look at his 1-hit performance against the Bosox in the 15-inning marathon and he only allowed 2 hits last start against Texas to feel better about themselves, but they may want to take a long look at Andy Pettitte for the #2 spot in the playoffs if Burnett continues to produce inconsistent performances.

Yankees Record: 84-48