Don't Spare The A-Rod

A week ago Wednesday the Yankees were on the verge of another embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Not only a loss, but on the precipice of being swept in a three game series. Then Nick Swisher stepped up in the bottom of the 9th and smacked a game winning 2-run home run off of Koji Uehara to save the day.

It wasn't quite deja vu, but the Yankees were one strike away from losing the opening game of a three game set in Baltimore last night when Alex Rodriguez turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead when he drove an Uehara meatball into the left field seats. Mariano Rivera closed things out, and coupled with Tampa Bay's 9th inning loss to Anaheim, the Yankees were back in first place in the AL East.

Much like the series finale (Phil Hughes start) in Tampa, the Yankees got a decent performance from their starter (A.J. Burnett), but home runs allowed had put them in a hole. Jorge Posada, who had entered the game in the 7th inning as a pinch-hitter for Francisco Cervelli, led off the 9th with a base hit. After Derek Jeter struck out looking, Curtis Granderson singled to put the tying runs on base.

Mark Teixeira, who has struggled since breaking a toe at the end of August, popped out for the second out of the inning. That left things up to Rodriguez, who earlier in the game had accounted for the Yankees sole run with a solo home run. The comeback was nearly not to be as the Yankees third baseman stared down a potential third strike that just missed inside. Then Uehara threw one right down the middle and Rodriguez slugged his 25th home run of the season and 608th of his career.

A-Rod knows he nearly got punched out on strikes

Burnett pitched one of his better games in a while, but allowed solo home runs to Adam Jones in the 4th and Robert Andino in the 7th. David Robertson tossed a scoreless 8th to earn the win and evened his record at 4-4 in the process. Rivera notched his 31st save with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

As has been the case for the past few weeks, the Yankees had the chance to bust the game open early and couldn't. After Rodriguez's solo home run in the 2nd, the Yankees loaded the bases with one out against O's starter Kevin Millwood. But Cervelli struck out swinging and Jeter lined out hard to third.

Millwood settled down after that and didn't run into any trouble again until the 7th when the Yankees put two aboard with two outs. But the veteran right-hander struck out Teixeira to end the threat.

Notes

Burnett was sporting a black eye when he came to the ball park, but refused to tell the cause. Joe Girardi would not comment either.

Here I Come To Save The Day

...that means that Nick Swisher is on his way.

The Yankees were down to their final two outs Wednesday; on the precipice of an embarrassing three game sweep at the hand of the Baltimore Orioles. An occurrence that hadn't happened since 1986. But have no fear, true believers (Apologies to Stan Lee), that superhero Nick Swisher came upon the scene to save the day.

With one on and one out in the bottom of the 9th, Swisher hit an opposite field 2-run HR off O's closer Koji Uehara to pull out a 3-2 Yankees win. The victory snapped the Yankees three game skid and pushed their lead over the Tampa Rays back to 2 1/2 games in the AL East. The Rays were outslugged 11-5 by the Boston Red Sox Wednesday night.

The Yankees spent much of the afternoon not able to figure out O's starter Brad Bergesen. But down 2-1 in the 9th, Alex Rodriguez singled on the first pitch he faced off Uehara. The O's closer retired Robinson Cano, but quickly fell behind Swisher 2-0. Uehara then left a fastball right down the middle for Swisher to deposit into the Orioles bullpen for a walk off game winner.

The Yankees got a strong start from Ivan Nova, who allowed a 2-run home run to Matt Wieters in the 5th, and from the pen. Joba Chamberlain (3-4) won his second game in a week after throwing a scoreless 9th inning.

The Yankees 1st run had come on a Curtis Granderson walk and RBI double by Brett Gardner. The speedster was thrown out trying to stretch the extra base hit into a triple.

Notes

Jorge Posada sat out after the Yankees feared he suffered a concussion in Tuesday's game. Tests came back negative and he's listed as day to day.

The Yankees recalled outfielder Colin Curtis from Scranton.

Every O Has His Day

Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due. That was the case when the Yankees lost for just their second time in12 meetings with the Baltimore Orioles.

Following the game plan that seems to be etched in stone for decades, the Yankees struggled with a rookie pitcher. Jake Arrieta, making his major league debut, limited the Yankees to four hits over six innings and settled down after he allowed three over the 2nd and 3rd innings. The Orioles' bullpen also had a rare solid outing with closer of the day David Hernandez notching his first big league save.

A.J. Burnett was handed a 3-2 lead and seemed to be in a groove after allowing a pair of runs in the 1st inning. But he surrendered Scott Moore's first home run of the year in the 5th to tie it and gave up a pair of one out rockets an inning later to give Baltimore the lead for good.

Luke Scott ripped a shot to right that appeared would be caught by a leaping Nick Swisher, but the Yankees right fielder seemingly mistimed his jump and Scott had himself a triple. Adam Jones followed with a gapper to right-center for a double and a 4-3 Orioles lead.

Robinson Cano's streak of nine straight multi-hit games at Camden Yards came to an end, but he did reach on a one out double in the 2nd inning. Two batters later Curtis Granderson plated him with a triple in the right field corner.

An inning later the Yankees took the lead when Chad Moeller reached on a lead off walk and scored on Derek Jeter's double. Jeter moved to third base on the play and scored on Nick Swisher's sac fly to give the Yankees their only lead of the game, 3-2.

Notes

Alex Rodriguez left the game after just a half inning of play due to stiffness in his groin. He barely moved on an RBI hit by Jones in the bottom of the 1st and was lifted for pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena in the top of the 2nd. For now he's day-to-day, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him sit out a couple of games against the Houston Astros this weekend.

Jorge Posada's catching sessions have gotten more intense, but there's still no word as to when he'll return to the position in a game.

photo courtesy of Syracuse.com

Ya Big Bully

At one time, the Baltimore Orioles regularly wreaked havoc on the American League. The Hall of Fame players to be in Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, and Jim Palmer. They played the game the right way. Great pitching, great defense, timely hitting, and were fundamentally sound.

Boy are those days gone.

The current group of Baltimore Orioles is a sad lot. They are now the regular whipping boy of the American League. One of those teams regular pounding on the O's is the Yankees. Last night the Bronx Bombers sent Baltimore 27 games under .500 with a 4-2 win. The Yankees are now 10-1 against the Orioles this season (so the Orioles are a mere 15-33 against the rest of baseball).

CC Sabathia wasn't at his best, but he worked his way through seven innings to improve to 6-3. Robinson Cano continued his latest tear with three hits and an RBI and Mark Teixeira followed up his three hit performance on Tuesday with a pair of base hits.

In addition to being beat up, the Orioles continued to not draw good crowds, even with the Yankees in town. At one point the fans tried to get a "Let's go Orioles" chant going and it sounded pathetic with a very partisan Yankees throng in attendance.

I thought things would begin to turn around for the O's when Andy MacPhail was brought in to run the show, and though the Orioles have a bevy of good young talent, it's going to be a while before they start pay dividends.

The team has made many mistakes in trying to build a veteran presence around the kids. Miguel Tejada started off hot, but shouldn't have been brought back. Garrett Atkins was one of the worst signings of the off-season by any team.

Make no mistake, it's not easy playing in the AL East. The O's haven't been regular contenders since the late 1990s. This is a franchise that I feared in the 1970's. A team that remarkably only won one World Series between 1969 and 1979 despite a bevy of divsion titles and pennants. But success isn't always measured by World Series titles. I know I'm repeating myself here, but it was the team I hated as a kid and teen. Not the Red Sox. That would come later.

Those Orioles teams treated the Yankees like a rag doll. Then one day Peter Angelos came along. A George Steinbrenner wannabe, that didn't and hasn't come close to his predecessor's success. And things have gone from bad to worse.

Orioles' fans loudly booed Mark Teixeira last year for not signing with Baltimore and were upset that Mike Mussina was allowed to leave. But their lack of attendance in beautiful Camden Yards has sent a direct message to Angelos. You are the problem Mr. Angelos, you and no one but you.

Yankees Steamroll O's

There was plenty of buzz in the D.C. metro area last night, all of it south of Baltimore where Stephen Strasburg was making his major league debut for the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, the Yankees buzz sawed the Orioles 12-7 at Camden Yards.

Nick Swisher drove in five runs, Curtis Granderson belted a grand slam, and Mark Teixeira broke out of his slump, for one night at least, with three hits and a home run. All of the offense was more than enough for Phil Hughes to pick up his eighth win despite not having his best stuff.

While Strasburg was making history with 14 strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Yankees jumped all over Kevin Millwood for the second time in a week. Swisher, the games second batter, continued his assault on Camden Yards with a 2-run home run. The right fielder has a career .339 average at the Orioles' home with 14 HR and 36 RBI in 31 games.

Two innings later, the Yankees the loaded the bases off of Millwood and Granderson broke the game open with his second career grand slam. Since returning from the DL on May 28, Granderson is hitting.324 (12-37) with eight RBI and eight runs scored.

Hughes said afterwards that he didn't feel quite right out on the mound, and the Orioles took advantage, banging out nine hits and scoring three runs in six innings. But the offense more than picked up the slack.

With the lead cut to 6-3, the Bombers put a six spot up on the board in the 7th. Swisher delivered a bases loaded double that plated three and Teixeira took out his most recent struggles on a Matt Albers pitch, sending it deep into the night for his 9th home run.

Notes

Just because you're the last man on the roster, doesn't mean you don't have to earn your way. I was not pleased when the Yankees re-signed Chad Gaudin after the A's released him in May and I continue to not be pleased. Last night, the Yankees almost needed to use "real" relievers when Gaudin gave up four runs over the final two innings. His ERA rose to 8.53 in the process.

Jorge Posada got closer to getting back behind home plate by catching Andy Pettitte's bullpen session yesterday.

Tuesday was the 41st anniversary of Mickey Mantle Day at version I of Yankee Stadium. The Mick had his number retired before a packed house.

Late mention, but congrats to Bob Lorenz for the job he did over the weekend doing play-by-play in the Yankees-Blue Jays series. He quickly proved that he, like Ken Singleton, is a better play-by-play guy than Michael Kay.

Posada Back in Lineup

As expected, Jorge Posada has been activated from the DL and will be in tonight's starting lineup. No word yet on the corresponding roster move, though it is likely to be either Juan Miranda or Kevin Russo. Posada may not be at 100% full strength to catch, so Chad Moeller is not yet expendable. Our money is on Miranda.

Mark Teixeira will also be in tonight's starting lineup after fouling a ball off his foot in last night's game.

Update - 5:35 PM Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that it is indeed Miranda that has been shipped out to Scranton.

Orioles Get Cerved

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Francisco Cervelli hears the talk. Jesus Montero is the future catcher of the Yankees. If Montero DH's or has his position moved, then Austin Romine is the future catcher of the Yankees. But the only thing that should matter to Cervelli is the here and now. The Yankees current backup, filling in for the sore-calfed Jorge Posada, did all the right things last night to push the Yankees to a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Cervelli caught A.J. Burnett, who for the second straight game through what seemed to be an effortless game. The multi-tattoed right-hander had a nasty curveball, which he used more than any time in his own recent memory.

Already down 1-0, he relied on his curveball and a plus fastball to strike out Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, and Matt Wieters with two runners in scoring position in the third. He left with one out in the eighth and blew out a heavy sigh of relief as Miguel Tejada's fly out nearly tied the game.

Burnett might not have had a 4-1 lead at the time if not for Cervelli though. He tripled to lead off the bottom of the 3rd and scored on Ramiro Pena's ground out to tie the game at one apiece. With Brett Gardner on first in the 5th, Cervelli's single helped lead to a two run inning. He reached on a bunt single an inning later, then laid down a perfect sac bunt in the 8th to help set up the forth and final Yankees run.

Cervelli did it with defense too, falling over the railing in front of the Yankees dugout to snare a foul pop. Montero or Romine might be the future, but the Yankees are very happy to have the Cisco Kid right now.

Groovin' On a Thursday Night

photo courtesy of Washington Post

Yeah yeah, I know that's not the song. But the Yankees, specifically Robinson Cano and A.J. Burnett were groovin' last night in Baltimore.

Cano has been all month. Two more home runs last night, another shot that didn't miss by much that resulted in a double. He's leading the team in practically every offensive category.

Is it because of Melky's departure? Is it because he's matured? Is it that I don't care, I'm just glad that he's hitting? You bet your seated area that's it.

Lost in last night's well deserved Canofest was the job Burnett did. It may very well be the best game he's pitched as a Yankee. When he threw a 2-2 breaking pitch 5 ft outside the strike zone to the O's first batter (Adam Jones), I admit I quickly thought, "here we go".

But Burnett was magnificent. Effortless. Smooth. Very un-Burnett like. The game went by rather quickly - 2:51 - not bad by today's standards (don't choke on your burrito Joe West).

All told, Burnett (who, btw, is no 35-12 vs. AL East) went 8 innings, allowed just three hits, walked a single batter, and struck out four. We all love big strikeout totals, but is there any thing better than watch a pitcher get guys out by having defense make all the routine plays as well as some spectacular ones?

The latter brings me back to Cano. The guy has amazing foot work, arm strength, accuracy, and range (I don't need some UZR rating, or whatever the hell it is called, to tell me that.).

He snared Nolan Reimold's bouncer threw the box as it neared the 2nd base area and, in one motion, fired across his body to Mark Teixeira at first. It was a perfect throw. Cano was already well on to the shortstop side of the bag when he released the ball. You can see the replay here. Even if Derek Jeter was impressed.

Notes

Marcus Thames' at-bats are sporadic, but after a pair of bloops and a frozen rope for three hits last night, he's now a remarkable 10-19 (.588) on the season.

As expected, Jorge Posada sat out with a bruised knee, the result of a Jeremy Guthrie pitch on Wednesday night. Posada will miss Friday's series opener at home with the White Sox.

I was only 6 when this came out..that is all.

Yankees Hammer Guthrie

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

CC Gives the Pen a Rest

It's hard to believe that some of the fans of the defending champions were panicking on April 28, but after losing 4 of 5 and the 1st of a 3 games set with the Baltimore Orioles, that's just what occurred.

Sanity and the Yankees prevailed last night as the Nick Swisher led a 15-hit attack with a trio of hits and 2 RBI. CC Sabathia let the pen rest until the 8th inning as he improved to 3-1.

The Yankees jumped on Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie right from the get-go. Derek Jeter led off the game with a double inside the first base line and Nick Johnson sliced a single to left. Luis Montanez was undecided on the play and got caught on an in-between hop. Jeter scored easily as Johnson barely beat the throw to 2nd base. Mark Teixeira moved the runner up with a ground out to the right side and Alex Rodriguez brought Johnson home with a deep fly to left-center.

Guthrie got no reprieve in the 2nd, when he hit Jorge Posada on the side of the right knee to start the inning. Though he remained in the game while the Yankees were at-bat, Posada left the game and is listed as day-to-day. Curtis Granderson singled to center and both runners came home on Swisher's triple off the the wall in center. Jeter's sac fly made it a 5-0 lead after two.

Sabathia allowed single runs in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th, but the Orioles were never really in the ball game. The big man was trying to become the first pitcher since David Wells in 1998 to throw three straight complete games for New York, but tired out in the 8th.

The beleaguered O's pen was actually the highlight of their night, allowing just one run in 4.1 innings.

Notes

Robinson Cano remained hot, picking up a pair of hits to raise his average to .390. He drove in the final run off of Guthrie with his 6th home run of the year.

Francisco Cervelli is off to a nice start. After replacing Posada, he was 2-4 with an RBI and is hitting .444.

O's outfielder Nick Markakis ended his homerless drought by smacking his first of the year.

A.J. Burnett goes tonight in the rubber game of the series. He'll be opposed by rookie Brian Matusz, the O's top pitching prospect.

If the Yankees need a catcher for tonight's game, a reliever is likely (Boone Logan?), to be sent down. It's either that or a position player would be in jeopardy. Randy Winn being the most likely candidate.

Yankees Pen Does It's Best O's Imitation

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The Orioles came into the start of last night's Yankees series with just three wins. Not that they hadn't had leads in many games. It's just that arguably the league's worst bullpen (Kansas City might argue that) had coughed up almost every lead they had. They nearly did it again last night...unfortunately, for the Yankees, Joe Girardi's bullpen was worse.

Phil Hughes making his first start since his wonderous Oakland performance battled his way through five-plus innings and left with a 2-1 lead. Then the Yankees played gift giver and were in a 5-2 hole before you could say..well, um, "there goes the lead".

Boone Logan replaced Hughes with two out s in the 6th and quickly walked fellow lefty Luke Scott. David Robertson came on and did his best Brian Bruney impression. What's that you say? Good one year, bad the next. Albeit without the weight loss.

Robertson hit Ty Wiggington and then surrendered back to back singles Rhyne Hughes and Nolan Reimold (who named these people?) to put the Yankees in a 4-2 hole. The O's added a big insurance run in the 8th when Cesar Izturis drove in his third run of the game after a Derek Jeter error.

The O's pen and defense did their part to get the Yankees back in the game, but a 9th inning rally fell short. Alfredo Simon, recalled earlier in the day, picked up his first major league save, but it wasn't without some nail biting.

After a one out walk to Nick Swisher, pinch-hitter Nick Johnson drew his 19th walk of the season. Jeter struck out, but Julio Lugo misplayed Brett Gardner's grounder for a run scoring error. Mark Teixeira quickly followed with an RBI single to right to give Alex Rodriguez a chance to tie the game with a base hit. He nearly did, but Lugo was positioned perfectly up the middle to field his grounder and force Teixeira at second base.

Notes

Nick Johnson switched from uni number 26 to 36. It's the number he wore his first time around in the Bronx.

Phil Hughes had walked in a run in the 2nd inning and the Yankees pen was already up in warming. But the right-hander got Adam Jones to bounce into an inning ending double play to stop the threat.

Orioles Opening Series Pitchers

The Yankees and Orioles open the season on Monday at Camden Yards. It'll be a 4:05 EDT start with CC Sabathia going against Jeremy Guthrie.

Tuesday's an off day and then the two teams meeting on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. Chien-Ming Wang will face Japanese rookie Koji Uehara. The series concludes Thursday at 1:35 pm with A.J. Burnett facing an undetermined pitcher.

Pettitte Wins Stadium Finale

Last night's game, in some ways, was anti-climactic in comparison to everything else going on. Perhaps having non-Yankees announcers in John Miller and Joe Morgan was part of the problem. Especially since there times when they weren't saying what was going in the game. Class move by ESPN though bringing in Michael Kay to do a half inning and reminisce. Kay at least did actual play by play.

Andy Pettitte started out shaky and we were thinking, "no, this can't be the way to go out.". Thankfully Pettitte settled down enough and the Yankees bats woke up against Orioles starter Chris Waters.

Trailing 2-0 in the third, Hideki Matsui, who is undergoing knee surgery today, and Jose Molina started the inning off with back to back singles. Johnny Damon then belted his 16th home run of the season for a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Pettitte gave the lead right back on a game tying single by Brian Roberts in the fourth, but the Yankees countered in their half of the inning. Robinson Cano led off with a rare walk and one batter later Molina cracked his third home run of the season on to the netting in left field, for a 5-3 Yankees advantage.

Pettitte gave up a lead off single to Adam Jones to start the sixth and exited to a standing ovation and calls of "An-dy Pett-itte". The fans got their wish, a curtain call, and Jose Veras and Phil Coke combined to strand Jones and Oscar Salazar, who had walked.

The Yankees added to their lead in the seventh with the help of some shoddy Orioles defense. Bobby Abreu stroked a lead off single and easily stole second base. He moved to third on Alex Rodriguez's fly out and scored when Jason Giambi's pop up fell between Brendan Fahey and Melvin Mora for a gift RBI single.

Pinch-runner Brett Gardner moved all the way to third base when Fahey booted Xavier Nady's grounder and scored on Cano's fly to left for a 7-3 advantage. The Yankees went down in order in the eighth, including Derek Jeter. Jeter had a tough night at the plate, bothered by the baseball he took off his wrist and hand on Saturday (he would never admit it of course), going 0-5. He struck out twice looking and both times, argued more than usual with home plate ump/tough guy Angel Hernandez. In the eighth it would get no better, as he grounded to third to end the inning, but appropriately, he was the last Yankees batter in the game.

Joba Chamberlain pitched 1.2 innings and handed the ball over to Mariano Rivera in a non-save situation. But Mo had his wish, he would be the last pitcher to toe the rubber. retired RiveraJay Payton on a grounder to Jeter and Luke Scott on a bouncer to Cano. Girardi then pulled Derek Jeter from the game for another standing ovation and a curtain call to the chants of "Der-ek Jet-er". Rivera then retired Roberts on a grounder to Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense at first base.

And just like that, the final game at Yankee Stadium was over. Andy Pettitte got the final win, Brett Gardner scored the last run, Jose Molina had the last home run, and Jason Giambi picked up the final RBI. It was a must win, and for once this season, the Yankees came through when they had to.

Pettitte Wins Stadium Finale

Last night's game, in some ways, was anti-climactic in comparison to everything else going on. Perhaps having non-Yankees announcers in John Miller and Joe Morgan was part of the problem. Especially since there times when they weren't saying what was going in the game. Class move by ESPN though bringing in Michael Kay to do a half inning and reminisce. Kay at least did actual play by play.

Andy Pettitte started out shaky and we were thinking, "no, this can't be the way to go out.". Thankfully Pettitte settled down enough and the Yankees bats woke up against Orioles starter Chris Waters.

Trailing 2-0 in the third, Hideki Matsui, who is undergoing knee surgery today, and Jose Molina started the inning off with back to back singles. Johnny Damon then belted his 16th home run of the season for a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Pettitte gave the lead right back on a game tying single by Brian Roberts in the fourth, but the Yankees countered in their half of the inning. Robinson Cano led off with a rare walk and one batter later Molina cracked his third home run of the season on to the netting in left field, for a 5-3 Yankees advantage.

Pettitte gave up a lead off single to Adam Jones to start the sixth and exited to a standing ovation and calls of "An-dy Pett-itte". The fans got their wish, a curtain call, and Jose Veras and Phil Coke combined to strand Jones and Oscar Salazar, who had walked.

The Yankees added to their lead in the seventh with the help of some shoddy Orioles defense. Bobby Abreu stroked a lead off single and easily stole second base. He moved to third on Alex Rodriguez's fly out and scored when Jason Giambi's pop up fell between Brendan Fahey and Melvin Mora for a gift RBI single.

Pinch-runner Brett Gardner moved all the way to third base when Fahey booted Xavier Nady's grounder and scored on Cano's fly to left for a 7-3 advantage. The Yankees went down in order in the eighth, including Derek Jeter. Jeter had a tough night at the plate, bothered by the baseball he took off his wrist and hand on Saturday (he would never admit it of course), going 0-5. He struck out twice looking and both times, argued more than usual with home plate ump/tough guy Angel Hernandez. In the eighth it would get no better, as he grounded to third to end the inning, but appropriately, he was the last Yankees batter in the game.

Joba Chamberlain pitched 1.2 innings and handed the ball over to Mariano Rivera in a non-save situation. But Mo had his wish, he would be the last pitcher to toe the rubber. retired RiveraJay Payton on a grounder to Jeter and Luke Scott on a bouncer to Cano. Girardi then pulled Derek Jeter from the game for another standing ovation and a curtain call to the chants of "Der-ek Jet-er". Rivera then retired Roberts on a grounder to Cody Ransom, who had replaced Giambi for defense at first base.

And just like that, the final game at Yankee Stadium was over. Andy Pettitte got the final win, Brett Gardner scored the last run, Jose Molina had the last home run, and Jason Giambi picked up the final RBI. It was a must win, and for once this season, the Yankees came through when they had to.

Tonight's Lineups (9/28)

Mike Mussina vs. John Leicester

Yankees

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Tike Redman CF
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada SS
Aubrey Huff DH
Melvin Mora 3B
Ramon Hernandez C
Jay Payton LF
Scott Moore 1B

Tonight's Lineups (9/28)

Mike Mussina vs. John Leicester

Yankees

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Tike Redman CF
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada SS
Aubrey Huff DH
Melvin Mora 3B
Ramon Hernandez C
Jay Payton LF
Scott Moore 1B

Pettitte's 200th Inches Yankees Closer

Another night, another win, and the Yankees got even closer to a playoff spot. But will it be as the AL Wild Card representative or as the AL East division winner? The once unthinkable became even more realistic when the Yankees 2-1 win moved them 1.5 games back of Boston in the AL East. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays in Toronto 6-1 as the once untouchable Jon Papelbon gave up a grand slam to that mighty slugger, Russ Adams. The win reduced the magic number in the Wild Card to 5, with Detroit having lost earlier in the day.

The crowd went crazy in the Bronx during the top of the 9th inning when the Sox score was posted on the Stadium scoreboard. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera was working himself into a 9th inning, bases loaded jam that finally ended when he struck out Scott Moore looking to lock up the win, the 200th of Andy Pettitte's career.

Pettitte left with 2 out in the 8th to a standing ovation. He became the 1st player selected by the Yankees in the amateur draft to win 200 games in a Yankees uniform. The feat was made even more special in front of the home crowd, who wished Pettitte had never left the Yankees as a free agent after the 2003 season.

The crowd buzz went up a notch, when a change in the "Joba Rules" brought Joba Chamberlain into the middle of an inning for the first time. He quickly dispatched Melvin Mora with a strikeout to finish the 8th.

Hideki Matsui continued to get his swing back, putting the Yankees on the board in the 2nd with his 25th home run off of Brian Burres. It left him 1 RBI shy of the century mark. The Yankees scored the run that would make the difference in the 5th.

Doug Mientkiewicz, making his 4th start in a row, singled and moved up to 2nd on a 1-out single by Derek Jeter. Both runners moved up on a Bobby Abreu ground out and Mientkiewicz raced home on Burres' wild pitch. Alex Rodriguez narrowly missed breaking the game open when his long fly to left fell shy of the wall and into the glove of Brendan Fahey for the inning's final out. The Yankees manged just 5 hits off the rookie left-hander, Burres, in 7.1 innings pitched.

Brian Roberts manufactured the Orioles only run in the 6th. After drawing a 1-out walk, the speedy 2nd Baseman stole 2nd and 3rd, and came home on Mora's single to center. Then it was up to Mariano to save his long-time teammate's special victory. And it wasn't easy.

Rivera retired Miguel Tejada to start the inning, but Nick Markakis hit a bloop to shallow right that bounced high in the air, allowing Markakis to reach 2nd with a double. After retiring the dangerous Kevin Millar for the 2nd out, Rivera worked carefully to Aubrey Huff, who was 7-16 lifetime against the Yankees closer. It resulted in a walk, and when Ramon Hernandez followed with a walk, the bases were suddenly loaded. But pinch-hitter Scott Moore, who only had 35 big league at-bats coming into the game, looked clearly over matched, and looked at a called 3rd strike on the outside corner.

...

Derek Jeter's 1 hit gave him 2,341 for his career, one shy of Joe Torre.

Mariano Rivera notched his 30th save for the 10th consecutive season.

Pettitte's 200th Inches Yankees Closer

Another night, another win, and the Yankees got even closer to a playoff spot. But will it be as the AL Wild Card representative or as the AL East division winner? The once unthinkable became even more realistic when the Yankees 2-1 win moved them 1.5 games back of Boston in the AL East. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays in Toronto 6-1 as the once untouchable Jon Papelbon gave up a grand slam to that mighty slugger, Russ Adams. The win reduced the magic number in the Wild Card to 5, with Detroit having lost earlier in the day.

The crowd went crazy in the Bronx during the top of the 9th inning when the Sox score was posted on the Stadium scoreboard. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera was working himself into a 9th inning, bases loaded jam that finally ended when he struck out Scott Moore looking to lock up the win, the 200th of Andy Pettitte's career.

Pettitte left with 2 out in the 8th to a standing ovation. He became the 1st player selected by the Yankees in the amateur draft to win 200 games in a Yankees uniform. The feat was made even more special in front of the home crowd, who wished Pettitte had never left the Yankees as a free agent after the 2003 season.

The crowd buzz went up a notch, when a change in the "Joba Rules" brought Joba Chamberlain into the middle of an inning for the first time. He quickly dispatched Melvin Mora with a strikeout to finish the 8th.

Hideki Matsui continued to get his swing back, putting the Yankees on the board in the 2nd with his 25th home run off of Brian Burres. It left him 1 RBI shy of the century mark. The Yankees scored the run that would make the difference in the 5th.

Doug Mientkiewicz, making his 4th start in a row, singled and moved up to 2nd on a 1-out single by Derek Jeter. Both runners moved up on a Bobby Abreu ground out and Mientkiewicz raced home on Burres' wild pitch. Alex Rodriguez narrowly missed breaking the game open when his long fly to left fell shy of the wall and into the glove of Brendan Fahey for the inning's final out. The Yankees manged just 5 hits off the rookie left-hander, Burres, in 7.1 innings pitched.

Brian Roberts manufactured the Orioles only run in the 6th. After drawing a 1-out walk, the speedy 2nd Baseman stole 2nd and 3rd, and came home on Mora's single to center. Then it was up to Mariano to save his long-time teammate's special victory. And it wasn't easy.

Rivera retired Miguel Tejada to start the inning, but Nick Markakis hit a bloop to shallow right that bounced high in the air, allowing Markakis to reach 2nd with a double. After retiring the dangerous Kevin Millar for the 2nd out, Rivera worked carefully to Aubrey Huff, who was 7-16 lifetime against the Yankees closer. It resulted in a walk, and when Ramon Hernandez followed with a walk, the bases were suddenly loaded. But pinch-hitter Scott Moore, who only had 35 big league at-bats coming into the game, looked clearly over matched, and looked at a called 3rd strike on the outside corner.

...

Derek Jeter's 1 hit gave him 2,341 for his career, one shy of Joe Torre.

Mariano Rivera notched his 30th save for the 10th consecutive season.

Moose Big Trouble for Orioles

It couldn't possibly happen. Mike Mussina pitch 2 good games in a row? No way! But that's what happened at Yankee Stadium last night as Moose tossed 7 scoreless innings in the Yankees 12-0 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles. The win moved the Yankees 2.5 (2 in the loss column) games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, thanks to another TNT outing from Eric Gagne. The Detroit Tigers also blew another lead to the Cleveland Indians, reducing the Yankees magic number to clinch the Wild Card down to 7.

Mussina walked Brian Roberts to start the game, and we started to unwrap the latest from Netflix, but Mussina turned a 1-6-3 double play and ended up retiring 20 of 23 hitters. And the offense made sure that Mussina wouldn't have to sweat it.

Doug Mientkiewicz, making his 3rd straight start, drove in 4 runs for the 1st time in 2 years. It included a 3-run HR that gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead after 4 innings. It also drove Orioles starter Jon Leicester (2-2) from the game.

The much maligned Orioles bullpen lived up to their reputation, completely putting the game out of reach. Hideki Matsui, who homered on Monday for the 1st time in over a month, drove in 3 runs as did Melky Cabrera. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter each had 3 hits, with Cano driving in 2 runs.

But this night belonged to Moose. The right-hander won his 249th career game and solidly put himself back in the playoff rotation mix. He allowed 3 hits over 7 innings, issuing only that 1 walk, and struck out 6. He had his command and was in total command. Mussina also extended his record streak of 16 consecutive seasons with double figure wins as he evened his record at 10-10.


photos courtesy of AP

Moose Big Trouble for Orioles

It couldn't possibly happen. Mike Mussina pitch 2 good games in a row? No way! But that's what happened at Yankee Stadium last night as Moose tossed 7 scoreless innings in the Yankees 12-0 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles. The win moved the Yankees 2.5 (2 in the loss column) games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, thanks to another TNT outing from Eric Gagne. The Detroit Tigers also blew another lead to the Cleveland Indians, reducing the Yankees magic number to clinch the Wild Card down to 7.

Mussina walked Brian Roberts to start the game, and we started to unwrap the latest from Netflix, but Mussina turned a 1-6-3 double play and ended up retiring 20 of 23 hitters. And the offense made sure that Mussina wouldn't have to sweat it.

Doug Mientkiewicz, making his 3rd straight start, drove in 4 runs for the 1st time in 2 years. It included a 3-run HR that gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead after 4 innings. It also drove Orioles starter Jon Leicester (2-2) from the game.

The much maligned Orioles bullpen lived up to their reputation, completely putting the game out of reach. Hideki Matsui, who homered on Monday for the 1st time in over a month, drove in 3 runs as did Melky Cabrera. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter each had 3 hits, with Cano driving in 2 runs.

But this night belonged to Moose. The right-hander won his 249th career game and solidly put himself back in the playoff rotation mix. He allowed 3 hits over 7 innings, issuing only that 1 walk, and struck out 6. He had his command and was in total command. Mussina also extended his record streak of 16 consecutive seasons with double figure wins as he evened his record at 10-10.


photos courtesy of AP

Tonight's Lineup (9/18)

Jon Leicester vs. Mike Mussina

Orioles

B. Roberts 2b
T. Redman cf
N. Markakis rf
M. Tejada ss
K. Millar dh
A. Huff 1b
M. Mora 3b
R. Hernandez c
F. Bynum lf

Yankees
J. Damon dh
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz 1b
M. Cabrera cf