Boston Honors Mo...Kind Of

Perhaps it was for ruining their 100th anniversary celebration last year (Yankees won 6-2), or for being beaten to a pulp for so many years, or the 2004 idiots were in charge. No matter the reason, the Red Sox utilized a bit of tongue in cheek when they honored Mariano Rivera prior to the game.

It started with what Boston MC Dave O'Brien described as "...less of a toast and more of a roast." The video board then showed Bill Mueller, Dave Roberts, and Kevin Millar, who really still is an idiot, discussing Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Mueller and Roberts were pretty much factual, while Millar played up his clown act.

At the end the three congratulated Mariano on his fabulous career. So it wasn't so bad, but then they showed the 2005 Boston home opener when the Fenway faithful gave Mariano a standing ovation for blowing leads in the playoffs.

Mariano, ever full of class, smile, laughed and tipped his cap. I can't find anything to corroborate it, but I recall Mariano being annoyed by it a short time later. Basically, he said, okay, you had your fun; that's enough. Something to that affect.

The Red Sox then presented several gifts, including a portrait of Mariano from that 2005 opener. Really? You couldn't do better than that? There were nice gifts as well.

A signed (by the Red Sox) number 42 placard that  is put on the scoreboard whenever Mariano came on to pitch. A pitching rubber and a nice donation to Mariano's foundation were presented as well.

The Sox also brought in cellists to perform a class version of "Enter Sandman" and then went out and spanked the Yankees for the third straight night (as of the 7th inning).

Yankees Went After Millar

Say it ain't so Brian. The NY Post's Joel Sherman (tip of the hat to Bleacher Report's Rob Abruzzese) reports that the Yankees have had conversations with Kevin Millar about serving in a utility role for the Bronx Bombers.

Millar's former teammate, Johnny Damon, and Alex Rodriguez both recommended a Millar signing. But Sherman reports that Millar will be inking a deal with the Blue Jays on Friday.

While it might have strengthened the team, there's no way we could take Millar in a Yankees uniform. Blech.

Late Rally Bats Down O's

Mike Mussina wasn't able to garner his 17th win, but the Yankees rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to beat the Orioles, 9-4, last night at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mussina didn't have his best stuff and fell behind 3-1 on a pair of Aubrey Huff RBI singles and a Ramon Hernandez solo home run.

The Yankees tied things up in the 5th inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Robinson Cano and Jose Molina, but the Orioles took the lead against Mussina again in the sixth on Kevin Millar's sac fly.

With Mussina out of the game, the Yankees came back against the Orioles bullpen, which was without closer George Sherrill. Bobby Abreu greeted lefty specialist Jamie Walker with his fourth of five hits on the night, and Alex Rodriguez ripped a double to left to put two men in scoring position with no one out.

Jason Giambi failed in the clutch for a change, popping out to Juan Castro at shortstop, but reliever Kam Mickolio uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Abreu to score just ahead of Hernandez's retrieval and throw to the plate. Xavier Nady then singled to right to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Damaso Marte retired the first two Orioles in the bottom of the eighth, but when he hit Huff with a pitch, Joe Girardi immediately went to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save. Rivera retired Yankees killer Millar on a pop up to Derek Jeter to end the inning and then the Yankees piled it on in the ninth.

With two away, Abreu singled for hit number five, and A-Rod followed with another double, this one a one-hopper into the seats. Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense in the eighth and homered in his only Yankees at-bat last Sunday, made it two home runs in two at-bats. He crushed a Francisco Cabrera pitch into the left field seats to bust the game open. Nady wanted in on the act too though, and hit his eighth home run since joining the Yankees and his 21st of the season overall.

Armed with a four-run lead, Rivera easily retired the Orioles in order in the ninth for this 29th save in 30 attempts.


News and Notes

When Derek Jeter was asked after the game about hit number 2,500, he said he was only focused on 2,501 on Saturday. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth are the only other two Yankees to reach the 2,500 hit mark.

Xavier Nady is hitting .321-8-21 in 25 games, with a 1.012 OPS.

Bobby Abreu's 5 hits tied a career-high mark he set on Aug. 8, 1999. No fans were happier than the Venezuelan little league team that Abreu paid to have transported from Williamsport, PA to the game. Abreu also made a great running catch on a foul ball in the right field corner. Unfortunately, he also shied away from a ball in right-center field that led to the Orioles taking a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.

August 22, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	4		9	16	0
Baltimore	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0		4	9	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	5	1	1	0	0	0	2	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	0	.296
Abreu, RF	5	2	5	1	0	0	0	.295
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	2	2	0	0	1	4	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.250
Ransom, 1B	1	1	1	3	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	0	.328
Matsui, DH	3	0	0	0	2	1	1	.313
Cano, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.263
Molina, C	4	1	1	1	0	2	4	.227
Totals	41	9	16	8	2	10	15
BATTING 2B: Damon (26, Liz), Rodriguez, A 2 (28, Walker, Cabrera, F). HR: Cano (11, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Molina (2, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Ransom (2, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 2 on, 2 out), Nady (21, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 2; Jeter; Abreu 5; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi; Ransom 4; Nady 5; Cano 5; Molina 4. RBI: Abreu (82), Cano (56), Molina (14), Nady 2 (78), Ransom 3 (5). 2-out RBI: Ransom 3; Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Damon 2; Molina. GIDP: Rodriguez, A. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING CS: Abreu (10, 2nd base by Liz/Hernandez, R). FIELDING DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina	6.0	9	4	4	0	3	1	3.45
Veras (W, 4-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.78
Marte (H, 20)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.45
Rivera (S, 29)	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.60

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.299
Markakis, RF	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.301
Mora, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.283
Huff, DH	3	0	2	2	0	0	0	.301
Millar, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	0	3	.249
Scott, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.272
Hernandez, R, C	3	1	1	2	0	0	0	.257
Payton, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.239
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.202
Totals	33	4	9	4	0	3	7
BATTING 2B: Millar (24, Mussina). HR: Hernandez, R (14, 4th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Roberts; Markakis; Mora; Huff 2; Millar 3; Scott; Hernandez, R 4. RBI: Huff 2 (89), Hernandez, R 2 (56). 2-out RBI: Huff. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Scott. SF: Hernandez, R. GIDP: Millar. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Roberts (32, 2nd base off Mussina/Molina). CS: Scott (2, 2nd base by Mussina/Molina). FIELDING E: Castro, J (3, fielding). PB: Hernandez, R (9). Outfield assists: Markakis (Giambi at 2nd base). DP: 2 (Hernandez, R-Roberts, Mora-Roberts-Millar).

Baltimore	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Liz	4.2	9	3	3	1	4	2	7.32
Sarfate	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	5.09
Cherry (H, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	7.20
Walker (H, 8)(L, 1-1)	0.1	2	2	2	0	0	0	5.64
Mickolio (BS, 1)	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9.00
Castillo, A	1.1	1	1	1	0	2	0	2.84
Cabrera, F	0.1	3	3	3	0	1	2	4.24

Mickolio pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Mickolio.
HBP: Huff (by Marte).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 110-75, Veras 11-5, Marte 6-4,
Rivera 15-10, Liz 83-52, Sarfate 23-12, Cherry 11-8,
Walker 13-7, Mickolio 6-4, Castillo, A 29-16, Cabrera, F 13-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 7-7, Veras 2-1,
Marte 0-2, Rivera 1-3, Liz 5-3, Sarfate 1-1, Cherry 0-2,
Walker 0-1, Mickolio 0-0, Castillo, A 2-0, Cabrera, F 0-0.
Batters faced: Mussina 25, Veras 3, Marte 3, Rivera 4,
Liz 21, Sarfate 5, Cherry 3, Walker 3, Mickolio 1, Castillo, A 6, Cabrera, F 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0,
Mickolio 2-2, Castillo, A 1-0, Cabrera, F 1-1.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Ed Hickox.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, R to L.
T: 3:23.
Att: 43,543.

Late Rally Bats Down O's

Mike Mussina wasn't able to garner his 17th win, but the Yankees rallied from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to beat the Orioles, 9-4, last night at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Mussina didn't have his best stuff and fell behind 3-1 on a pair of Aubrey Huff RBI singles and a Ramon Hernandez solo home run.

The Yankees tied things up in the 5th inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Robinson Cano and Jose Molina, but the Orioles took the lead against Mussina again in the sixth on Kevin Millar's sac fly.

With Mussina out of the game, the Yankees came back against the Orioles bullpen, which was without closer George Sherrill. Bobby Abreu greeted lefty specialist Jamie Walker with his fourth of five hits on the night, and Alex Rodriguez ripped a double to left to put two men in scoring position with no one out.

Jason Giambi failed in the clutch for a change, popping out to Juan Castro at shortstop, but reliever Kam Mickolio uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Abreu to score just ahead of Hernandez's retrieval and throw to the plate. Xavier Nady then singled to right to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Damaso Marte retired the first two Orioles in the bottom of the eighth, but when he hit Huff with a pitch, Joe Girardi immediately went to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save. Rivera retired Yankees killer Millar on a pop up to Derek Jeter to end the inning and then the Yankees piled it on in the ninth.

With two away, Abreu singled for hit number five, and A-Rod followed with another double, this one a one-hopper into the seats. Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense in the eighth and homered in his only Yankees at-bat last Sunday, made it two home runs in two at-bats. He crushed a Francisco Cabrera pitch into the left field seats to bust the game open. Nady wanted in on the act too though, and hit his eighth home run since joining the Yankees and his 21st of the season overall.

Armed with a four-run lead, Rivera easily retired the Orioles in order in the ninth for this 29th save in 30 attempts.


News and Notes

When Derek Jeter was asked after the game about hit number 2,500, he said he was only focused on 2,501 on Saturday. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth are the only other two Yankees to reach the 2,500 hit mark.

Xavier Nady is hitting .321-8-21 in 25 games, with a 1.012 OPS.

Bobby Abreu's 5 hits tied a career-high mark he set on Aug. 8, 1999. No fans were happier than the Venezuelan little league team that Abreu paid to have transported from Williamsport, PA to the game. Abreu also made a great running catch on a foul ball in the right field corner. Unfortunately, he also shied away from a ball in right-center field that led to the Orioles taking a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.

August 22, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	4		9	16	0
Baltimore	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0		4	9	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF	5	1	1	0	0	0	2	.312
Jeter, SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	0	.296
Abreu, RF	5	2	5	1	0	0	0	.295
Rodriguez, A, 3B	5	2	2	0	0	1	4	.309
Giambi, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.250
Ransom, 1B	1	1	1	3	0	0	0	1.000
Nady, LF	5	1	2	2	0	2	0	.328
Matsui, DH	3	0	0	0	2	1	1	.313
Cano, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.263
Molina, C	4	1	1	1	0	2	4	.227
Totals	41	9	16	8	2	10	15
BATTING 2B: Damon (26, Liz), Rodriguez, A 2 (28, Walker, Cabrera, F). HR: Cano (11, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Molina (2, 5th inning off Liz, 0 on, 0 out), Ransom (2, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 2 on, 2 out), Nady (21, 9th inning off Cabrera, F, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 2; Jeter; Abreu 5; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi; Ransom 4; Nady 5; Cano 5; Molina 4. RBI: Abreu (82), Cano (56), Molina (14), Nady 2 (78), Ransom 3 (5). 2-out RBI: Ransom 3; Nady. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Damon 2; Molina. GIDP: Rodriguez, A. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING CS: Abreu (10, 2nd base by Liz/Hernandez, R). FIELDING DP: (Rodriguez, A-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina	6.0	9	4	4	0	3	1	3.45
Veras (W, 4-2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.78
Marte (H, 20)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.45
Rivera (S, 29)	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.60

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.299
Markakis, RF	4	1	1	0	0	2	1	.301
Mora, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.283
Huff, DH	3	0	2	2	0	0	0	.301
Millar, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	0	3	.249
Scott, LF	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.272
Hernandez, R, C	3	1	1	2	0	0	0	.257
Payton, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.239
Castro, J, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.202
Totals	33	4	9	4	0	3	7
BATTING 2B: Millar (24, Mussina). HR: Hernandez, R (14, 4th inning off Mussina, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Roberts; Markakis; Mora; Huff 2; Millar 3; Scott; Hernandez, R 4. RBI: Huff 2 (89), Hernandez, R 2 (56). 2-out RBI: Huff. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Scott. SF: Hernandez, R. GIDP: Millar. Team LOB: 4. BASERUNNING SB: Roberts (32, 2nd base off Mussina/Molina). CS: Scott (2, 2nd base by Mussina/Molina). FIELDING E: Castro, J (3, fielding). PB: Hernandez, R (9). Outfield assists: Markakis (Giambi at 2nd base). DP: 2 (Hernandez, R-Roberts, Mora-Roberts-Millar).

Baltimore	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Liz	4.2	9	3	3	1	4	2	7.32
Sarfate	1.1	0	0	0	1	2	0	5.09
Cherry (H, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	7.20
Walker (H, 8)(L, 1-1)	0.1	2	2	2	0	0	0	5.64
Mickolio (BS, 1)	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9.00
Castillo, A	1.1	1	1	1	0	2	0	2.84
Cabrera, F	0.1	3	3	3	0	1	2	4.24

Mickolio pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Mickolio.
HBP: Huff (by Marte).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 110-75, Veras 11-5, Marte 6-4,
Rivera 15-10, Liz 83-52, Sarfate 23-12, Cherry 11-8,
Walker 13-7, Mickolio 6-4, Castillo, A 29-16, Cabrera, F 13-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 7-7, Veras 2-1,
Marte 0-2, Rivera 1-3, Liz 5-3, Sarfate 1-1, Cherry 0-2,
Walker 0-1, Mickolio 0-0, Castillo, A 2-0, Cabrera, F 0-0.
Batters faced: Mussina 25, Veras 3, Marte 3, Rivera 4,
Liz 21, Sarfate 5, Cherry 3, Walker 3, Mickolio 1, Castillo, A 6, Cabrera, F 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Rivera 1-0, Sarfate 1-0,
Mickolio 2-2, Castillo, A 1-0, Cabrera, F 1-1.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Ed Hickox.
Weather: 80 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, R to L.
T: 3:23.
Att: 43,543.

Skid Hits 3 as Rally Falls Short

The Yankees climbed out of a hole in the 9th inning tonight, turning a runaway into a one run ball game with the tying run on 2nd base and just 1 out. But as we've seen time and time again this year, they come up short when needing the big hit. This time it was Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit both going down on swinging strikes as George Sherrill barely preserved a 7-6 game.

Darrell Rasner kept the Yankees in the game, leaving in the 7th with two on, two out, and the Orioles ahead 2-1. The Yankees newest Damaso Marte had a chance for heroics, but failed miserably. After a bloop single by Nick Markakis loaded the bases, Marte temporarily escaped trouble when Aubrey Huff's blast into the upper deck in right field faded into foul territory. But Marte wasn't so lucky with his next pitch.

Huff drilled a Marte breaking pitch into the gap in left-center to clear the bases and put the Orioles on top 5-1. Melvin Mora added an RBI double for Marte finally worked out of the inning. Huff would narrowly miss a home run again, in the 9th against Mariano Rivera, but later in the at-bat he tied a career high with his 4th hit, yup, a home run against Rivera in the same at-bat.

The Yankees lone run until the 8th was Alex Rodriguez's 22nd home run off of Daniel Cabrera. Down 6-1 in the 8th Cabrera was ejected after hitting Rodriguez in the shoulder with a high fastball. Home plate ump Chad Fairchild felt there was intent though manager Dave Trembley strongly disagreed. Cano would deliver a 2-run single that would cut the lead to 6-4 and put the tying runs on base with no one out.

But Jim Johnson struck out Betemit (gee, what a shock that was), retired Melky Cabrera on a line out to center and struck out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady (you think he wishes he were back in P-Burgh?) looking.

Huff's home run off Rivera would prove to be crucial when the Yankees rallied in the 9th against closer George Sherrill. Johnny Damon's lead off single was followed by a walk to Derek Jeter and an RBI double by Bobby Abreu. It was suddenly a 7-5 game and A-Rod was up. But Sherrill won the showdown, throwing a high fastball past the reigning AL MVP for a strikeout.

Jason Giambi came through, lining a pitch off of the mound, and nearly Sherrill, for a 2-run single. Down a run, pinch-runner Justin Christian swiped 2nd, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Sherrill K'ed Cano on three pitches and threw a 2-2 pitch past Betemit to hand the Yankees their third straight loss.


News and Notes

Alex Rodriguez's home run was the 540th of his career. It put him 8 behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 10 games, in which he's hitting .318 (14-44)

Kevin Millar homered for the second straight night. Why does no Yankees back him off the plate?

Skid Hits 3 as Rally Falls Short

The Yankees climbed out of a hole in the 9th inning tonight, turning a runaway into a one run ball game with the tying run on 2nd base and just 1 out. But as we've seen time and time again this year, they come up short when needing the big hit. This time it was Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit both going down on swinging strikes as George Sherrill barely preserved a 7-6 game.

Darrell Rasner kept the Yankees in the game, leaving in the 7th with two on, two out, and the Orioles ahead 2-1. The Yankees newest Damaso Marte had a chance for heroics, but failed miserably. After a bloop single by Nick Markakis loaded the bases, Marte temporarily escaped trouble when Aubrey Huff's blast into the upper deck in right field faded into foul territory. But Marte wasn't so lucky with his next pitch.

Huff drilled a Marte breaking pitch into the gap in left-center to clear the bases and put the Orioles on top 5-1. Melvin Mora added an RBI double for Marte finally worked out of the inning. Huff would narrowly miss a home run again, in the 9th against Mariano Rivera, but later in the at-bat he tied a career high with his 4th hit, yup, a home run against Rivera in the same at-bat.

The Yankees lone run until the 8th was Alex Rodriguez's 22nd home run off of Daniel Cabrera. Down 6-1 in the 8th Cabrera was ejected after hitting Rodriguez in the shoulder with a high fastball. Home plate ump Chad Fairchild felt there was intent though manager Dave Trembley strongly disagreed. Cano would deliver a 2-run single that would cut the lead to 6-4 and put the tying runs on base with no one out.

But Jim Johnson struck out Betemit (gee, what a shock that was), retired Melky Cabrera on a line out to center and struck out pinch-hitter Xavier Nady (you think he wishes he were back in P-Burgh?) looking.

Huff's home run off Rivera would prove to be crucial when the Yankees rallied in the 9th against closer George Sherrill. Johnny Damon's lead off single was followed by a walk to Derek Jeter and an RBI double by Bobby Abreu. It was suddenly a 7-5 game and A-Rod was up. But Sherrill won the showdown, throwing a high fastball past the reigning AL MVP for a strikeout.

Jason Giambi came through, lining a pitch off of the mound, and nearly Sherrill, for a 2-run single. Down a run, pinch-runner Justin Christian swiped 2nd, putting the tying run in scoring position. But Sherrill K'ed Cano on three pitches and threw a 2-2 pitch past Betemit to hand the Yankees their third straight loss.


News and Notes

Alex Rodriguez's home run was the 540th of his career. It put him 8 behind Mike Schmidt on the all-time list.

Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 10 games, in which he's hitting .318 (14-44)

Kevin Millar homered for the second straight night. Why does no Yankees back him off the plate?

Drubbed Again, Naturally

The Yankees could have shaken off Sunday night's miserable loss to Boston by starting out their homestand on the right foot against Baltimore last night. But Mike Mussina was knocked around like Jerry Quarry and the Yankees were thrashed for the second straight night, this time by the last place Orioles, 13-4. The offense was also anemic once again, this time against Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

It's games like these last two that makes it difficult to fully get behind this Yankees ball club. The Yankees offensive numbers over the past 10 games, of which they have won 8, looks quite impressive. But they did nothing in three games against Oakland and weren't effective against two of the three Red Sox starters.

It didn't help that Mike Mussina put his teammates in a quick hole. Moose escaped the 1st inning unscathed, thanks to a relay from Xavier Nady to Derek Jeter to Jose Molina, to nail Brian Roberts at home plate. But Yankees killer Kevin Millar struck in the 2nd inning, blasting a 3-run home run. Millar is now hitting .300-20-54 in 103 games against the Yankees. Ramon Hernandez went back to back with Millar for a 4-0 Orioles lead.

The Yankees went down in order in the first three innings before Johnny Damon led off the 4th with a single. That was quickly erased when Derek Jeter bounced into, yet, another double play. Bobby Abreu followed with a walk, but Alex Rodriguez tapped out to Hernandez to end the inning.

The Orioles extended their lead in the 5th when Adam Jones followed Roberts' double with an RBI triple and scored on an Aubrey Huff sac fly. A 6-0 lead after 5 and Mussina's night was done. The Orioles slammed David Robertson and Kyle Farnsworth for 7 more runs, including a grand slam by Jones.

Down 11-0 in the 7th, the Yankees finally got on the board on Xavier Nady's first American League home run and a 3-run shot by Damon. But it was much too little and definitely much too late.

Things don't get easier tonight with the erratic Darrell Rasner going for the Bombers against Daniel Cabrera. A feel good 8-game winning streak could easily become an ugly 3-game losing streak. The Yankees only bit of good fortune last night was losses by both the Rays and Red Sox.


July 28, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore	0	4	0	0	2	5	0	2	0		13	17	1
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0		4	9	0

Baltimore	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Roberts, 2B	4	2	2	0	2	1	0	.286
Jones, CF	6	3	3	5	0	1	4	.280
Markakis, RF	4	0	1	0	1	1	2	.290
Huff, DH	4	1	2	3	0	1	2	.295
Mora, 3B	4	1	1	0	0	1	2	.249
a-Fahey, PH-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.241
Scott, LF	5	2	2	0	0	2	1	.262
Millar, 1B	5	2	3	3	0	1	0	.245
Hernandez, R, C	4	1	2	1	0	0	2	.252
Castro, J, SS-3B	5	1	1	1	0	2	3	.135
Totals	42	13	17	13	3	10	16
a-Popped out for Mora in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Markakis (30, Mussina), Huff (31, Mussina), Roberts (39, Mussina), Millar (17, Veras). 3B: Jones (6, Mussina). HR: Millar (15, 2nd inning off Mussina, 2 on, 0 out), Hernandez, R (12, 2nd inning off Mussina, 0 on, 0 out), Jones (7, 6th inning off Robertson, 3 on, 1 out), Huff (21, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Roberts 3; Jones 8; Markakis 2; Huff 6; Mora; Scott 2; Millar 7; Hernandez, R 5; Castro, J. RBI: Millar 3 (53), Hernandez, R (43), Jones 5 (48), Huff 3 (67), Castro, J (1). 2-out RBI: Huff 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Huff; Scott; Jones 2. SF: Huff. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING E: Roberts (5, throw). DP: (Roberts-Castro, J-Millar).

Baltimore	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Guthrie (W, 7-8)	6.1	3	1	1	2	4	1	3.49
Cormier	0.0	2	3	2	0	0	1	4.05
Bierd	1.1	3	0	0	1	2	0	1.47
Walker	1.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	4.70

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	5	1	2	3	0	1	3	.317
Jeter, SS	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	.285
Betemit, SS	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.254
Abreu, RF	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	.279
Sexson, 1B	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	.219
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.323
Moeller, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.225
Giambi, 1B	3	0	0	0	0	2	3	.249
Christian, RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.250
Cano, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.267
Nady, LF	3	1	1	1	0	1	1	.323
Cabrera, CF	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	.250
Molina, C	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	.229
Totals	36	4	9	4	3	6	14
BATTING 2B: Molina (15, Cormier), Cano (23, Bierd). HR: Nady (14, 7th inning off Guthrie, 0 on, 1 out), Damon (7, 7th inning off Cormier, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 5; Jeter; Betemit; Sexson; Cano 2; Nady 4; Cabrera; Molina 2. RBI: Nady (58), Damon 3 (43). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi 2; Damon 2. GIDP: Jeter. Team LOB: 10. FIELDING Outfield assists: Nady (Roberts at home).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 13-7)	5.0	8	6	6	1	4	2	3.56
Robertson	0.1	4	5	5	2	0	1	4.97
Ramirez	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.35
Marte	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3.38
Farnsworth	1.0	2	2	2	0	2	1	3.65
Veras	1.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	2.86

Cormier pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

WP: Robertson.
HBP: Nady (by Guthrie), Rodriguez, A (by Guthrie),
Hernandez, R (by Veras).
Pitches-strikes: Guthrie 102-62, Cormier 23-15,
Bierd 38-21, Walker 19-13, Mussina 95-63, Robertson 31-14,
Ramirez 7-6, Marte 15-9, Farnsworth 22-13, Veras 18-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Guthrie 9-6, Cormier 0-0,
Bierd 1-1, Walker 1-3, Mussina 5-5, Robertson 0-1,
Ramirez 0-2, Marte 0-1, Farnsworth 0-1, Veras 0-1.
Batters faced: Guthrie 25, Cormier 3, Bierd 8, Walker 5,
Mussina 23, Robertson 7, Ramirez 2, Marte 4, Farnsworth 5, Veras 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Walker 3-0, Ramirez 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Sam Holbrook. 1B: Chad Fairchild.
2B: Mark Wegner. 3B: Jeff Kellogg.
Weather: 83 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, R to L.
T: 3:31.
Att: 54,120.