Cano, Yankees Leave Their Mark On Buehrle Again

The Yankees wiped the smile off of Mark Buerhle's face again.

Mark Buehrle has had a successful 14 year career in the big leagues. 175 wins, a perfect game, a no-hitter, and a World Series ring are among the items on his resume. He's not a fantasy baseball player since he will only give you a boost in wins, but more importantly, he can't handle the New York Yankees at all. In fact, you couldn't blame him if he never wanted to face them again.

That won't be possible since Buehrle is now smack dab in the AL East after 12 seasons with the Chicago White Sox and one playing for Miami Marlins con man.  Now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, Buehrle was a handed a 3-0 lead after Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie homered in the first two innings Thursday night.

But just as they did last week in Toronto, the Yankees topped Buerhle and the Blue Jays 5-3. Vernon Wells replicated his feat from the prior meeting by hitting a second inning home run. One inning later, Robinson Cano hit his third career home run off of Buerhle with two men aboard for a 4-3 Yankees lead.

Buehrle had allowed three home runs through his first four starts, but the Yankees matched the total when Francisco Cervelli went deep in the 4th inning. The two run lead was plenty for Hiroki Kuroda, who pitched beautifully from the third inning on. Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera blanked the Jays over the final three fames with just one Toronto runner reaching base safely. Kuroda improved to 3-1 with the win.

Buehrle career record against the Yankees dropped to 1-9 in 14 career starts with a 6.19 ERA. The Yankees have a .324 average against the veteran left-hander, whose WHIP is 1.61 vs. New York compared to his career mark of 1.28 against all of baseball.

Cano has a ridiculous 1.405 OPS against Buehrle with the three aforementioned home runs and a pair of doubles in 20 at-bats (eight hits total).  Wells isn't far behind with a 1.289 OPS, that includes three home runs, four doubles, and a triple as part of a .480 average. He's also driven in 10 runs in 50 at-bats.

Notes

Wednesday night was Eduardo Nunez's time to shine in the field against Tampa Bay. Last night it was Jayson Nix wielding a hot glove at the hot corner in place of Kevin Youkilis. Joe Girardi is hoping Youkilis' back will be in good enough shape to play this weekend.

Ichiro Suzuki had a couple of hits and is 9-29 (.310) over his last five games.

Ben Francisco had one hit in the game, but is just 3-29 on the season. Even though he's a right-handed bat, he has to be the primary candidate to be let go when Curtis Granderson returns.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cano has 7 HR and 17 RBI in his last 15 games. Only Mike Napoli (19) has knocked in more runs in that span.

Cano Tops List of AL Gold Glove Winners

Anyone who got the opportunity to watch Robinson Cano play 2nd base this past season knew he had a great chance of winning his first Gold Glove. Today those thoughts came to fruition.

Cano won his first Gold Glove award after a season filled with displays of remarkable range, sparking plays, and most importantly perhaps, consistently making the routine plays.

Cano was joined by shortstop Derek Jeter, who won his 5th Gold Glove, and Mark Teixeira, a 4-time winner. Cano and Jeter became the first Yankees middle infield duo to win the award in the same season.

Adding to their previous awards were pitcher Mark Buehrle, outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, catcher Joe Mauer, and Evan Longoria. In addition to Cano, outfielders Franklin Gutierrez and Carl Crawford each picked up their first award.

Jeter's award, of course, immediately set off a firestorm of discussion on Twitter as does anything the Yankees' captain does.

Holy Cano-li

That's the phrase that popped in my head this afternoon as Robinson Cano sent yet another home run into the right field seats. Cano and the Yankees had their hitting shoes on as they pounded the Chicago White Sox 12-3 on a hot and sticky Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.

Phil Hughes was outstanding once again, shaking off his rocky outing in Baltimore, to win his third game of the season. In taking 2 of the 3 from Chicago, the Yankees have grabbed 7 of the 8 series they've played this year.

The Yankees won without the services of Curtis Granderson, who is out with a Grade-2 groin strain, and Alex Rodriguez who is bothered by either a knee or leg muscle depending on who you talk to.

The Yankees had already put a pair of runs on the board when Cano took Mark Buehrle deep with two men aboard for a 5-0 lead. Buehrle threw a perfect game on July 23, 2009, but has been anything but perfect since. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings and is just 4-11 since that magical game last July.

Hughes, on the other hand, cruised through the White Sox lineup for seven shutout innings. Hughes used a mid-90's fastball with a changeup and curve to limit the Chisox to four hits and walk, while he struck out 6. Hughes lowered his ERA to a league second best 1.44 mark.

With Hughes dominating Chicago's lineup, the Yankees lineup continued their assault on the White Sox bullpen. Mark Teixeira embraced the new month by tying a career high with four hits. Brett Gardner hit his first home run of the year and Nick Swisher snapped out of his home field problems by homering for the second straight game and had three of the Yankees 16 hits.

Paul Konerko broke up the shutout in the 9th with his league leading 12th home run off of newly recalled right-hander Mark Melancon.

Who Ordered Pie?

Cano Gets His Just Desserts

(my recap for Baseball Digest)

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: Alex Rodriguez • cc sabathia • Chicago White Sox • Derek Jeter • Jermaine Dye • Mark Buehrle • nick swisher • Robinson Cano • Yankees 8/28 recap • Yankees vs. White Sox

Home runs, strong pitching, walk off wins, and whipped cream facials have been the mark of ball games played at the new Yankee Stadium this season. Last night’s game with the Chicago White Sox was right out of the 2009 playbook. Robinson Cano crushed a 3-run home run in the bottom of 10th inning to give the Yankees a 5-2 victory and made Cano the recipient of pie ala Burnett.

Left-hander Randy Williams struck out Mark Teixeira and then got some help from the wind as Alex Rodriguez‘ deep fly to center died short of the warning track. But Williams walked Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher, setting up a showdown with Cano, who had been hitless in four at-bats on the night. After working a 2-2 count, Cano launched a Williams fastball into the Yankees bullpen for the team’s 11th walk-off win of the season. The strong winds had no chance to play a factor since the ball more of a line drive than fly ball. Brian Bruney worked a scoreless top of the 10th to improve to 4-0.

CC Sabathia had given the Yankees a dominant outing, striking out 10 batters through six innings. But the big man, protecting a 2-0 lead built on home runs by Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, ran into trouble in the 7th. If not for some key defensive plays, Sabathia may very well have left the game with the Yankees trailing.

Jermaine Dye started the 7th with a double and Sabathia issued his first walk of the game, putting Carlos Quentin aboard. Alex Rios‘ double to right cut the Yankees lead in half and put the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position. One out later, Sabathia induced a ground ball by Ramon Castro. Quentin, running on contact, was easily gunned down at the plate by Rodriguez. The Yankees third baseman then made a huge play, diving into foul territory to snare Jayson Nix‘ fair ball that barely went over the third base bag. Though he had no play to make, A-Rod’s stop prevented not only a run from scoring, but a bigger inning from occurring.

Gordon Beckham lined a game tying single to right, but Nick Swisher came up with, arguably, his best throw of the season- a one-hopper to Jose Molina, who thrust his right leg out to block the plate and tagged out his White Sox counterpart Castro for the inning’s final out.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter hit his 22nd lead off home run, putting in him sole possession of second place on the career franchise list. He’s just two home runs behind Rickey Henderson for the #1 spot. The home run was also the 223rd of his career, pushing him past Don Mattingly for 10th place on the team’s career list. The home run was his lone hit, and number 2,705, 16 behind Lou Gehrig.

CC Sabathia finished August 5-0, 2.64 and is 7-1, 2.95 since the All-Star break.

Melky Cycles His Way Around Chicago

Filed Under: Yankees

Tags: cc sabathia • Jermaine Dye • Jim Thome • mariano rivera • Mark Buehrle • melky cabrera • Melky hits for the cycle • Thurman Munson • Yankees 8/2 recap • Yankees vs. White Sox

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	3	0	2	2	0	0	0	1		8	15	0
Chi White Sox	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	0		5	11	0

WP - Sabathia (11-7) SV - Rivera (30) LP - Buehrle (11-5)

The Yankees finally beat a team with Sox in their name, thanks in large part to Melky Cabrera who became the first Yankee in 14 years to hit for the cycle. CC Sabathia gutted his way through 7+ innings and the Yankees topped the Chicago White Sox 8-5.

Cabrera jump started the Yankees with a 3-run home run in the 2nd inning, but the White Sox tagged Sabathia for 4 runs in the 3rd inning. After cutting the Yankees lead to 3-1, Jermaine Dye hit his 24th home run with a man aboard and Jim Thome followed with a solo shot, his 18th, to give Chicago a 4-3 lead.

Read the rest of my recap at Baseball Digest Online.

Mark Buehrle Tosses Perfect Game

Mark Buehrle will never forget his teammate, center fielder DeWayne Wise. It was Wise's remarkable circus catch that allowed Buehrle to record the major's first perfect game since Randy Johnson accomplished the feat in 2004.

Buehrle retired all 27 Tampa Rays batters he faced, getting Jason Barlett on a ground out to Alexei Ramirez to finish off the perfect game. But it would not have happened without the play of Wise, who just entered the game for defense, and boy did he ever provide it.

Gabe Kapler led off the 9th with a drive to left-center field that was ticketed for a home run. Wise scaled the wall, snared the baseball, and fell to the ground. The ball jostled loose, but Wise corraled it for the first and biggest (well biggest next to the final out) out of the ball game.

It was the second no-hitter of Buehrle's career. He held the Texas Rangers hitless on April 18, 2007.

2009 AL Central Preview

We're not going to go in-depth with our predictions for the remainder of baseball's divisions, but here we go.

AL CENTRAL

White Sox
Twins
Indians
Tigers
Royals

The defending division champs White Sox should take this division again in a close race with the Twins. The White Sox combination of rotation and bullpen will be the difference in the AL Central. Mark Buehrle, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd are solid at the front end, while recent injury prone starters, Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon take up the back end. Colon, in particular, has looked good this spring and might be close to his old form. Bobby Jenks is a dynamite closer and the White Sox have solid arms throughout the pen. The offense has plenty of power, though that could also be looked at as being one dimensional.

A lot of talking heads expect the Indians to be back were they were in 2007, when they came within one win of going to the World Series, but we don't see it. Travis Hafner is still not swinging the bat with authority, closer Kerry Wood is always a sneeze away from an arm injury, and the rotation, outside of Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona, does nothing for us.

We really like the young arms in the Twins rotation - Scott Baker (DL), Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, and Glen Perkins are all quality arms. Joe Nathan is as reliable a closer as there is in baseball, but the rest of the Twins pen isn't scintillating. More importantly, the Twins don't have a lot of pop in their lineup, especially if Joe Mauer is hurting. The Twins really need Delmon Young to have a break out season.

Some people think the Tigers underachieved last season. We think they were just overrated and not that good. There's not much to make us feel different about the team this year. Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon are the the team's closers. Joel Zumaya is hurt again. Jeremy Bonderman is still hurt. Carlos Guillen is playing another position. Dontrelle Willis is battling an anxiety disorder. On the up side, Miguel Cabrera will mash and local boy Rick Porcello should be fun to watch.

The only thing keeping the Tigers from the basement is the Royals. Yes, they have some quality young players- Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Joakim Soria; but pitching wins and with Kyle Davies, Sidney Ponson, and Horacio Ramirez in the rotation, KC is NOT going to win.

The Pennant Race - 9/28

It's been an amazing final weekend of the 2008 season, with several playoff spots still up for grabs. The Phillies clinched the NL East with a win over Washington on Saturday, but the Mets victory, combined with the Brewers loss, meant the wildcard would come down the final Sunday, and possibly Monday.

The Marlins had crushed the Mets dreams in 2007, jumping all over then Met Tom Glavine in the first inning and cruised to an 8-1 victory. Johan Santana had put the Mets into position with a masterful shutout on Saturday. Sunday was a match of a pair of left-handers, Scott Olsen for the Marlins, and Oliver Perez for the Mets.

The two teams were scoreless in the sixth inning when the Marlins finally broke through. Cameron Maybin led off with a double and scored on John Baker's single for a 1-0 lead. Jorge Cantu followed with a single and both runners moved up on Mike Jacobs fly out. Jerry Manuel elected to intentionally walk Dan Uggla, but reliever Joe Smith walked Josh Willingham to force in a run. Smith wiggled out of further trouble and the Mets came right back.

Robinson Cancel started the home half of the sixth with a walk. One batter later Carlos Beltran drove the Shea crowd crazy with a game tying 2-run home run, his 27th of the season.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, the Brewers trailed the Cubs 1-0 on an unearned run. CC Sabathia was doing everything he could to win it for the Brewers, but Milwaukee couldn't break through against an array of Cubs pitchers.

Carlos Zambrano was originally slated to start the game for Chicago, but Lou Piniella end up opting for Angel Guzman, who gave him two innings of work. Chad Gaudin, Neall Cotts, and Kevin Hart kept Milwaukee off the board through six innings.

Veteran Ray Durham greeted reliever Scott Marshall with a lead off double in the seventh. Ryan Braun's ground out moved Durham up to third, and Prince Fielder was intentionally walked to set up a potential double play. Piniella went to Mike Wuertz, who walked J.J. Hardy to load the bases. Wuertz then struck out Craig Counsell for the second out, but walked Corey Hart to force in the tying run.

The Marlins and Mets moved to the eighth inning back at Shea, still tied at 2-2. But Wes Helms connected off of Scot Schoenweis for just his fifth home run of the season and a 3-2 Marlins lead. Two batters later, Dan Uggla slugged his 32nd home run of the year off of Luis Ayala for a 4-2 Florida advantage.

With the Mets falling behind, the Brewers took it to the Cubs in the eighth. Mike Cameron singled with one out and two batters later, second year sensation Ryan Braun belted his 37th home run of the year off of Cubs set up man Bobby Howry. Braun has 71 home runs in 264 big league games.

At Shea, Jose Reyes smacked a double off of Kevin Gregg with two outs in the eighth. A Beltran walk brought up the Mets biggest hitter in the second half, Carlos Delgado. Fredi Gonzalez countered with lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes. Delgado drilled a 1-1 shot to left, but the ball stayed in the park for the third out of the inning.

In Milwaukee, Sabathia completed his seventh game in 17 Brewers starts, Ryan Theriot singled with one away, but Sabathia got Derrek Lee to bounce into a game ending double play.

A quite Shea Stadium held their breath and heads, and prayed as Matt Lindstrom came on in the ninth for the Marlins. David Wright popped out to second base and Endy Chavez hit a comebacker for the first two outs of the inning. Damon Easley drew a walk, giving the Mets on more shot with the tying run at the plate, but Ryan Church flied out to deep center to end the ball game and another disappointing Mets season.


Over in the American League, the AL Central was coming down to the last Sunday. With a half-game separating the two teams, the White Sox needed a win in order to play their 162nd game against the Tigers on Monday. The game being a make up of an earlier rain out. The Twins held destiny in their own hands, knowing that a win would ensure them, at the very least, of a one game playoff on Tuesday.

Pitching was the name of the game for both teams. Chicago's ace Mark Buehrle pitched like one. After losing the first two games against the Indians, the White Sox needed their best to give them his best. Buerhle did just that, allowing one run over seven innings to earn his 15th win of the season. Paul Konerko's solo home run highlighted a 3-run second inning that gave the White Sox the lead for good. Jermaine Dye added some big insurance with a 2-run single in the seventh before Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks sealed the win.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Twins had struggled against the Royals for two days, but Scott Baker was huge on Sunday. The Twins right-hander allowed just four hits, and struck out eight over seven innings, and the Twins rolled to a 6-0 victory. Joe Mauer and Delmon Young drove in two runs each for the Twins, who won their 88th game.

Gavin Floyd will start for Chicago on Monday, while former White Sox star Freddy Garcia goes for the Tigers. Should the White Sox win, they will face the Twins in a one game showdown in Chicago on Tuesday.

The Pennant Race - 9/28

It's been an amazing final weekend of the 2008 season, with several playoff spots still up for grabs. The Phillies clinched the NL East with a win over Washington on Saturday, but the Mets victory, combined with the Brewers loss, meant the wildcard would come down the final Sunday, and possibly Monday.

The Marlins had crushed the Mets dreams in 2007, jumping all over then Met Tom Glavine in the first inning and cruised to an 8-1 victory. Johan Santana had put the Mets into position with a masterful shutout on Saturday. Sunday was a match of a pair of left-handers, Scott Olsen for the Marlins, and Oliver Perez for the Mets.

The two teams were scoreless in the sixth inning when the Marlins finally broke through. Cameron Maybin led off with a double and scored on John Baker's single for a 1-0 lead. Jorge Cantu followed with a single and both runners moved up on Mike Jacobs fly out. Jerry Manuel elected to intentionally walk Dan Uggla, but reliever Joe Smith walked Josh Willingham to force in a run. Smith wiggled out of further trouble and the Mets came right back.

Robinson Cancel started the home half of the sixth with a walk. One batter later Carlos Beltran drove the Shea crowd crazy with a game tying 2-run home run, his 27th of the season.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, the Brewers trailed the Cubs 1-0 on an unearned run. CC Sabathia was doing everything he could to win it for the Brewers, but Milwaukee couldn't break through against an array of Cubs pitchers.

Carlos Zambrano was originally slated to start the game for Chicago, but Lou Piniella end up opting for Angel Guzman, who gave him two innings of work. Chad Gaudin, Neall Cotts, and Kevin Hart kept Milwaukee off the board through six innings.

Veteran Ray Durham greeted reliever Scott Marshall with a lead off double in the seventh. Ryan Braun's ground out moved Durham up to third, and Prince Fielder was intentionally walked to set up a potential double play. Piniella went to Mike Wuertz, who walked J.J. Hardy to load the bases. Wuertz then struck out Craig Counsell for the second out, but walked Corey Hart to force in the tying run.

The Marlins and Mets moved to the eighth inning back at Shea, still tied at 2-2. But Wes Helms connected off of Scot Schoenweis for just his fifth home run of the season and a 3-2 Marlins lead. Two batters later, Dan Uggla slugged his 32nd home run of the year off of Luis Ayala for a 4-2 Florida advantage.

With the Mets falling behind, the Brewers took it to the Cubs in the eighth. Mike Cameron singled with one out and two batters later, second year sensation Ryan Braun belted his 37th home run of the year off of Cubs set up man Bobby Howry. Braun has 71 home runs in 264 big league games.

At Shea, Jose Reyes smacked a double off of Kevin Gregg with two outs in the eighth. A Beltran walk brought up the Mets biggest hitter in the second half, Carlos Delgado. Fredi Gonzalez countered with lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes. Delgado drilled a 1-1 shot to left, but the ball stayed in the park for the third out of the inning.

In Milwaukee, Sabathia completed his seventh game in 17 Brewers starts, Ryan Theriot singled with one away, but Sabathia got Derrek Lee to bounce into a game ending double play.

A quite Shea Stadium held their breath and heads, and prayed as Matt Lindstrom came on in the ninth for the Marlins. David Wright popped out to second base and Endy Chavez hit a comebacker for the first two outs of the inning. Damon Easley drew a walk, giving the Mets on more shot with the tying run at the plate, but Ryan Church flied out to deep center to end the ball game and another disappointing Mets season.


Over in the American League, the AL Central was coming down to the last Sunday. With a half-game separating the two teams, the White Sox needed a win in order to play their 162nd game against the Tigers on Monday. The game being a make up of an earlier rain out. The Twins held destiny in their own hands, knowing that a win would ensure them, at the very least, of a one game playoff on Tuesday.

Pitching was the name of the game for both teams. Chicago's ace Mark Buehrle pitched like one. After losing the first two games against the Indians, the White Sox needed their best to give them his best. Buerhle did just that, allowing one run over seven innings to earn his 15th win of the season. Paul Konerko's solo home run highlighted a 3-run second inning that gave the White Sox the lead for good. Jermaine Dye added some big insurance with a 2-run single in the seventh before Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks sealed the win.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, the Twins had struggled against the Royals for two days, but Scott Baker was huge on Sunday. The Twins right-hander allowed just four hits, and struck out eight over seven innings, and the Twins rolled to a 6-0 victory. Joe Mauer and Delmon Young drove in two runs each for the Twins, who won their 88th game.

Gavin Floyd will start for Chicago on Monday, while former White Sox star Freddy Garcia goes for the Tigers. Should the White Sox win, they will face the Twins in a one game showdown in Chicago on Tuesday.

Rivera Records Record Save

The Yankees don't have anything to play for on a team level, and Mariano Rivera will be the first to tell you he doesn't care about individual stats, but last night he moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time saves list when he closed out the Yankees 4-2 win over the White Sox.

In recording his 36th save in 37 attempts, and third in as many days, Rivera moved ahead of Lee Smith with 479 career saves. The victory was the Yankees third straight, the first time they achieved that feat at home since July.

Al Aceves had another impressive start, limiting the White Sox to two runs over six innings. Phil Coke pitched a scoreless inning to pick up his first major league win and has not been scored on in eight innings this season.

Xavier Nady crushed a Mark Buehrle pitch to straight away center to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the second inning. It was Nady's 11th home run since joining the Yankees from Pittsburgh, and his 24th of the season overall. It also gave him 90 RBI between the two teams.

Dewayne Wise tied things up in the fourth with a 2-run shot of his own, his fourth home run of the season, but Aceves and the Yankees pen would be unscored on the rest of the night.

Ehren Wassermann replaced Buerhle to start the seventh inning and immediately walked Nady. Chad Moeller successfully sacrificed Nady into scoring position, so Joe Girardi sent up Wilson Betemit to pinch-hit for Cody Ransom. Ozzie Guillen countered with lefty Horacio Ramirez to force Betemit to switch around to his weaker right side. But Betemit drilled a one hopper over the wall in left-center field for a ground rule double and a go ahead RBI.

Betemit moved to third base on Brett Gardner's fly out and scored on a single to right by Johnny Damon for a 4-2 Yankees lead. The Yankees then went to the power arms out of the pen. Joba Chamberlain struck out two in the eighth inning and Rivera retired the side in order in the ninth, for "just another save".


News and Notes

Derek Jeter went 0-4 in his attempt to pass Lou Gehrig for the most hits in Yankee Stadium. He did catch Gehrig for second place in team history for number of at-bats though with 8,001. Mickey Mantle is the franchise leader with 8,102. Jeter also passed Bernie Williams over the weekend for 5th place in plate appearances.

Robinson Cano was benched as a continued punishment for lack of hustle on Sunday.

Pitcher Humberto Sanchez and catcher Francisco Cervelli were recalled from the minor leagues. Cervelli, as you may recall, suffered a broken wrist during spring training when the Rays' Elliot Johnson steam rolled him at home plate.

Rivera Records Record Save

The Yankees don't have anything to play for on a team level, and Mariano Rivera will be the first to tell you he doesn't care about individual stats, but last night he moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time saves list when he closed out the Yankees 4-2 win over the White Sox.

In recording his 36th save in 37 attempts, and third in as many days, Rivera moved ahead of Lee Smith with 479 career saves. The victory was the Yankees third straight, the first time they achieved that feat at home since July.

Al Aceves had another impressive start, limiting the White Sox to two runs over six innings. Phil Coke pitched a scoreless inning to pick up his first major league win and has not been scored on in eight innings this season.

Xavier Nady crushed a Mark Buehrle pitch to straight away center to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the second inning. It was Nady's 11th home run since joining the Yankees from Pittsburgh, and his 24th of the season overall. It also gave him 90 RBI between the two teams.

Dewayne Wise tied things up in the fourth with a 2-run shot of his own, his fourth home run of the season, but Aceves and the Yankees pen would be unscored on the rest of the night.

Ehren Wassermann replaced Buerhle to start the seventh inning and immediately walked Nady. Chad Moeller successfully sacrificed Nady into scoring position, so Joe Girardi sent up Wilson Betemit to pinch-hit for Cody Ransom. Ozzie Guillen countered with lefty Horacio Ramirez to force Betemit to switch around to his weaker right side. But Betemit drilled a one hopper over the wall in left-center field for a ground rule double and a go ahead RBI.

Betemit moved to third base on Brett Gardner's fly out and scored on a single to right by Johnny Damon for a 4-2 Yankees lead. The Yankees then went to the power arms out of the pen. Joba Chamberlain struck out two in the eighth inning and Rivera retired the side in order in the ninth, for "just another save".


News and Notes

Derek Jeter went 0-4 in his attempt to pass Lou Gehrig for the most hits in Yankee Stadium. He did catch Gehrig for second place in team history for number of at-bats though with 8,001. Mickey Mantle is the franchise leader with 8,102. Jeter also passed Bernie Williams over the weekend for 5th place in plate appearances.

Robinson Cano was benched as a continued punishment for lack of hustle on Sunday.

Pitcher Humberto Sanchez and catcher Francisco Cervelli were recalled from the minor leagues. Cervelli, as you may recall, suffered a broken wrist during spring training when the Rays' Elliot Johnson steam rolled him at home plate.

Around the Horn - 4/15

Scores

The Red Sox rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Indians 6-4 last night. Manny Ramirez capped the comeback with a game winning 2-run HR in the 9th off of Joe Borowski. It was career HR number 493 for Man-child. Many people, us included, picked the Indians to win the AL Central based on the strength of their bullpen. The ERAs of their top 3 in the pen? Borowski (18.00 - actually not a shock), Rafael Betancourt (5.14), and Rafael Perez (8.41). Borowski also said after the game that his arm felt tired. He hit only 83 mph on the radar gun.

UPDATE 1:50 p.m EDT: Joe Borowski has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained tricep. One day too late.

The Tigers got the offensive explosion they've been waiting for all year, in an 11-9 win over the Twins. Detroit scores 6 runs in the 8th to rally from a 9-4 deficit. Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez drove in 3 runs each.

Miguel Olivo had 3 hits, including a home run, in the Royals 5-1 win over the Mariners. Zach Grienke tossed a complete game 4-hitter to improve to 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA.

Kevin Millar homered and drove in 3 in the Orioles 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. The win kept the O's in 1st place in the AL East.

Ervin Santana improved to 2-0 with 7 solid innings in the Angels 7-4 triumph over the Rangers. More importantly, Scot Shields and K-Rod were lights out in relief.

Greg Smith went 7 innings to earn his first major league win in the A's 2-1 triumph over the White Sox. Mark Buerhle (7 IP 2 ER) was the hard luck loser. Kurk Suzuki went 4-4 with an RBI and is hitting .370.

Nate McLouth hit a game winning 3-run HR in the 9th off Takashi Saito in the Pirates 6-4 win over the Dodgers. The win put the Pirates a game over .500 (7-6).

Randy Winn had 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases in the Giants come from behind 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Arizona, which has lost 2 straight, welcomed back Randy Johnson. The Big Unit allowed 3 unearned runs in 5 innings, walked 4, and struck out 7.

News

Erik Bedard is hoping to avoid the disabled list with a sore hip. The Mariners left-hander will throw a side session to determine where he goes from here.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal is reporting that the Brewers have signed free agent pitch Jeff Weaver to a 1-year, incentive laden deal.

Mets GM Omar Minaya said Pedro Martinez will be out until at least the middle of May and possibly the beginning of June. Not good news for our projected comeback player of the year.

Angels 2nd Baseman Howie Kendrick is out until at least the weekend with a strained hamstring. He may yet end up on the DL.

Around the Horn - 4/15

Scores

The Red Sox rallied from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Indians 6-4 last night. Manny Ramirez capped the comeback with a game winning 2-run HR in the 9th off of Joe Borowski. It was career HR number 493 for Man-child. Many people, us included, picked the Indians to win the AL Central based on the strength of their bullpen. The ERAs of their top 3 in the pen? Borowski (18.00 - actually not a shock), Rafael Betancourt (5.14), and Rafael Perez (8.41). Borowski also said after the game that his arm felt tired. He hit only 83 mph on the radar gun.

UPDATE 1:50 p.m EDT: Joe Borowski has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained tricep. One day too late.

The Tigers got the offensive explosion they've been waiting for all year, in an 11-9 win over the Twins. Detroit scores 6 runs in the 8th to rally from a 9-4 deficit. Carlos Guillen and Ivan Rodriguez drove in 3 runs each.

Miguel Olivo had 3 hits, including a home run, in the Royals 5-1 win over the Mariners. Zach Grienke tossed a complete game 4-hitter to improve to 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA.

Kevin Millar homered and drove in 3 in the Orioles 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. The win kept the O's in 1st place in the AL East.

Ervin Santana improved to 2-0 with 7 solid innings in the Angels 7-4 triumph over the Rangers. More importantly, Scot Shields and K-Rod were lights out in relief.

Greg Smith went 7 innings to earn his first major league win in the A's 2-1 triumph over the White Sox. Mark Buerhle (7 IP 2 ER) was the hard luck loser. Kurk Suzuki went 4-4 with an RBI and is hitting .370.

Nate McLouth hit a game winning 3-run HR in the 9th off Takashi Saito in the Pirates 6-4 win over the Dodgers. The win put the Pirates a game over .500 (7-6).

Randy Winn had 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases in the Giants come from behind 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Arizona, which has lost 2 straight, welcomed back Randy Johnson. The Big Unit allowed 3 unearned runs in 5 innings, walked 4, and struck out 7.

News

Erik Bedard is hoping to avoid the disabled list with a sore hip. The Mariners left-hander will throw a side session to determine where he goes from here.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal is reporting that the Brewers have signed free agent pitch Jeff Weaver to a 1-year, incentive laden deal.

Mets GM Omar Minaya said Pedro Martinez will be out until at least the middle of May and possibly the beginning of June. Not good news for our projected comeback player of the year.

Angels 2nd Baseman Howie Kendrick is out until at least the weekend with a strained hamstring. He may yet end up on the DL.

Around the Horn - 4/7

Frank Thomas and the Blue Jays ruined Josh Beckett's return as the Jays completed a 3-game series sweep in Toronto. Thomas hit career HR #515, a grand slam off of Manny Delcarmen, in the Blue Jays 7-4 win over the Red Sox. Roy Halladay won his first game of the year.

The Tigers are now 0-6 after the White Sox thumped them 13-2 in a Sunday night nationally televised game. Joe Crede went 4-5 with 3 RBI as Mark Buerhle beat Justin Verlander.

With J.J. Putz on the DL, Mariners manager John McLaren is using a closer by committee. It didn't work out too well on Sunday when the Mariners blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th to the Orioles. Felix Hernandez had dominated the O's on 5 hits over 8 innings, but Eric O'Flaherty and Mark Lowe couldn't protect the lead. Luis Hernandez had been 0-6 on the season before singling in the game winner.

Brett Tomko tossed 5 shutout innings against the Twins to help the Royals snap their 2 game losing streak. Alex Gordon drove in 2 runs in the 2nd and it stood up in a 3-1 win. Joakim Soria struck out the side in the 9th for the save.

Gerald Laird homered twice and drove in 6 in the Rangers 10-4 pounding of the Angels.

The Indians nipped the Angels 2-1. Ryan Garko's walk with the bases loaded in the 7th proved to be the difference.

The Cubs came at the Astros with heat yesterday and won 3-2. Carlos Zambrano threw 7 innings, followed by an inning each for Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood. Derek Lee's home run in the 7th was the game winner.

Ben Sheets has made two starts this season and has not allowed a run. The Brewers right-hander tossed a complete game shutout in the Brew Crew's 7-0 blanking of the Giants. Barry Zito gave San Fran another sub par performance (5 IP 5 R 3 ER).

The Cardinals blanked the Nationals 5-0 for their 5th straight win. Kyle Lohse won his first game for the Redbirds, helped by a home run and an RBI double by Rick Ankiel.

The Diamondbacks rallied in the 9th to tie the Rockies (Mark Reynolds 2-run HR), blew the lead in the bottom of the 9th (Matt Holliday HR), and then scored 3 times in the 10th to win it (that incl. a Stephen Drew HR).

The Reds pounded the Phillies 8-2 behind Jeff Keppinger's 3 hit, 3 run, 3 RBI day. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first home run of the year and #594 for his career.

Chin-Lung Hu had the game winning single in the top of the 9th in the Dodgers 3-2 win over the Padres.

Xavier Nady hit his 3rd home run and the Pirates banged out 15 hits in their 9-2 drubbing of the Marlins.

The Braves still have the Mets number. Johan Santana pitched a gem, but Tim Hudson came away with a victory in the Braves 3-1 win. Mark Teixeira's 2-run HR off of Aaron Heilman in the 8th proved to be the difference.

Around the Horn - 4/7

Frank Thomas and the Blue Jays ruined Josh Beckett's return as the Jays completed a 3-game series sweep in Toronto. Thomas hit career HR #515, a grand slam off of Manny Delcarmen, in the Blue Jays 7-4 win over the Red Sox. Roy Halladay won his first game of the year.

The Tigers are now 0-6 after the White Sox thumped them 13-2 in a Sunday night nationally televised game. Joe Crede went 4-5 with 3 RBI as Mark Buerhle beat Justin Verlander.

With J.J. Putz on the DL, Mariners manager John McLaren is using a closer by committee. It didn't work out too well on Sunday when the Mariners blew a 2-0 lead in the 9th to the Orioles. Felix Hernandez had dominated the O's on 5 hits over 8 innings, but Eric O'Flaherty and Mark Lowe couldn't protect the lead. Luis Hernandez had been 0-6 on the season before singling in the game winner.

Brett Tomko tossed 5 shutout innings against the Twins to help the Royals snap their 2 game losing streak. Alex Gordon drove in 2 runs in the 2nd and it stood up in a 3-1 win. Joakim Soria struck out the side in the 9th for the save.

Gerald Laird homered twice and drove in 6 in the Rangers 10-4 pounding of the Angels.

The Indians nipped the Angels 2-1. Ryan Garko's walk with the bases loaded in the 7th proved to be the difference.

The Cubs came at the Astros with heat yesterday and won 3-2. Carlos Zambrano threw 7 innings, followed by an inning each for Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood. Derek Lee's home run in the 7th was the game winner.

Ben Sheets has made two starts this season and has not allowed a run. The Brewers right-hander tossed a complete game shutout in the Brew Crew's 7-0 blanking of the Giants. Barry Zito gave San Fran another sub par performance (5 IP 5 R 3 ER).

The Cardinals blanked the Nationals 5-0 for their 5th straight win. Kyle Lohse won his first game for the Redbirds, helped by a home run and an RBI double by Rick Ankiel.

The Diamondbacks rallied in the 9th to tie the Rockies (Mark Reynolds 2-run HR), blew the lead in the bottom of the 9th (Matt Holliday HR), and then scored 3 times in the 10th to win it (that incl. a Stephen Drew HR).

The Reds pounded the Phillies 8-2 behind Jeff Keppinger's 3 hit, 3 run, 3 RBI day. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his first home run of the year and #594 for his career.

Chin-Lung Hu had the game winning single in the top of the 9th in the Dodgers 3-2 win over the Padres.

Xavier Nady hit his 3rd home run and the Pirates banged out 15 hits in their 9-2 drubbing of the Marlins.

The Braves still have the Mets number. Johan Santana pitched a gem, but Tim Hudson came away with a victory in the Braves 3-1 win. Mark Teixeira's 2-run HR off of Aaron Heilman in the 8th proved to be the difference.

Around the Horn - 3/31

Nice try kid. They kept ya out of school for nothing.

Plenty of opening days did go off today, and last night. How about Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals breaking in the new ball park with a walk off home run last night against the Braves.

It only took the Tigers Miguel Cabrera two at-bats to hit his first American League home run. Justin Verlander only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings, then blew a 3-0 lead. The game is now in extra innings.

The White Sox Mark Buehrle must be looking for a do over. The Indians tagged him for 7 runs in just 2 2-3 innings. Jim Thome has smacked a pair of 2-run homers off of C.C. Sabathia. Thome had been 0-11 against him entering the game.

Around the Horn - 3/31

Nice try kid. They kept ya out of school for nothing.

Plenty of opening days did go off today, and last night. How about Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals breaking in the new ball park with a walk off home run last night against the Braves.

It only took the Tigers Miguel Cabrera two at-bats to hit his first American League home run. Justin Verlander only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings, then blew a 3-0 lead. The game is now in extra innings.

The White Sox Mark Buehrle must be looking for a do over. The Indians tagged him for 7 runs in just 2 2-3 innings. Jim Thome has smacked a pair of 2-run homers off of C.C. Sabathia. Thome had been 0-11 against him entering the game.

Buehrle Tosses No-No for White Sox

The Chicago White Sox' Mark Buehrle has thrown the first no-hitter of the season tonight. Buerhle faced the minimum of 27 batters in defeating the Texas Rangers. The Rangers only base runner was Sammy Sosa, who drew a walk. But Buehrle promptly picked him off.

Buerhle threw 106 pitches, 66 for strikes. In the 9th, he struck out Matt Kata and Nelson Cruz, before Gerald Laird bounced out to 3rd Baseman Joe Crede for the no-no's final out.

Over the last 2 games, Buehrle has retired 41 of the last 49 batters he's faced.

It was the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history and their first in 16 years. Wilson Alvarez no-hit Baltimore on August 11, 1991. The last time the Rangers were no-hit was in 1984, when the Angel's Mike Witt tossed a perfect game against them.

It was the first no-hitter in the major leagues since the Marlins' Anibal Sanchez threw one against Arizona on Sept 6, 2005.

Buehrle Tosses No-No for White Sox

The Chicago White Sox' Mark Buehrle has thrown the first no-hitter of the season tonight. Buerhle faced the minimum of 27 batters in defeating the Texas Rangers. The Rangers only base runner was Sammy Sosa, who drew a walk. But Buehrle promptly picked him off.

Buerhle threw 106 pitches, 66 for strikes. In the 9th, he struck out Matt Kata and Nelson Cruz, before Gerald Laird bounced out to 3rd Baseman Joe Crede for the no-no's final out.

Over the last 2 games, Buehrle has retired 41 of the last 49 batters he's faced.

It was the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history and their first in 16 years. Wilson Alvarez no-hit Baltimore on August 11, 1991. The last time the Rangers were no-hit was in 1984, when the Angel's Mike Witt tossed a perfect game against them.

It was the first no-hitter in the major leagues since the Marlins' Anibal Sanchez threw one against Arizona on Sept 6, 2005.