I Could Walk 500 Miles

It only took 30 games, but the Yankees are finally back to the .500 mark with a 4-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks. They got there with another big performance from Chien-Ming Wang, shaky, but scoreless relief from Kyle Farnsworth and another save for Mariano Rivera. Most of the offense came in the 1st inning when Bobby Abreu ripped a 3-run HR off of starter and loser, Brandon Webb.

Wang was in trouble in the top of the 1st inning, allowing a pair of singles to put runners on the corners with 1 out. But the Yankee's iceman got Eric Byrnes to foul out to Jorge Posada, and retired Chad Tracy on a ground out to 2nd. The only run off of him on the night came courtesy of a 4th innings solo shot by Tracy.

Wang (6-4) threw 23 pitches in the 1st inning, but averaged only 12 an inning after that in a 7-inning stint. Since a blowout loss to Texas on May 10, the Taiwanese native has gone 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA, and has averaged over 7 innings a start.

After the 1st inning fireworks, Webb (6-4) was masterful, allowing only a pair of Hideki Matsui singles over the next 5 innings. But the Yankees added some insurance in the 7th when Matsui drew a lead off walk and Robinson Cano followed with a double to right. With the infield playing in, Dbacks 2nd Baseman Orlando Hudson made a beautiful stop of a Melky Cabrera grounder up the middle. Hudson threw to 1st as Matsui held his ground at 3rd. Cano, however, needs a copy of "Where's the play?" after breaking for 3rd despite Matsui holding. Former Yankee Tony Clark threw to 2nd to nail Cano retreating to the base, but Matsui raced home with that all important extra run.

Farnsworth nearly let the Dbacks back in the 8th when he gave up a double to Stephen Drew and issued a 2-out walk to Tracy. But he retired Clark on a line drive to right to bring a sigh of relief from anyone watching. Then it was over to Mo.

Mariano breezed through the 9th, retiring the side in order for his 8th save. He's now allowed just 1 run over his last 17 appearances (18 1-3 innings) and has a 10 2-3 innings scoreless streak. His ERA has lowered from 12.15 to 3.96 since being lit up by Boston on April 27th.