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 131 - Pettitte Nearly Perfect

Andy Pettitte loves pitching against Baltimore, as he improved his career record against them to an unbelievable 26-6 in the Bombers 5-1 win. His performance tonight was just as spectacular as his career has been against the Orioles. Pettitte was perfect for 6.2 innings till Scott Hairston, playing for a resting Arod, let a grounder go through his legs for an error in the 7th. Andy may have lost his focus, because Nick Markakis followed with an opposite-field hit on an 0-2 count to break up the no-hitter. The shutout would also disappear when Pettitte allowed a HR to Melvin Mora in the bottom of the 8th, but it didn't put a damper on his fantastic performance. He tossed 8 great innings of 2-hit ball with 0 walks and 8 strikeouts.

Nick Swisher continued his strange road/home splits by going 3-4 with a HR, double and 2 RBIs to lead the Yanks. Robinson Cano had 2 doubles and 2 RBIs, unbelievably knocking in both runs on a 2-out hit in the 8th. That's 2 days in a row he's done that, despite hitting less than .200 in those situations. This guy would be dangerous if he ever overcame his inexplicable inability to knock in runs. Despite his RBI-phobic tendencies, he has 72 RBIs for the season. If he hit near his average, he'd probably be leading the league.

Joe Girardi made things interesting in the 9th. Instead of going to a well-rested Mariano Rivera to seal the victory, he decided to use Brian Bruney in the non-save situation. I thought Mo could use the work. Bruney, of course, made Yankee fans, and I'm sure Pettitte, nervous, when he gave up a hit and walk sandwiched around an out. Girardi stopped fooling around though, and Mo earned his save, getting the final 2 outs to wrap up the 227th career win for Pettitte. With the win, the Yanks improved their lead to 6.5 games over the idle Red Sox.

Yankees Record: 83-48

Game 129 - Mitre Makes Mince Meat Out of Chisox

The much-maligned Sergio Mitre held the White Sox to one hit in 6.1 innings and the Yanks mounted a 14-hit attack for a 10-0 beatdown. Mitre was perfect through 4.1 innings before Jim Thome ripped a shot down the right field line for a double. He only allowed 1 more runner on with a walk in the 7th before he had to leave the game when AJ Pierzynski lined a shot off his forearm. Mitre bounced off the mound to throw Pierzynski out, but the Yanks removed him for precautionary members. He had only thrown 73 pitches to that point and may have had an excellent shot at completing the game. He induced 12 ground ball outs in his spectacular effort

Chad Gaudin was pressed into emergency relief and finished off the 1-hitter, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings while walking 1 with 4 strike outs. The Yankee hitters jumped on ex-Yankee, Jose Contreras, for 4 runs in the 2nd inning and another 4-spot in the fourth. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano led the way with 3 hits apiece. Johnny Damon, ARod, Cano and Jerry Hairston each finished with 2 RBIs. ARod capped the scoring with a solo shot in the 8th, the only HR of the game as the Yanks used a steady barrage of hits to score the first 9 runs. Tex and Jose Molina were the only Yankee starters who didn't join the hit parade.

The Yanks send out Joba Chamberlain out for the sweep. The Red Sox, who have really begun to heat up, once again beat the hapless Blue Jays to remain 6 games back and 2.5 games in front of Texas for the wild card.

Yankees Record: 81-48

Game 128 - Not a Misprint: Cano Wins it With Walkoff HR

For the second time this season, the RISP-challenged Robinson Cano had the game-winning, walkoff hit to help the Yanks win 5-2 over the White Sox. In a rare moment, Cano came through in the clutch and connected for a 2-out, 3-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Through 6 innings, it appeared the Bombers would win a tight one, with CC Sabathia cruising through the White Sox lineup, with the Yanks leading 2-0. He struck out 10 while limiting the Chisox to 4 hits. Things fell apart in the 7th inning though, when Crooked Cap surrendered 4 hits and his only walk. He was bailed out twice when ARod and Nick Swisher threw out runners at the plate. With luck and poor running by the Pale Hose, Sabathia escaped the inning tied at 2.

Derek Jeter began the game with a bang against ol' Yankees punching bag, Mark Buehrle - tattooing a blast to deep center to pass Don Mattingly for 10th place on the Yankees All Time list with his 223rd career HR. Buerhle has a career 1-6 record against the Yanks with an ERA over 6.00, but danced out of trouble several times with the Yanks going 0-6 with RISP. Johnny Damon got the Yankees other run with a solo shot in the 3rd inning. Before Cano's extra-inning heroics, he had squandered 2 opportunities when he came up with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the 3rd and bases loaded in the 5th. At least the 3rd time was the charm.

Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera and Brian Bruney each pitched 1 inning and retired all 9 batters they faced. Brian Bruney picked up the win and improved to 4-0. With Toronto Blue Jays rolling over once again against the Red Sox, the Yanks maintained their 6-game lead in the division.

Yankees Record: 80-48

Game 125 - Joba Brutal After Week Layoff

The Yanks came out smoking for 4 runs in the bottom of the first, but the Rangers had the last laugh, crushing Joba and holding on to beat the Yanks 10-9. Joba Chamberlain allowed 7 runs in 4 innings, all after he retired the first 2 batters of the inning. He allowed 2 runs in the 2nd and 5 in the 4th, as the bottom of the Rangers batting order chewed him up. In both rallies, he allowed Pudge Rodriguez, Chris Davis and Elvis Andrus to reach base both times against him.

Pudge was absolutely useless in his short stint with the Yankees and his best days are long behind, but Joba found a way to allow a single and walk a guy who's only walked more than 40 times in a season twice in his whole career. Davis has been so bad, he was sent back down to the minors after he was on pace to shatter the strikeout record, but he touched Joba for 2 singles. Andrus came into the game with 23 RBIs all season, but he knocked in 3 runs. Pitiful performance as Joba continues to go full count to way too many hitters.

The mysterious 2-out run scoring rallies continue to haunt the Yankee pitching staff and it certainly cost them tonight. 9 out of Texas' 10 runs came after 2 outs were retired. Chad Gaudin relieved Joba and wasn't much better. He allowed 2 HRs and 3 runs. He did break up the monotony of 2-out runs when he allowed a 1-out, solo shot to Nelson Cruz. He almost allowed more runs with 2 outs when he escaped a 2-out bases loaded jam. All runners reached after he got 2 quick outs. This epidemic began in the White Sox series in Chicago and has gotten worse. According to a post by River Ave Blues, the Yanks have allowed over 42% of their runs to come with 2 out. The league average is near 36%. It appears the pitching staff is not buckling down or focusing on ending innings without further trouble. Trends like this could hurt the Yanks against playoff-caliber teams, especially a team like the Angels who have players that make contact and force things to happen.

The Yanks made one last charge in the 9th, plating 4 runs before Texas recorded an out. But with runners on 1st and 2nd, Joe Girardi inexplicably had Nick Swisher bunt. He fouled out to 3rd. Why in the hell would Girardi have Swisher bunt against a reliever who was clearly struggling and hadn't recorded an out? Swisher was up in the count 1-0 and he could work out a walk, take him deep or perhaps hit a fly out to move the runner to 3rd. But a bunt? Terrible managing, absolutely terrible. The next batter, Melky Cabrera, lined into a double play to SS to end the game and dreams of another miraculous comeback.

Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano both went deep in the losing effort. Cano's HR was his career high 20th, as he became the 6th Yankee this season to hit 20 or more. That tied a team record set in 1961 and 2004. Posada and Derek Jeter have outside shots to be the 7th player for 20 or more HRs. Speaking of The Captain, he continued his hot streak, going 2-3 and ended his Cano-like walkless streak at 114 plate appearances. In fact, he walked twice.

The Bosox defeated the Chisox and now trail the Bombers by 6 in the division. They were able to complete a trade with the Mets earlier in the day for Billy Wagner. This season is far from over.

Yankees Record: 78-47

Blown Game: 7

Game 124 - Yanks 5 Jacks Beat Boston, Beckett

Derek Jeter took Josh Beckett deep on the first pitch of the game, and it was a premonition of things to come. ARod, Robbie Cano and another 2 jacks from Hideki Matsui led the Yanks to an 8-4 victory over Boston in the rubber game of the 3-game series. CC Sabathia gutted through 6.2 innings, giving up 4 runs, 3 earned while striking out 8. He allowed no walks in his 118-pitch effort, winning his 5th straight and league-leading 15th game.

The Yanks scored at least a run in the first 5 frames against Beckett. Matsui followed up Jeter's leadoff HR with a shot of his own to leadoff the 2nd. Tex and ARod had RBIs in the 3rd, Cano homered in the 5th, and ARod hit a rising liner over the Monster for a 2-run shot. Matsui finished off the scoring with another solo blast in the 8th. Curiously enough, Terry Francona kept Josh Beckett in the game for 8 innings, despite surrendering all 5 dingers and 8 earned runs. Does this demonstrate a lack of faith in the once highly touted Sox bullpen? The move, or lack thereof, was interesting.

Sabathia, for the most part, kept the Sox in check. He blew an early 2-0 lead in the 2nd. Yet again, the Yanks allowed 2 runs to score with 2 out. After striking out Big Nugget Youkilis and Jason Bay to start the inning, Crooked Cap gave up a double to the crippled Mike Lowell, an RBI single to mysterious fatigue-diseased Rocco Baldelli and an RBI double to the overhill Jason Varitek. It wasn't CC's finest moment.

Cano was at fault for the Sox 3rd run. With 2 outs (of course), he dropped Varitek's pop up after calling off Tex, allowing Bay to score all the way from 1st. It was Cano's 2nd error of the game and it continues his recent fielding slump where recently, he's been making errors at a regular clip. Is this a sign of fatigue or lack of focus with a huge lead? Either way, Cano is someone I don't feel comfortable with in the big game or big moment.

Phil Hughes pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Mariano Rivera. Mo walked JD Drew to leadoff the 9th for only his 9th free pass of the season, but struck out 2 of the next 3 hitters to seal the win. With the victory, the Yanks won the series, ended their 10-game road trip at 7-3 and increased their division lead to 7.5 games over the Bosox.

Godzilla's 2-homer game was his 2nd in the series and 3rd in his last 7 games. The man is "en fuego". I don't know how to say "on fire" in Japanese. Reportedly, the Yanks won't be re-signing Matsui in the off-season, but he's making a pretty good case for someone to take a flyer on him. Oakland perhaps?

Off day today and the Yanks return home to the Bronx to face the Texas Rangers, who are 1 game back of the Sox for the wild card. Would the Yanks sabotage this series to help eliminate the Sox? Starting Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin tomorrow may be a good start to hurting the Sox. We'll see.

Yankees Record: 78-46

Game 110 - Sabathia, Yanks Keep Bosox Scoreless

CC Sabathia tossed 7.2 shutout innings and the Yanks ran Boston's scoreless streak to 24 innings in their 5-0 victory over their rival. CC improved to 12-7 and pitched his best game to date as a NY Yankee. He limited the Sox to 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. He retired his first 13 batters before walking Big Fraud Ortiz on a full count and held Bosox hitless for 5.2 innings before Jacob Ellsbury broke up the no-hitter. CC outdueled Clay Buchholz, who kept the Sox in the game by allowing 2 runs in 6 innings. Buchholz limited the need for Boston's beleaguered bullpen that's emptied its bullpen in 2 games this week. The Yanks have taken the first 3 games of the series and go for the sweep Sunday night.

The Yanks scored a single run in the 3rd on a 2-out, RBI single by Mark Teixeira. They added single runs in the 6th and 7th on a Jose Molina sac fly and Nick Swisher bases loaded walk. The Captain, Derek Jeter, finished the scoring with a 2-run HR that just grazed the top of the wall down the RF line. Jeter is now 3-17 in the series. Robinson Cano had 3 of the Yankees 9 hits, and was the only Bomber with multiple hits. He also collected his 30th double of the season. Despite all that, the only time he was retired came with the bases loaded and 1 out when he forced Tex out at home. Typical Cano. The Yanks also continued their typical ways with RISP, going a combined 2-12. Good thing Boston is struggling a lot worse.

After CC retired the first 2 batters in the 8th, Joe Girardi lifted him after 123 pitches. Phil Hughes struck out Nick Green for the final out of the inning. David Robertson, one of the rare relievers that did not see any action in yesterday's marathon, pitched the 9th. He matched CC's hit total, giving up 2 hits, but escaped the jam to preserve the shutout by striking out the King of Frauds, Big Sloppy to end the game.

Sunday night, it will be a battle of lefties, Andy Pettitte vs. Jon Lester. Pettitte has been outstanding since the break, but is he due for a setback? I'm thinking the Red Sox are due to break out, too. Hopefully, the Yanks will go for the jugular and put their foot on the throats of their division rival. Currently, their division lead is 5.5 games.

Yankees Record: 68-42

Game 101 - Joba Pitches Gem Against Rays

After losing a game on bad pitching, bad defense and bad hitting, the Yanks returned to form and captured the rubber match against Tampa Bay, winning 6-2. Joba Chamberlain had his best game as a major leaguer, tossing 8 shutout innings, and limiting the Rays to 3 hits. He walked 2, both in the 5th inning, while striking out 5. Sticking with his faster tempo pace he's employed since the All Star break, he won his 3rd straight start and improved to 7-2. He only needed 101 pitches to match his career high for innings in a game. Joba has only allowed 2 runs and 8 hits in 21.2 innings since the break.

The Captain set the tone early, tripling to leadoff the game. Mark Teixeira singled in Derek Jeter through a drawn-in infield for a quick 1-0 lead. Rays starter, Matt Garza, though, was up for the challenge. In the 4th, the Yanks were in business when ARod singled and Godzilla doubled to lead off the inning. Jorge Posada embarrassed himself with a first pitch foul out to 3rd, failing miserably to knock in a run and moving Matsui to 3rd with the infield playing back. Robinson Cano came through, not with a hit, but with a run scoring groundout. Garza limited the damage by striking out Nick Swisher.

The Yanks touched Garza for one more run with a Cano blast in the 6th. It came 2 pitches after Cano fouled a pitch off his shin. Despite hitting his shin guard, the TV cameras showed a nice looking knot forming on Cano's leg as the trainer worked on him. The Pinstripers were able to tack on insurance runs off the Rays bullpen in the 8th with a Posada RBI single and solo blasts from Melky Cabrera and Tex in the 9th. Tex's blast was his 26th of the season, tying him with Twins' Justin Morneau for the league-lead.

It took the Rays 8 innings to collect 3 hits off of Joba. It took them 4 batters to do the same against reliever Brian Bruney in the 9th. Carl Crawford led off with a triple and Evan Longoria followed up with a 2-run shot. With 1 out, Bruney allowed a double to Carlos Pena and Joe Girardi and Yankee fans everywhere had seen enough. It was time to bring in the great Mariano. Rivera sandwiched 2 Ks around a walk to seal the victory. As for Bruney, his ERA is now an unseemly 6.16 in 19 innings of work.

There was a little showdown earlier in the game, though no fireworks came from it. In the bottom of the 4th, Joba buzzed Longoria's clock tower with a high hard one that sent the overrated slugger sprawling. Garza glanced a high and tight fastball off of Tex's shoulder in the top of the 5th. Garza stupidly admitted to hitting Tex after the game. I smell a 6-game suspension coming. Are things even now? Perhaps something to watch in future series.

Elsewhere: Boston must have still been stunned from Oakland's comeback win last night. The Athletics came out and put up a 5-spot on the board in the 1st inning. They would hold on and beat the Sawx 8-6 as the Yanks now lead them by 3.5 games. The Rays fell behind by 7.5 games. Phillies traded for last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, and OF Ben Francisco from Cleveland for a slew of prospects. The Pirates continued their fire sale, dumping SS Craig Wilson and P Ian Snell to the Mariners and then pawning off the other half of their middle infield, Freddy Sanchez to the Giants. When will baseball begin contracting these non-competitive, joke of a franchise teams? I would start by eliminating the Pirates and Nats.

Yankees Record: 62-39

Game 99 - Burnett, Yanks Dismantle Penny Pinching Rays

After winning 9 of 10 at home, including 6 wins against last place Baltimore and Oakland, it was time for the Yanks to take their act on the road and face some stiffer competition. AJ Burnett and the Bombers rode their hot streak since the All Star with an 11-4 pounding against the Tampa Bay tightwads.

Burnett continued his torrid pitching, tossing 7 innings while giving up just one unearned run, thanks to a passed ball by Jorge Posada on a third strike to BJ Upton. He only allowed 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5, improving to 10-4 on the season, 2-0 against the Rays. He's now won his last five starts.

Burnett was backed up by Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher on offense. Cano went 2-3 with a triple and HR with 2 RBIs. He also walked twice to the astonishment of Yankee fans everywhere. There was a Nick Swisher sighting tonight, as he went 2-5 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. His homers came from both sides of the plate, as he crushed one lefthanded deep into the rightfield seats and hit a laser righthanded over the leftfield fence. The Yanks pounded out 15 hits, led by The Captain with 3 to raise his batting average to .325. Every Yankee in the lineup had a least one hit and to paraphrase Yankee announcer, Kenny Singleton, Johnny Damon finally "got his invitation to the party" when he connected for a 3-run shot in the 9th for his 200th career HR.

The cheapskate Rays scrounged for 3 late runs against relievers Jonathan Albaladejo and David Robertson in the final 2 frames. Robertson had to bail out Albaladejo in the 8th, striking out Yankee killer, Carlos Pena, with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Robertson gave up a blast to Pat Burrell in the 9th, but picked up his first career save.

A funny thing happened on Damon's career HR. An idiot Tampa Bay fan threw the ball back onto the field and cost himself a chance at bargaining with Johnny Damon for perhaps an autographed bat, extra tickets, or an autographed ball from Damon or one of his teammates. If I went to a game and caught a visiting team's HR ball, I wouldn't care if Big Sloppy Ortiz, Big Nugget Youkilis or Yoda Pedroia hit it - I'm keeping the damn ball! Besides, it's a Chicago Cubs fan tradition to throw the ball back. I've seen Yankee fans doing the same thing this year - I thought Yankee fans were better than that - at the very least, more original.

The best thing about the Yankees early lead tonight - the silencing of the God awful cowbells from the redneck Tampa Bay fans. Let's hope the Yanks saved some runs for CC Sabathia tomorrow.

Yankees Record: 61-38

Game 93 - Mitre, Cano Lead Yanks to 5th Straight

Newly recalled pitcher, Sergio Mitre, won his first game since 2007, and the RBI-phobic Robinson Cano hit a 2-run shot to pace the Yanks in a 6-4 victory over Baltimore. Mitre tossed 5.2 innings, yielding 4 runs, 3 earned, while striking out 4. The Bombers provided enough offense, scoring their 6 runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings.

A bases loaded single by ARod in the 3rd gave the Yanks a 3-2 before Cano connection in the 4th extended the lead to 5-2. Johnny Damon finished the team's scoring with a run-scoring single later in the inning. Baltimore tried to chip away at the lead with a Melvin Mora 2-run single in the 6th. After Mitre struck out the next batter, Joe Girardi went to the bullpen. Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera held Baltimore to 1 hit in the last 3.1 innings to seal the win. The Great Mo earned his 27th save of the season.

For the fourth straight game, the Yankees were held to a low hit total, collecting only 6 knocks. They've amassed a total of 23 hits in the last 4 games. Hopefully, the hitting will come around before the pitching slumps.

Boston lost again to the Texas Rangers and for the first time since the end of the 2006 season, the Yankees stand atop the division alone. Texas' Big Tommy Hunter outpitched Josh Beckett in a 4-2 victory. It was Boston's 4th straight loss.

Yankees Record: 56-37

Game 83 - Yanks Pound Twinkies

CC Sabathia rebounded from his previous bad start, tossing 7 innings of 3-hit, 1 run ball, and the Bombers pounded out 16 hits in a 10-2 victory over the Twins. CC's only mistake of the night came on a fastball he grooved to Mike Cuddyer, who hit his 14th HR of the season. The other 2 hits were weakly hit infield singles. CC struck out 3 and walked one - strangely, it was against the very weak hitting, Nick Punto. He held the faux M & M boys, Mauer and Morneau, hitless in 6 ABs after the Yanks had trouble getting either of them out in their 4-game series in the Bronx earlier this season.

The Yankee bats were led by the bottom third of the order. Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli were a combined 7-14 with 6 RBIs. Each of them had an extra base hit with 2 RBIs. Cano snapped an ungodly 0-22 slump with RISP when he blooped a bases loaded single in the 6th, albeit with the Yanks already up 5-1. Gardner followed with a 2-run triple and Cervelli's double gave the Yanks an insurmountable 10-1 lead. Earlier, Cervelli knocked in the Yanks second run with a long sac fly in the 2nd inning.

Mark Teixeira also went 4-6 with an RBI, hopefully breaking out of his snide. Hideki Matsui demonstrated what a real 5th place hitter in the lineup does when he got the Pinstripers on the board in the 1st with a 2-out RBI single. Hopefully, Cano was taking notes. The Yanks nearly blew the game wide open in the 4th, but Twins CF, Carlos Gomez, made a beautiful leaping catch at the fence, robbing ARod of a grand slam. ARod settled for the sac fly, but just missed HR #568.

Seldom used Brett Tomko pitched the final 2 frames, giving up one run. Oddly enough, he also walked the .218 hitting Punto, who came around to score the Twins last run. Punto has 11 HRs in 2000+ ABs in his career - I'd take my chances pitching the ball underhanded to him before walking this guy. The Sawx won 5-2 against Oakland, remaining 1 game up in the division. Hopefully, AJ Burnett continues his recent hot stretch in game 2.

Yankees Record: 49-34

Game 80 - Yanks Win Despite Cano's Sabotage

Appropriately, on 4th of July, the mighty Yankees defeated their neighbors to the North, the Toronto Blue Jays, in a 12-inning affair, 6-5. The win came in a game started by their nemesis, Roy Halladay. The Pinstripers touched him up for 5 runs in 7 innings, with Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Johnny Damon all going deep against one of the AL's premier pitchers. Damon's homer tied the game at 5-all in the 7th, setting the stage for 3 innings of "free baseball".

Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yanks and had similar results as his previous 3 starts. However, he left the game in the 6th with an apparent shoulder strain. He is scheduled for an MRI today. He allowed 4 ER on 6 hits in his 5.1 innings before departing. He threw one pitch to Scott Rolen after surrendering a 2-run shot to Adam Lind that gave the Jays a 4-3 lead. David Robertson came in relief and gave up the Jays 5th run.

This game, though, probably never should have gone to extra frames. Robinson Cano's well-documented struggles with RISP took on a whole 'nother level today. He stranded an unheralded 10 runners on base. T-E-N! I thought when he left 8 men on last week would be the pinnacle of his troubles, but this has become an epidemic of unprecedented proportions. Joe Girardi has to banish him to the bottom of the order. Has to! Cano left ARod at 2B in the first, runners at first and second in the 3rd and the 5th, and he hit into a DP in the 7th. He had a chance to redeem himself in the 9th. ARod was intentionally walked, putting runners on 1st and 2nd, again, but Cano grounded out to end the threat.

In the 12th, Mark Teixeira led off with a double and the Jays intentionally walked ARod again. Girardi must have seen enough of Cano's troubles (not to mention Yankee fans), which includes his high propensity of hitting into DPs. He gave Cano the bunt sign. After working the count to 3-0, Cano inexplicably bunted without taking a strike, which appeared to confuse Tex as he was forced out at 3rd. Posada ended the drama, knocking in ARod with a walk-off single. For the game, Cano went 0-6, and is now 0 for his last 20 with RISP. It's impossible for Cano to continue hitting in the 5th hole. Right?

I'd be shocked if Girardi doesn't move the hot-hitting Matsui behind ARod. Matsui, at least, has a long history of hitting in that spot with the Yanks and has come through in many clutch situations. Anyone at this point would be better than Cano.

The Yankees bullpen continued their exceptional pitching, only allowing 1 ER in 6.2 innings. After relieving Robertson in the 7th, Brian Bruney wiggled out of a bases loaded jam. Hughes retired the side on 8 pitches in the 8th, and he was followed by Mariano Rivera for 1 inning, Phil Coke for 2, and Brett Tomko pitched the 12th for his first Yankee win. With Wang's injury, will Hughes go back to the rotation?

The Sawx 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the Yanks now trail by 1 game. Imagine if they had beaten Boston at all this season - hopefully things will change in August.

Yankees Record: 47-33

Game 78 - Mariners Halt Yanks Win Streak

The Yanks 7-game winning streak went by the wayside as Seattle downed the Bombers, 8-4. Crooked Cap Sabathia got lit up for 6 runs in 5.2 innings, on 10 hits and 3 walks. CC had trouble spotting his pitches all night and his defense didn't do him any favors, either. Mark Teixeira had an Ichiro Suzuki line drive go through his mitt in the first and Melky Cabrera misplayed a ball by the lucky fraud, Suzuki, for another double that led to 2 runs in the 4th.

The Yanks continued to produce sluggish numbers at the plate. Despite their recent winning streak, they haven't actually torn the cover off the ball lately. They only mustered 7 hits, five by Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui. One of Matsui's hits was a 2-run HR. He hit a sac fly , as well, giving him 3 RBIs in the losing cause. The Yanks woes continued with RISP, going 0-6. If one counts the 2 sac flies they hit, technically they were hitless in 8 at bats.

With tonight's loss, the Yanks fell behind a half game to idle Boston. Next up - Toronto in a 4-game wrap around series.

Yankees Record: 45-33

Game 75 - Mo Saves 500th; Yanks Sweep

Mariano Rivera became the 2nd MLer to save 500 games, joining Brewers' closer, Trevor Hoffman, as the only players in history to achieve the feat in the Yanks 4-2 victory over the hapless Mets. Mo earned this save, too, as he entered the game with 2 outs in the 8th after Brian Bruney walked 2 men in the inning. He caught Omir Santos looking on a 3-2 cutter on the inside corner to get out of the jam.

Mo picked up another milestone tonight, as well, when he came to bat against K-Rod, the single-season saves record holder. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Mo worked a full count on K-Rod, including one helluva vicious cut on a 2-2 fastball. Mo walked, driving in the Yanks final run for his first career RBI (in 3 career at bats). Robinson Cano - please take note.

Mo's RBI wasn't the only first of the night - his save marked Chien-Ming Wang's first win of the season in his 11th start. He pitched 5.1 innings of 2-run ball in another respectable, but rather unspectacular outing. He did lower his ERA to 10.06 and has a shot at lowering it to single digits in his next start. He didn't have great command, walking 3 and 1 HBP, but fortunately he faced a depleted Mets lineup that couldn't take advantage.

The Yanks looked like they were going to blow this game wide open in the 1st against Livan Hernandez. They put 3 on the board on a 2-run double by Mark Teixeira and a sac fly by Jorge Posada. The Mets might've had a chance to limit the damage to 2 runs, but 1B Daniel Murphy dropped the relay throw on a potential double play ball off the bat of Robinson Cano.

Amazingly, the Yanks only managed 1 more hit off of Livan Hernandez. They did have a couple of opportunities to blow the game open. My favorite whipping boy, Robinson Cano, came up with the bases loaded twice, and killed both rallies, one with a double play. For the game, he left a whopping 8 men on base. I've written so much on this topic, it's become absolutely boring to me. Someone please explain to me why this guy continues to be penciled into the 5th spot of the lineup. Cano best serves the team in the lower third of the order where there's less pressure on him. He's now 2-12 with the bases loaded this season and batting .236 with the bags juiced for his career. I won't even rehash his career RISP numbers.

Fortunately for the Yanks, those missed opportunities didn't come back to haunt them as their bullpen continues to pitch well. Phil Coke and Phil Hughes did their jobs and bridged the gap to Bruney in the 8th, setting the stage for Mo's big night. With tonight's win and Boston's loss earlier in the day to Braves outstanding rookie, Tommy Hanson, the Yanks closed to within 3 games. They better not look in the rearview mirror - Tampa Bay swept the Marlins and have won 5 straight just like the Bombers.

Yankees Record: 43-32 - ties their high season mark of 11 games over .500

Game 65 - Cano Continues Killing Club in the Clutch

How's that for alliteration? The Yanks lost to the lowly Washington Nationals 3-2, and they were the last team in the majors to lose giving up 3 runs or less in a game. The Nats starting pitcher, John Lannan, New York born and bred, mowed down the Yanks tonight, repeatedly throwing first pitch strikes and keeping the Yanks off balance. Through the first 8 innings, he only allowed 2 hits, including a solo HR to Robinson Cano.

Meanwhile, in a possible do or die start for Chien-Ming Wang, he allowed 3 runs in 5 innings of work. There was nothing exceptional about his start, but he was let down in the 5th inning by some shoddy defense and an ump's bad call. With the weak-hitting Willie Harris on 1st, he stole 2nd base when Ramiro Pena dropped Posada's throw. It appeared the throw would have nabbed Harris. With one out, Christian Guzman hit a grounder to ARod. Guzman was called safe at first - replays clearly showed ARod nipped Guzman by a half step. Instead of 3 outs, inning over, Nick Johnson tripled in both runners to give the Nats a 3-0 lead. Adam Dunn had homered an inning earlier.

Cano cut into the lead with his HR in the bottom of the frame, but Lannan continued to deal till the 9th inning. Johnny Damon led off the final inning with his 14th dinger, bringing the Yanks within 1. Mark Teixeira laced a one-out single to left and Brett Gardner went in the game to pinch run. With ARod at the plate, Gardner stole both 2nd and 3rd, setting the table for the tying run with 1 out. ARod worked a walk, bringing Cano up with runners on the corners. I've been killing Cano all season for his lack of ability to hit in the clutch. He is probably the last batter on the Yanks I would want up in any situation with the game on the line.

After tonight, my opinion about Cano hasn't changed. He promptly fell behind in the count, 0-2. During the at bat, he fouled off 6 pitches, mostly on a 2-2 count. I thought at least 2 of those foul balls were certainly pitches he could have drove to left field. On the 8th pitch, Cano grounded sharply to SS into a game ending 6-4-3 double play. The Cano apologists will say the guy went 4-4 with the go ahead RBI yesterday and he hit a HR earlier in today's game. The problem with Cano though, is his propensity to fail repeatedly in clutch situations. His stats with RISP are abysmal for a ballplayer of his talent. Maybe he should get pointers from his pal, Melky, who's had a penchant for the dramatic this season.

As for losing to the Nats, now the proud owners of 17 wins this season, these are the games the Yanks can't afford to give away. John Lannan was dealing tonight, but in the end, the Yanks still had a chance to tie this game. With the Nats bullpen, the worse in baseball, I like the Yanks chances had they went into extra innings. They play in the AL East, the roughest division in baseball, and every game counts. Boston won again tonight. You would never find that team taking a night off. Their lead is up to 3 games. The Rays lost tonight, but have been coming on like gangbusters winning 6 in a row before today. Not to mention Toronto, who is still hanging around and only 2 games back. The Yanks need to find a way to win against teams they're suppose to beat. This is the second type of loss in less than a week, too. They were shut down by Fernando Nieve last Saturday, a guy who hadn't won a game since 2006. Games like this could come back to haunt them.

Yankees Record: 37-28

Blown Games: 6

Game 64 - Yanks Rally For CC

The Yanks led 2-0 after 3 innings, but it looked as if they were taking the lowly Washington Nationals for granted, as they started the game 1-7 with RISP.  CC Sabathia cruised through the first 4 innings till he faced the Nats' daunting bottom of the order.  Ex-Yankee rejects, Alberto Gonzalez and Wil Nieves both singled with one out, and the very light-hitting Anderson Hernandez hit his 2nd career HR, first since 2006, to give the Nats a 3-2 lead.  

Washington starter, Shairon Martis, held the Yanks to 2 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings, despite walking 5 batters.  He looked as though he could have walked every lefty batter in the lineup, if the Yankees had let him.  He was bailed out twice by Hideki Matsui's weak dribblers with RISP, ending potential threats.  

The Yanks finally woke up from their slumber in the 7th, rallying against ol' Yankee reliever, Ron Villone for 2 runs.  Doubles from Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano (yes, there was a Cano sighting with a RISP), gave the Yanks a 4-3 lead.  Both doubles were aided by the horrendous fielding of criminal CF, Elijah Dukes.  Cano finished the day an impressive 4-4 to raise his season average to .309.  

CC improved to 6-4, pitching 7.2 innings with 2 Ks - his only mistake the 3-run shot to Hernandez.  Brian Bruney, fresh off the DL, came on with 2 out in the 8th to retire his only batter.  The great Mariano finished up the 9th for his 497th career save, 15th this season.  Besides the lack of clutch hitting, the only other thing to mar the Yankees win was Derek Jeter leaving the game in the 8th due to soreness in his ankle.  

Yankees Record:  37-27 

Game 41 - Joba Hurt - Can't Stop Yanks

Despite losing Joba Chamberlain after 2/3 inning tonight, the Yanks won their 9th straight for their longest streak of the Joe Girardi era.  In the top of the 1st, Joba took a liner off his leg from Baltimore's Adam Jones.  Joba recovered to throw him out, but after attempting to tough it out, he was taken out of the game after giving up back-to-back singles while clearly limping around.

Though it was a setback for the Yanks, it didn't slow them down as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 2 innings.  The hit barrage started with 3 straight doubles from Jeter, Cano and Teixeira in the 1st.  Cano would also tack on a 2-run shot in the 2nd inning en route to a 3 hits and 3 RBIs.  Matsui would add a solo blast to the upper deck in the 5th.

After going 2 pivotal innings last night, Alfredo Aceves came up big again, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings.  Jonathan Albaladejo relieved Aceves and looked terrible getting slapped around, giving up all 4 of the Orioles runs in 2.1 innings, including 2 dingers.  Jose Veras surprisingly made an appearance and even contributed, pitching 1.2 innings, and for a change of pace, didn't walk a batter.  The great Mariano finished up for his 9th save in the Bombers 7-4 victory.  

Aceves has been a Godsend for the Yanks bullpen (and their fans), giving up just 2 runs in 13.2 innings of relief this season.  He picked up his 3rd win tonight, all coming during this streak.  Aceves could prove to be a dual threat for Joe Girardi, able to be the long man out of the pen, or the bridge to Brian Bruney and Mariano.       

Big test for the Yanks win streak this weekend.  They'll be hosting the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies as they wrap up their 10-game homestand.  They'll be sending out their top 3 guns:   Burnett, Pettitte, and Sabathia.  It should be a good test for the Yanks.

Yankees Record:  24-17