Abreu Slams Door on White Sox

Bobby Abreu was miserable last April. He wasn't completely healed from a spring training oblique muscle pull and it showed in his at-bats. This season Abreu is healthy and he's hitting above .300. Tonight he'd delivered the big blow, a 7th inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 Yankees lead. They would go on to a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three game series.

Chien-Ming Wang struggled with his location, but unlike his last start against Boston, the Taiwanese native was able to work his way out of jams relatively unscathed. Yankees had built up a 2-0 lead, but Juan Uribe's 2-run double off of Wang tied the game up in the 2nd inning. But Uribe was stranded at 2nd, as was Jermaine Dye an inning later. The White Sox took a 3-2 lead in the 5th on a single by Orlando Cabrera, a walk to Jim Thome, and an RBI double by Paul Konerko. But with 2nd and 3rd and just 1 out, Wang beared down.

With LaTroy Hawkins warming up in the bullpen, Wang struck out Dye on 3 pitches and retired A.J. Pierzynski on a chopper to 2nd Base. Wang also escaped a 2-on, 1-out jam an inning later by striking out Nick Swisher looking and retiring Cabrera on a comebacker.

The Yankees hadn't done much against their former teammate and White Sox starter Jose Contreras. Johnny Damon lead off the ball game with a double and later scored on a Hideki Matsui ground out. Jason Giambi added a solo, non-Mike Timlin, home run in the 2nd inning, but even though they had a base runner in each of the next four innings, the Yankees couldn't plate any of them.

When Contreras (1-2) allowed 1-out walk to Morgan Ensberg and a single to Melky Cabrera, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sent for left-hander Boone Logan to face Johnny Damon. Damon beat out a well placed grounder to Orlando Cabrera to loaded the bases for Derek Jeter. Guillen again went to his pen for former Yankee Octavio Dotel and the right-hander struck out the Yankees captain with a high, hard fastball. But with another left-hander, Matt Thornton getting up in the pen, Guillen stuck with Dotel and Abreu made him pay.

Abreu's opposite field home run just cleared the left wall for his 3rd home run of the season. One inning later Damon put the game out of reach with his third hit, a 3-run home run, his 3rd of the season.

News and Notes

Chien-Ming Wang (4-0) became the fastest pitcher to reach 50 wins since Dwight Gooden in 1986. The Wanger needed just 87 games and holds a career mark of 50-18. His .735 winning percentage is the highest in Yankees history.

The bullpen didn't fare too well in relief of Wang. Billy Traber walked the only batter he faced, and Brian Bruney gave up a walk and a single to load the bases in the bottom of the 7th. Joba Chamberlain came on and struck out Carlos Quentin, but walked Joe Crede to force in a run, before retiring the side. With the game out of reach in the 9th, Kyle Farnsworth surrendered a solo home run to Pierzynski and walked Quentin. He went on to retire the side, but not before Girardi was forced to get Mariano Rivera up in the pen. This guy has got to go.

Johnny Damon has gone 5-9 over the last two games to raise his average from .197 to .243.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	5	3	3	3	0	0	0	.243
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	1	4	.283
Abreu, RF	5	1	2	4	0	0	0	.312
Matsui, DH	2	0	1	1	2	0	1	.328
Posada, C	5	0	1	0	0	0	4	.255
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	1	1	3	.173
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.120
Gonzalez, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Ensberg, 3B-1B	3	1	1	0	1	1	1	.333
Cabrera, CF	4	2	1	0	0	1	3	.279
Totals	37	9	11	9	4	5	18
BATTING 2B: Damon (5, Contreras), Cano (3, Contreras). HR: Giambi (3, 2nd inning off Contreras, 0 on, 0 out), Abreu (3, 7th inning off Dotel, 3 on, 2 out), Damon (3, 8th inning off Thornton, 2 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 7; Abreu 5; Matsui; Posada; Cano 2; Giambi 4; Ensberg; Cabrera. RBI: Matsui (10), Giambi (7), Abreu 4 (14), Damon 3 (10). 2-out RBI: Abreu 4; Damon 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Cabrera. GIDP: Posada. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING E: Cabrera (1, throw). DP: (Ensberg-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wang (W, 4-0)	6.0	10	3	3	2	5	0	3.94
Traber	0.0	0	1	1	1	0	0	3.86
Bruney (H, 3)	0.1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.59
Chamberlain (H, 4)	1.2	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.13
Farnsworth	1.0	1	1	1	1	0	1	4.82

Chi White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Swisher, CF	5	0	1	0	0	2	3	.242
Cabrera, SS	5	1	2	0	0	0	4	.250
Thome, DH	2	1	0	0	3	1	1	.215
Konerko, 1B	4	0	2	1	1	0	1	.194
Dye, RF	5	0	1	0	0	2	6	.333
Pierzynski, C	5	1	2	1	0	1	3	.344
Quentin, LF	4	1	1	0	1	1	3	.241
Crede, 3B	4	1	2	1	1	0	1	.299
Uribe, 2B	5	0	2	2	0	0	4	.172
Totals	39	5	13	5	6	7	26
BATTING 2B: Crede (4, Wang), Uribe (4, Wang), Dye (7, Wang), Konerko (3, Wang). HR: Pierzynski (3, 9th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Swisher; Cabrera 2; Konerko 3; Dye 2; Pierzynski 5; Quentin; Crede 3; Uribe 3. RBI: Uribe 2 (8), Konerko (14), Crede (19), Pierzynski (11). 2-out RBI: Crede. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dye 2; Cabrera 2; Pierzynski 3; Uribe 3. GIDP: Cabrera. Team LOB: 13. FIELDING DP: (Konerko-Cabrera-Konerko).

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Contreras (L, 1-2) 6.1 7 4 4 1 3 1 4.68 Logan 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.05 Dotel (BS, 1) 0.1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6.75 Thornton 1.0 2 3 3 1 1 1 5.14 MacDougal 1.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.16

Traber pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Logan pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP: Farnsworth. HBP: Matsui (by Contreras). Pitches-strikes: Wang 105-66, Traber 6-2, Bruney 15-8, Chamberlain 24-14, Farnsworth 24-14, Contreras 97-56, Logan 5-3, Dotel 14-6, Thornton 31-17, MacDougal 20-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Wang 8-5, Traber 0-0, Bruney 0-0, Chamberlain 0-4, Farnsworth 2-1, Contreras 8-8, Logan 0-0, Dotel 0-0, Thornton 2-0, MacDougal 2-2. Batters faced: Wang 29, Traber 1, Bruney 3, Chamberlain 7, Farnsworth 5, Contreras 27, Logan 1, Dotel 3, Thornton 6, MacDougal 5. Inherited runners-scored: Bruney 1-0, Chamberlain 3-1, Logan 2-0, Dotel 3-3, Thornton 1-0. Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Gary Darling. Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, R to L. T: 3:44. Att: 25,012.

Abreu Slams Door on White Sox

Bobby Abreu was miserable last April. He wasn't completely healed from a spring training oblique muscle pull and it showed in his at-bats. This season Abreu is healthy and he's hitting above .300. Tonight he'd delivered the big blow, a 7th inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 Yankees lead. They would go on to a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three game series.

Chien-Ming Wang struggled with his location, but unlike his last start against Boston, the Taiwanese native was able to work his way out of jams relatively unscathed. Yankees had built up a 2-0 lead, but Juan Uribe's 2-run double off of Wang tied the game up in the 2nd inning. But Uribe was stranded at 2nd, as was Jermaine Dye an inning later. The White Sox took a 3-2 lead in the 5th on a single by Orlando Cabrera, a walk to Jim Thome, and an RBI double by Paul Konerko. But with 2nd and 3rd and just 1 out, Wang beared down.

With LaTroy Hawkins warming up in the bullpen, Wang struck out Dye on 3 pitches and retired A.J. Pierzynski on a chopper to 2nd Base. Wang also escaped a 2-on, 1-out jam an inning later by striking out Nick Swisher looking and retiring Cabrera on a comebacker.

The Yankees hadn't done much against their former teammate and White Sox starter Jose Contreras. Johnny Damon lead off the ball game with a double and later scored on a Hideki Matsui ground out. Jason Giambi added a solo, non-Mike Timlin, home run in the 2nd inning, but even though they had a base runner in each of the next four innings, the Yankees couldn't plate any of them.

When Contreras (1-2) allowed 1-out walk to Morgan Ensberg and a single to Melky Cabrera, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sent for left-hander Boone Logan to face Johnny Damon. Damon beat out a well placed grounder to Orlando Cabrera to loaded the bases for Derek Jeter. Guillen again went to his pen for former Yankee Octavio Dotel and the right-hander struck out the Yankees captain with a high, hard fastball. But with another left-hander, Matt Thornton getting up in the pen, Guillen stuck with Dotel and Abreu made him pay.

Abreu's opposite field home run just cleared the left wall for his 3rd home run of the season. One inning later Damon put the game out of reach with his third hit, a 3-run home run, his 3rd of the season.

News and Notes

Chien-Ming Wang (4-0) became the fastest pitcher to reach 50 wins since Dwight Gooden in 1986. The Wanger needed just 87 games and holds a career mark of 50-18. His .735 winning percentage is the highest in Yankees history.

The bullpen didn't fare too well in relief of Wang. Billy Traber walked the only batter he faced, and Brian Bruney gave up a walk and a single to load the bases in the bottom of the 7th. Joba Chamberlain came on and struck out Carlos Quentin, but walked Joe Crede to force in a run, before retiring the side. With the game out of reach in the 9th, Kyle Farnsworth surrendered a solo home run to Pierzynski and walked Quentin. He went on to retire the side, but not before Girardi was forced to get Mariano Rivera up in the pen. This guy has got to go.

Johnny Damon has gone 5-9 over the last two games to raise his average from .197 to .243.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	5	3	3	3	0	0	0	.243
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	1	4	.283
Abreu, RF	5	1	2	4	0	0	0	.312
Matsui, DH	2	0	1	1	2	0	1	.328
Posada, C	5	0	1	0	0	0	4	.255
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	1	1	3	.173
Giambi, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	1	2	.120
Gonzalez, 3B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.333
Ensberg, 3B-1B	3	1	1	0	1	1	1	.333
Cabrera, CF	4	2	1	0	0	1	3	.279
Totals	37	9	11	9	4	5	18
BATTING 2B: Damon (5, Contreras), Cano (3, Contreras). HR: Giambi (3, 2nd inning off Contreras, 0 on, 0 out), Abreu (3, 7th inning off Dotel, 3 on, 2 out), Damon (3, 8th inning off Thornton, 2 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 7; Abreu 5; Matsui; Posada; Cano 2; Giambi 4; Ensberg; Cabrera. RBI: Matsui (10), Giambi (7), Abreu 4 (14), Damon 3 (10). 2-out RBI: Abreu 4; Damon 3. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano; Cabrera. GIDP: Posada. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING E: Cabrera (1, throw). DP: (Ensberg-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wang (W, 4-0)	6.0	10	3	3	2	5	0	3.94
Traber	0.0	0	1	1	1	0	0	3.86
Bruney (H, 3)	0.1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.59
Chamberlain (H, 4)	1.2	1	0	0	1	1	0	1.13
Farnsworth	1.0	1	1	1	1	0	1	4.82

Chi White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Swisher, CF	5	0	1	0	0	2	3	.242
Cabrera, SS	5	1	2	0	0	0	4	.250
Thome, DH	2	1	0	0	3	1	1	.215
Konerko, 1B	4	0	2	1	1	0	1	.194
Dye, RF	5	0	1	0	0	2	6	.333
Pierzynski, C	5	1	2	1	0	1	3	.344
Quentin, LF	4	1	1	0	1	1	3	.241
Crede, 3B	4	1	2	1	1	0	1	.299
Uribe, 2B	5	0	2	2	0	0	4	.172
Totals	39	5	13	5	6	7	26
BATTING 2B: Crede (4, Wang), Uribe (4, Wang), Dye (7, Wang), Konerko (3, Wang). HR: Pierzynski (3, 9th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Swisher; Cabrera 2; Konerko 3; Dye 2; Pierzynski 5; Quentin; Crede 3; Uribe 3. RBI: Uribe 2 (8), Konerko (14), Crede (19), Pierzynski (11). 2-out RBI: Crede. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dye 2; Cabrera 2; Pierzynski 3; Uribe 3. GIDP: Cabrera. Team LOB: 13. FIELDING DP: (Konerko-Cabrera-Konerko).

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Contreras (L, 1-2) 6.1 7 4 4 1 3 1 4.68 Logan 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.05 Dotel (BS, 1) 0.1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6.75 Thornton 1.0 2 3 3 1 1 1 5.14 MacDougal 1.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.16

Traber pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Logan pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP: Farnsworth. HBP: Matsui (by Contreras). Pitches-strikes: Wang 105-66, Traber 6-2, Bruney 15-8, Chamberlain 24-14, Farnsworth 24-14, Contreras 97-56, Logan 5-3, Dotel 14-6, Thornton 31-17, MacDougal 20-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Wang 8-5, Traber 0-0, Bruney 0-0, Chamberlain 0-4, Farnsworth 2-1, Contreras 8-8, Logan 0-0, Dotel 0-0, Thornton 2-0, MacDougal 2-2. Batters faced: Wang 29, Traber 1, Bruney 3, Chamberlain 7, Farnsworth 5, Contreras 27, Logan 1, Dotel 3, Thornton 6, MacDougal 5. Inherited runners-scored: Bruney 1-0, Chamberlain 3-1, Logan 2-0, Dotel 3-3, Thornton 1-0. Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Gary Darling. Weather: 71 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, R to L. T: 3:44. Att: 25,012.

Yankees vs. White Sox - April 22

First off, congrats to Mrs. and Mrs. A-Rod on the birth of their, as yet, unnamed daughter. She was born in Miami last night. She was 7 lbs, 2 oz.. And more good news, Jorge Posada is back behind the dish tonight after testing out his arm earlier today.

Here's tonight's lineup courtesy of Peter Abraham:

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Giambi 1B
Ensberg 3B
Cabrera CF
Wang RHP

News and Notes

Derek Jeter needs one more double to tie Joe DiMaggio for 5th place on the all-time Yankees list.

If the Wanger wins tonight, he'll be the fastest to 50 victories since Doc Gooden.

With A-Rod's baby birth and quad injury, no Yankee has now played in every single game this season.

No pitch counts - On this day in Yankees history, Whitey Ford went the distance in a 1-0, 14-inning shutout of the Washington Senators. He struck out 15, while issuing 7 hits and 7 walks.

Among those happy to be facing Contreras tonight are, Bobby Abreu .444 (4-19), Derek Jeter .294 (5-17), and Jorge Posada .333 (3-9). Conversely, the already slumping Jason Giambi is 0-6, though he has drawn 4 walks and has 4 RBI. Melky Cabrera is just 1-9.

Joe Crede .400 (2-5), Jim Thome .333 (2-6) and Juan Uribe .333 (2-6) have had the best success against Wang. Jermaine Dye .222 (2-9), Paul Konerko .143 (1-7) and A.J. Pierzynksi .000 (0-5) have struggled.

Yankees vs. White Sox - April 22

First off, congrats to Mrs. and Mrs. A-Rod on the birth of their, as yet, unnamed daughter. She was born in Miami last night. She was 7 lbs, 2 oz.. And more good news, Jorge Posada is back behind the dish tonight after testing out his arm earlier today.

Here's tonight's lineup courtesy of Peter Abraham:

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Giambi 1B
Ensberg 3B
Cabrera CF
Wang RHP

News and Notes

Derek Jeter needs one more double to tie Joe DiMaggio for 5th place on the all-time Yankees list.

If the Wanger wins tonight, he'll be the fastest to 50 victories since Doc Gooden.

With A-Rod's baby birth and quad injury, no Yankee has now played in every single game this season.

No pitch counts - On this day in Yankees history, Whitey Ford went the distance in a 1-0, 14-inning shutout of the Washington Senators. He struck out 15, while issuing 7 hits and 7 walks.

Among those happy to be facing Contreras tonight are, Bobby Abreu .444 (4-19), Derek Jeter .294 (5-17), and Jorge Posada .333 (3-9). Conversely, the already slumping Jason Giambi is 0-6, though he has drawn 4 walks and has 4 RBI. Melky Cabrera is just 1-9.

Joe Crede .400 (2-5), Jim Thome .333 (2-6) and Juan Uribe .333 (2-6) have had the best success against Wang. Jermaine Dye .222 (2-9), Paul Konerko .143 (1-7) and A.J. Pierzynksi .000 (0-5) have struggled.

Yankees Blow into Chi-town

It's Earth Day, Mr. and Mrs. MM's anniversary, and Chien-Ming Wang gets the start tonight when the Yankees begin a three game series with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Hopefully that means all of the stars are aligned for a win tonight and a series win when the three games conclude on Thursday. If Hawk Harrelson gets laryngitis, we're golden!

The Yankees got a much needed day off yesterday; time for A-Rod to get treatment on his quad, Hank Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to play ping-pong about Joba Chamberlain, and for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen some time to think up some new outrageous statements.

The Yankees have lost 3 of 4 and are scuffling at the moment. The White Sox meanwhile are trying to rebound from a poor 2007 season. Their 11-7, atop the AL Central, where favorites Cleveland and Detroit are both well under .500.

2008 White Sox
The White Sox have gotten a boost from their pitching staff despite the subtraction of John Garland, who was dealt to the Angels for new shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Veteran Mark Buehrle anchors a staff that has gotten good contributions from youngsters Gavin Floyd and John Danks, and fellow veterans Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras. Bobby Jenks is coming off a stellar season as closer and the White Sox added free agent Scott Linebrink to be the 8th inning set up man.

The man holding the pitching staff together is off course, the king of all jerks, A.J. Pierzysnki. He's off to a great start, hitting .339.

The biggest off-season acquisition may have been outfielder/1st Baseman Nick Swisher, who has taken over the lead off role in the lineup. Though he has big power capability, he hit 35 home runs in 2006, Swisher also draws around 100 walks a season. Jerry Owens started out as the lead off man and centerfielder, but when he was injured, Swisher moved to center and to the top spot in the order. He leads the team in runs scored.

Owens' injury also opened an opportunity for Carlos Quentin to grab a regular spot in left field. The 25-yr old is hitting just .241, but has 4 home run, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, and .897 OPS. He's done well enough for now to keep Owens in the minors after his rehab stint was over.

Joe Crede may already be the comeback player of the year. The oft-back injured 3rd Baseman leads the team with 18 RBI and 2 of his 5 home runs have been grand slams.

DH Jim Thome has been slumping, but is coming off a 4-5 game and has 5 HR and 16 RBI. Shortstop Cabrera has struggled through his first 18 games, hitting just .239. The man he replaced at the position, Juan Uribe, has moved to 2nd Base and is hitting just .153 in place of the injured Danny Richar. Uribe was nearly released in spring training and still could be when Richar returns from a stress fracture in his rib cage.

Probable Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) faces former Yankee, Jose Contreras (1-1, 4.34) in the series opener tonight at 8:11 EDT. Mike Mussina (1-3, 5.75) goes against another former teammate, Javier Vazquez (3-1, 3.20) on Wednesday, and Phil Hughes (0-3, 8.82) looks for his first win when he faces former Phillies phenom Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.40) in the series finale.

Injury Update
Jorge Posada is closer to returning to his normal spot behind the dish, but Alex Rodriguez is likely to sit out tonight with his strained quad.

News and Notes
A-Rod's health may dictate if Jason Giambi sits in one of the three games. Though the Yankees are facing three right-handed starters, Giambi's bat has yet to come alive, and he might have sat a game or two in favor of Morgan Ensberg if not for A-Rod's injury. But Ensberg will be manning the hot corner while A-Rod is out.

Giambi would be hitting even worse if not for the Red Sox Mike Timlin. The Giambino is 3-3 with 2 home runs against him. As a matter of fact Giambi gave Timlin a big hug when the two teams met at Yankee Stadium last week, and thanked him.

Yankees Blow into Chi-town

It's Earth Day, Mr. and Mrs. MM's anniversary, and Chien-Ming Wang gets the start tonight when the Yankees begin a three game series with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Hopefully that means all of the stars are aligned for a win tonight and a series win when the three games conclude on Thursday. If Hawk Harrelson gets laryngitis, we're golden!

The Yankees got a much needed day off yesterday; time for A-Rod to get treatment on his quad, Hank Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to play ping-pong about Joba Chamberlain, and for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen some time to think up some new outrageous statements.

The Yankees have lost 3 of 4 and are scuffling at the moment. The White Sox meanwhile are trying to rebound from a poor 2007 season. Their 11-7, atop the AL Central, where favorites Cleveland and Detroit are both well under .500.

2008 White Sox
The White Sox have gotten a boost from their pitching staff despite the subtraction of John Garland, who was dealt to the Angels for new shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Veteran Mark Buehrle anchors a staff that has gotten good contributions from youngsters Gavin Floyd and John Danks, and fellow veterans Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras. Bobby Jenks is coming off a stellar season as closer and the White Sox added free agent Scott Linebrink to be the 8th inning set up man.

The man holding the pitching staff together is off course, the king of all jerks, A.J. Pierzysnki. He's off to a great start, hitting .339.

The biggest off-season acquisition may have been outfielder/1st Baseman Nick Swisher, who has taken over the lead off role in the lineup. Though he has big power capability, he hit 35 home runs in 2006, Swisher also draws around 100 walks a season. Jerry Owens started out as the lead off man and centerfielder, but when he was injured, Swisher moved to center and to the top spot in the order. He leads the team in runs scored.

Owens' injury also opened an opportunity for Carlos Quentin to grab a regular spot in left field. The 25-yr old is hitting just .241, but has 4 home run, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, and .897 OPS. He's done well enough for now to keep Owens in the minors after his rehab stint was over.

Joe Crede may already be the comeback player of the year. The oft-back injured 3rd Baseman leads the team with 18 RBI and 2 of his 5 home runs have been grand slams.

DH Jim Thome has been slumping, but is coming off a 4-5 game and has 5 HR and 16 RBI. Shortstop Cabrera has struggled through his first 18 games, hitting just .239. The man he replaced at the position, Juan Uribe, has moved to 2nd Base and is hitting just .153 in place of the injured Danny Richar. Uribe was nearly released in spring training and still could be when Richar returns from a stress fracture in his rib cage.

Probable Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) faces former Yankee, Jose Contreras (1-1, 4.34) in the series opener tonight at 8:11 EDT. Mike Mussina (1-3, 5.75) goes against another former teammate, Javier Vazquez (3-1, 3.20) on Wednesday, and Phil Hughes (0-3, 8.82) looks for his first win when he faces former Phillies phenom Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.40) in the series finale.

Injury Update
Jorge Posada is closer to returning to his normal spot behind the dish, but Alex Rodriguez is likely to sit out tonight with his strained quad.

News and Notes
A-Rod's health may dictate if Jason Giambi sits in one of the three games. Though the Yankees are facing three right-handed starters, Giambi's bat has yet to come alive, and he might have sat a game or two in favor of Morgan Ensberg if not for A-Rod's injury. But Ensberg will be manning the hot corner while A-Rod is out.

Giambi would be hitting even worse if not for the Red Sox Mike Timlin. The Giambino is 3-3 with 2 home runs against him. As a matter of fact Giambi gave Timlin a big hug when the two teams met at Yankee Stadium last week, and thanked him.