A-Rod Can Hit Home Runs Again

Alex Rodriguez's days of pressing to hit home runs are behind him. With #600 in the rear view mirror, A-Rod exploded tonight for three home runs as the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3.

The game was tied at one apiece when A-Rod stepped to the plate in the 6th and drilled a Sean O'Sullivan pitch to deep center field for his 19th home run of the season. Two batters later Jorge Posada went even deeper to center with a tremendous blast for a 3-1 Yankees lead. The Yankees were still not done. The next hitter, Curtis Granderson, pulled an O'Sullivan pitch into the right field seats to increase the lead to 4-1.

The Royals got a couple of runs back off Phil Hughes to cut the Yankees lead to 4-3, but A-Rod was just getting started. In the 7th, he went to center again with a man aboard for a 6-3 lead. Former Yankees farmhand Kanekoa Texeira was the victim for career home run #603.

Just as he had in the 7th, Mark Teixeira reached safely in the 9th prior to A-Rod going deep. Home run #21 on the year and 604 for his career came off Greg Holland and was his longest of the night- a 439 ft shot into the left field seats. It was the 4th 3-home run game of A-Rod's career.

Hughes had an up and down evening and had trouble locating his fastball, but was solid enough (6 IP 3 ER) to pick up his 14th win of the season.

Notes

A-Rod now has 97 RBI and stole his 4th base on the front end of a double steal. Jorge Posada picked up steal #2 on the back end of the play.

Derek Jeter extended his career high errorless streak to 51 games.

Joba Chamberlain has not allowed an earned run in his last 8.2 IP.

UPDATE - 1:00 PM 8/15 - According to the Elias Sports Bureau, since hitting home run #500 against the Royals, A-Rod has hit more home runs against KC (13) than any other team. He's gone deep 12 times against both the Angels and Rays.

A Long Day's Journey Into Night

I started this during the 6th inning of last night's Yankees-Indians game. The two teams had only been playing an hour and 15 minutes. I still felt like I was at Sunday's game against the Royals. That was an obnoxious two-hour and thirty seven minute rain delay. But it least it cooled things off.

On another day I might not have waited out the delay, but this was my brother's 1st trip to the new Stadium and first game in the Bronx in 7 or 8 years.

We started out in section 409, 3rd row, seats 7 and 8. It was hot as all hell. We started the day out with the Lobel's Steak Sandwich. $15 is pricey to say the least, but that is some good food. Served on a hamburger bun, the sandwich is thick with meat. No skimping. And very juicy. When you consider how expensive the hot dogs are, it is actually a very good buy.

The thing about going to any sporting event, concert, etc., is you never know who is going to sit near you. The leather lung guy, the constant texter, the sleeper, and of course worst of all, the drunk. Let me add another to the category, "The Narrator".

The narrator doesn't give you a moment's peace. The Narrator not only says what's going on in the game, but what's going on all around him too. The most amazing thing about the narrator? His audience is a 2-yr old. True story.

"Look, that's Phil Hughes. He's the pitcher. He throws the ball to the catcher. And the hitter will try to hit the ball. Here's the pitch. Oh, there it goes. Aww, the centerfield caught it on now throws it back to the infield. Almost. How about eating some of your sandwich. Is that good? Chew it good."

One look tells you all you need to know. The 2-yr old is 2 years old! He doesn't care about the game. He wants to go home very quickly. He's staring everywhere but the field. He's more interested in his fruit snacks than whether A-Rod hits his 600th. Thankfully, 2-yr old wets himself and Dad disappears for a while. Then the weather turns and the family goes home early.

Phil Hughes was decent on the day. Not as good as he was early in the season, but not as bad as some of his more recent starts.

Hughes allowed a pair of home runs, one of which was to singles hitter Scott Podsednik. The Royals speedster had come into the game with three home runs. And then hit another one off of Joba Chamberlain.

Speaking of Joba, another poor outing, and more rough treatment from the fans. Constantly booing the guy is ridiculous and obnoxious. He didn't tell any of you to hero worship him, so you shouldn't completely turn on the guy either. As I've said before Joba's biggest problem is the comparison to the Joba of '07-'08. And booing him after he gets an out is just plain stupid.

Moving on...Rick Ankiel hit a huge home run into the 2nd deck in right...completely crushed.

But importantly Curtis Granderson hit two, Robinson Cano picked up his 1,000th RBI, and A-Rod was not seriously injured when Blake Wood hit him in the arm in his final at-bat in the 8th inning.

BTW, Cano became the third fastest home grown Yankee to reach 1,000 RBI. Only Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly reached the mark in less games.

So anyway, with one out in the 6th the place got biblical. The dark clouds were already moving in, but then the wind blew like a monster and the rains came for 40 days and 40 nights. Okay, it only felt that way after the seemingly endless delay.

We saw Ron Blomberg, the AL's first DH, tour the Baseball Hall of Fame and various other memorable and non-memorable videos. I thought cartoons would start at any moment. One of the best things about the new Stadium is there room to roam and move around during a rain delay. The old Stadium had you packed in like sardines during a delay.

Just before things started a lighten a bit, I noticed the security by a 200 level section was not paying attention. We quickly zipped down to seats in section 215, just before 1st base, about 4 rows from the top of the section. Great seats. It was from there we would watch the rest of the game, which at that point almost had a little league or high school level feeling.

Shortly before 7 p.m. or just when a night game would start, Chan Ho Park finally got the last out. He certainly tried his hardest not too.

An hour ride home completed a nine hour day! But the Yankees won.

Posada Steals The Spotlight

The Yankee Stadium crowd didn't get to see Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run last night, but Jorge Posada picked up his 1,000th RBI in the Yankees 7-1 thumping of the Kansas City Royals.

The Yankees jumped on Royals' starter Brian Bannister for four runs in the 1st inning to immediately take control of the game. Robinson Cano's gapper with the bases loaded plated three and the second baseman came home when Posada doubled to right. In doing so, Posada became just the third major leaguer to reach the milestone while in the midst of an RBI streak of at least seven games. B.J. Surhoff and Yogi Berra were the others.

The run support would be all that A.J. Burnett would need in his first start since a laceration laced tirade in the Yankees clubhouse on July 17. Burnett needed just 58 pitches to toss five scoreless innings before a hellacious thunder storm hit the Bronx. When the game resumed 85 minutes later Chad Gaudin took over the pitching duties.

A-Rod had two hits in four trips to the plate, but didn't come close to becoming the 7th player to reach the 600 home run plateau.

Notes

Former Yankees farmhand Kanekoa Texeira pitched for KC in the 8th. Texeira had been claimed by Seattle in this year's Rule V draft and was later dealt to Seattle.

Fans used to cringe when Robinson Cano came up with the bases loaded, but this year Cano is 5-10. He's come to the plate (128) with ducks on the pond more than any other player since 2005.

In Search of Number 27

This is a new series I have started for Baseball Digest that will take a look at the Yankees past Octobers.

Shades of October: 1976

As the Yankees begin the hunt for their 27th World Championship, it’s time to reflect on some of their past successes, and failures.

Any New York Yankees fan born in the early 1960’s was too late for the amazing run of 12 pennants in 14 seasons. The Yankees made the World Series series every season from 1960 through 1964, winning twice (’61,’62), but those fans like myself were too young to remember. Then then “Declinasty” began in 1965.

The team had become full of aging veterans that were well past their prime. Future Hall of Fame members Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were shells of their former selves. Ownership fired manager Yogi Berra after the ‘64 season, despite leading the team to the World Series. The team’s majority stake was sold to CBS, beginning a near of decade of hands off ownership.

Good players were few and far between – Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson, Mel Stottelmyre, and Roy White came up through the ranks, but the Yankees always fell short of being in top tier in the American League. Then came the sale of the Yankees to George Steinbrenner, a shipping magnate who was a self confessed “football guy”. Steinbrenner started shaking things up and the team started to improve.

The culmination came in 1976 when the Yankees, helmed by former player Billy Martin, won their title since division play began in 1969. They would be returning to the post-season for the first time in 12 years, the first in which they would have to win a playoff series to reach the World Series.

The AL championship series with the Kansas City Royals was tied at two games apiece, with the fifth and final game played on October 14, 1976 at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx landmark had reopened six months earlier after a two year renovation. Nearly 57,000 people packed the “House that Ruth Built” to see Ed Figueroa square off against Dennis Leonard. Figueroa, who two years later would become the first Puerto Rican born pitcher to win 20 games, had won 19 games in his first year in Pinstripes.

The Yankees were up 6-3 in the 8th inning and appeared set to celebrate their first pennant in over a decade. But George Brett had other plans. With two men aboard and left-hander Grant Jackson on the mound, Brett unloaded a game tying 3-run home run into the right field seats. A loud, mass groan reverberated throughout the Stadium.

Royals reliever Mark Littell had retired all five Yankees he had faced in the 7th and 8th innings, and took the mound to start the 9th. Littell had been good throughout the series, allowing just three hits and one walk in 4 2-3 innings. Yankees 1st baseman Chris Chambliss stepped up to the plate having already driven a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and a ground out. Yankees radio announcer Bill White told his listeners that Chambliss had the big hits for the Yankees all season long. He was clairvoyant. Chambliss turned on the first pitch and hit it deep to right-center field. Right fielder Hal McRae got to the wall, but leaped in vein as Chambliss’ ball was well out of reach.

Instant pandemonium struck the Bronx- fans stormed the field as Chambliss rounded the bases, barreling through and over anyone who got in his way. Chambliss was never sure if he touched home plate, so eventually he got a police escort from the dugout to where home plate had been. He stepped firmly on the dirt to ensure the Yankees first trip to the World Series in what seemed like forever.

Yankees Season Getting Wild

Mike Mussina threw 6 solid innings, and Hideki Matsui and Melky Cabrera each homered as the Yankees completed a 3 game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, 8-5. With the Detroit Tigers losing their 5th straight game, the Yankees pulled to within a half game in the wild card race.

Gil Meche, who pitched so well 11 days ago in his start against the Bombers in KC, was completely ineffective today. The Yankees jumped on him for 4 runs in the 2nd inning to take control of the afternoon. Meche retired the first 2 hitters of the innings, but walked Robinson Cano and Andy Phillips, and allowed a single to Wilson Betemit in between to load the bases. Cabrera singled in the first run of the game and Derek Jeter drew a 3-2 bases loaded walk for a 2-0 lead. Bobby Abreu lined a single to center to bring home Phillips and Cabrera for a 4-0 advantage.

The Yankees added single runs, in the 3rd on Matsui's 22nd home run. the 100th of his Yankees career, and in the 4th on Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly, for a 6-0 lead. A-Rod's RBI gave him a major league leading 109. The end of the 4th was also the end of Meche's day. He dropped to 7-9 with the loss.

Mussina's day was pretty easy, getting Mark Teahen to fly out to end a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 3rd, and held the Royals scoreless until Ross Gload's 2-run home run in the 6th. The Yankees have to be glad not to see Gload again as the 1st Baseman went 13-23 (.565) against them. Moose evened his record at 7-7 with his 3rd straight win.

As it turned out, the Yankees got some much needed insurance in the 6th. Cabrera matched his 2006 total with his 7th home run of the year, off of Leo Nunez. Derek Jeter, who also had a hit and was hit by a pitch, drew his 2nd walk of the day and stole his 12th base. Abreu moved Jeter to 3rd with a single and Matsui brought him home with fly ball to deep right for his 78th run batted in.

Those runs were needed because Brian Bruney and Mike Myers were ineffective for a change. Teahen singled to center off Bruney to drive home David DeJesus, and Esteban German scored when Cabrera booted the ball. When Joey Gaithright singled in a run off of Myers in the 8th, it was suddenly a save situation and Joe Torre did not hesitate in calling on Mariano Rivera.

Mo retired Jason Smith on a fly out to end the 8th and threw a 1-2-3, 9th inning for his 17th (consecutive) save.

...

Johnny Damon could not have been happy about sitting out against a right-handed pitcher. Damon had a brief hot streak going before going 0-6 on Saturday.

Melky Cabrera, who started the season so poorly, is hitting .333 since June 1st, and .359 since July 1st.

Mike Mussina's victory was the 246th of his career. Mariano Rivera's save was his 430th.

The Yankees lineup has changed quite a bit over the last 2 months. When the game ended, Bobby Abreu had the lowest average of the starting 9 players - .286.

photos courtesy of AP

Yankees Season Getting Wild

Mike Mussina threw 6 solid innings, and Hideki Matsui and Melky Cabrera each homered as the Yankees completed a 3 game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, 8-5. With the Detroit Tigers losing their 5th straight game, the Yankees pulled to within a half game in the wild card race.

Gil Meche, who pitched so well 11 days ago in his start against the Bombers in KC, was completely ineffective today. The Yankees jumped on him for 4 runs in the 2nd inning to take control of the afternoon. Meche retired the first 2 hitters of the innings, but walked Robinson Cano and Andy Phillips, and allowed a single to Wilson Betemit in between to load the bases. Cabrera singled in the first run of the game and Derek Jeter drew a 3-2 bases loaded walk for a 2-0 lead. Bobby Abreu lined a single to center to bring home Phillips and Cabrera for a 4-0 advantage.

The Yankees added single runs, in the 3rd on Matsui's 22nd home run. the 100th of his Yankees career, and in the 4th on Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly, for a 6-0 lead. A-Rod's RBI gave him a major league leading 109. The end of the 4th was also the end of Meche's day. He dropped to 7-9 with the loss.

Mussina's day was pretty easy, getting Mark Teahen to fly out to end a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 3rd, and held the Royals scoreless until Ross Gload's 2-run home run in the 6th. The Yankees have to be glad not to see Gload again as the 1st Baseman went 13-23 (.565) against them. Moose evened his record at 7-7 with his 3rd straight win.

As it turned out, the Yankees got some much needed insurance in the 6th. Cabrera matched his 2006 total with his 7th home run of the year, off of Leo Nunez. Derek Jeter, who also had a hit and was hit by a pitch, drew his 2nd walk of the day and stole his 12th base. Abreu moved Jeter to 3rd with a single and Matsui brought him home with fly ball to deep right for his 78th run batted in.

Those runs were needed because Brian Bruney and Mike Myers were ineffective for a change. Teahen singled to center off Bruney to drive home David DeJesus, and Esteban German scored when Cabrera booted the ball. When Joey Gaithright singled in a run off of Myers in the 8th, it was suddenly a save situation and Joe Torre did not hesitate in calling on Mariano Rivera.

Mo retired Jason Smith on a fly out to end the 8th and threw a 1-2-3, 9th inning for his 17th (consecutive) save.

...

Johnny Damon could not have been happy about sitting out against a right-handed pitcher. Damon had a brief hot streak going before going 0-6 on Saturday.

Melky Cabrera, who started the season so poorly, is hitting .333 since June 1st, and .359 since July 1st.

Mike Mussina's victory was the 246th of his career. Mariano Rivera's save was his 430th.

The Yankees lineup has changed quite a bit over the last 2 months. When the game ended, Bobby Abreu had the lowest average of the starting 9 players - .286.

photos courtesy of AP

Today's Lineup (8/5)

Meche vs. Mussina Royals D. DeJesus cf
E. German 2b
M. Teahen rf
E. Brown dh
R. Gload 1b
A. Gordon 3b
J. Buck c
J. Gathright lf
T. Pena Jr. ss

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

Today's Lineup (8/5)

Meche vs. Mussina Royals D. DeJesus cf
E. German 2b
M. Teahen rf
E. Brown dh
R. Gload 1b
A. Gordon 3b
J. Buck c
J. Gathright lf
T. Pena Jr. ss

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

Yankees Phil Good

Alex Rodriguez's 500th home run made a Saturday's game a memorable one, but his teammates helped out too, with a 21-hit barrage in a 16-8 win over the Kansas City Royals. It wasn't such a good day for rookie phenom Phil Hughes, though it started out that way. But Hughes tired in the 5th and left with the game tied 6-6. But the Yankees bats would not be denied.

A 4-run lead may have been squandered, but it wouldn't matter on this day. Melky Cabrera's RBI ground out against John Bale (0-1) quickly gave the Yankees the lead back in the bottom of the 5th and then the Bombers began to break the game open in the 6th.

Bobby Abreu started it with his 11th home run off of Joel Peralta. 2 batters later, Jorge Posada walked and Robinson Cano followed with a double. Betemit, playing his very first game at 1st Base, ripped a 2-runs single off of David Riske for a 10-6 lead. Melky Cabrera doubled, this time out of the infield, in the gap in left-center to score Betemit with the inning's final run.

The Yankees poured it on in the 7th. RBI singles by Abreu and Matsui, a 2-run single by Cano, and an RBI double by Phillips in his first at-bat of the day. Mike Myers faced 2 batters, but it was enough to raise his record to 3-0.

Hughes was a handed a 4-0 lead after the 1st, on A-Rod's historic home run and Cano's RBI triple. He gave 2 runs back in the 3rd on David DeJesus' RBI single and a ribbie double by Mark Teahen. The Yankees got the runs back, but DeJesus touched up Hughes for a 2-run HR, his 6th to start the 5th. Joe Torre stayed with Hughes as long as possible, but when Billy Butler and Ross Gload delivered RBI doubles, Hughes' day was done.
....

The Yankees had 6 players, Cano(4), A-Rod, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, and Betemit with at least 3 hits each, for the first time in 65 years.

A-Rod officially became the youngest player to hit his 500th home run at 32 years, 8 days. That's 330 days faster than Jimmie Foxx.

Betemit has started 2 games as a Yankee and has driven in 3 runs in each.

Joba Chamberlain was dominant in his 2 inning appearance for Scranton last night, striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced.

The Yankees are 10 games over .500 for the first time this season and have moved within 1.5 of the wild card leading Tigers. Detroit has lost 5 straight.

To make room for Hughes on the 40 man roster, Colter Bean was designated for assignment.

photos courtesy of AP

Yankees Phil Good

Alex Rodriguez's 500th home run made a Saturday's game a memorable one, but his teammates helped out too, with a 21-hit barrage in a 16-8 win over the Kansas City Royals. It wasn't such a good day for rookie phenom Phil Hughes, though it started out that way. But Hughes tired in the 5th and left with the game tied 6-6. But the Yankees bats would not be denied.

A 4-run lead may have been squandered, but it wouldn't matter on this day. Melky Cabrera's RBI ground out against John Bale (0-1) quickly gave the Yankees the lead back in the bottom of the 5th and then the Bombers began to break the game open in the 6th.

Bobby Abreu started it with his 11th home run off of Joel Peralta. 2 batters later, Jorge Posada walked and Robinson Cano followed with a double. Betemit, playing his very first game at 1st Base, ripped a 2-runs single off of David Riske for a 10-6 lead. Melky Cabrera doubled, this time out of the infield, in the gap in left-center to score Betemit with the inning's final run.

The Yankees poured it on in the 7th. RBI singles by Abreu and Matsui, a 2-run single by Cano, and an RBI double by Phillips in his first at-bat of the day. Mike Myers faced 2 batters, but it was enough to raise his record to 3-0.

Hughes was a handed a 4-0 lead after the 1st, on A-Rod's historic home run and Cano's RBI triple. He gave 2 runs back in the 3rd on David DeJesus' RBI single and a ribbie double by Mark Teahen. The Yankees got the runs back, but DeJesus touched up Hughes for a 2-run HR, his 6th to start the 5th. Joe Torre stayed with Hughes as long as possible, but when Billy Butler and Ross Gload delivered RBI doubles, Hughes' day was done.
....

The Yankees had 6 players, Cano(4), A-Rod, Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, and Betemit with at least 3 hits each, for the first time in 65 years.

A-Rod officially became the youngest player to hit his 500th home run at 32 years, 8 days. That's 330 days faster than Jimmie Foxx.

Betemit has started 2 games as a Yankee and has driven in 3 runs in each.

Joba Chamberlain was dominant in his 2 inning appearance for Scranton last night, striking out 5 of the 7 batters he faced.

The Yankees are 10 games over .500 for the first time this season and have moved within 1.5 of the wild card leading Tigers. Detroit has lost 5 straight.

To make room for Hughes on the 40 man roster, Colter Bean was designated for assignment.

photos courtesy of AP

The Magic Wang

It stands to reason that the longer a starting pitcher stays in the game, the better his chances are of figuring in the decision. Chien-Ming Wang improved to 13-5 by going 7 innings plus 1 batter into the 8th and the Yankees beat the Royals at The Stadium, 7-1. Wang has figured in all but 2 of the games he's started. After a rough outing against the Orioles on Sunday, he was back in complete control of the young Royals lineup.

It only took 7 batters for Wang to have a lead as Robinson Cano smacked his 11th home run of the season off of Odalis Perez (6-10). But 3 straight, 2-out singles, the last by Ross Gload, allowed the Royals to tie the game up in the 3rd. That would be the last time the Royals were in a position to win. Wang retired Billy Butler on a ground out, what else, to end the inning.

Shelley Duncan started the 4th with his first of 2 singles on the night. Cano singled and Andy Phillips moved both runners up a base with a successful sacrifice bunt. Jose Molina, playing in place of the injured Jorge Posada, flied to deep left-center to score Duncan and put the Yankees ahead for good, 2-1. Johnny Damon's gapper to right-center scored Cano for a 3-1 advantage.

The Yankees put the game away in the 6th with the help of a whacky bounce. Perez walked Cano to end his evening and Buddy Bell brought on Ryan Z. Braun. Phillips immediately greeted him with a sharp single to left to set up another bunting situation. But Molina bunted it right back to Braun, who easily threw out Cano at 3rd. Braun's good fortune quickly turned thought, when he walked Damon to load the bases. Melky Cabrera lined Braun's 1st pitch off of the Royal hurler's foot and the mound. The ball ricocheted sideways and flew up into the stands on the 1st base, for possibly, the shortest 2-run ground-rule double in the history of the game.

A Derek Jeter walk loaded the bases and set the stage for a dramatic Alex Rodriguez at-bat. Still looking for his 500th home run. But A-Rod got under Braun's pitch, sending a high fly to right that turned into a sacrifice fly and a 6-1 Yankees lead.

As usual, Wang pitched like a man with confidence. He threw 98 pitches, 68 for strikes, and recorded 12 ground ball outs. He was lifted after allowing Mark Grudzielenak's lead-off double in the 8th. Mike Myers and Luis Vizcaino finished up the inning, before Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th in a non-save situation.

...

Alex Rodriguez's final at-bat in the 8th inning gave the crowd a quick thrill as he drove the ball to right-center, but it sunk for a fly out.

Robinson Cano had just 33 RBI at the end of June, but a huge July and a quick start to August has pushed his season total to 60. His 2 hits raised his average to .305.

Melky Cabrera's 3 hits raised his average to .292. The Yankees front office have to seriously be thinking about making Melky the long term centerfielder.

Johnny Damon is having another mini-revival, which must continue if he doesn't want to lose at-bats when Jason Giambi returns. Damon is 9-17 over the last 4 games with 4 RBI, and, more importantly, 8 runs scored.

Chien-Ming Wang's victory was the 40th of his short career. He now has a .714 lifetime winning percentage.


photos courtesy of AP

The Magic Wang

It stands to reason that the longer a starting pitcher stays in the game, the better his chances are of figuring in the decision. Chien-Ming Wang improved to 13-5 by going 7 innings plus 1 batter into the 8th and the Yankees beat the Royals at The Stadium, 7-1. Wang has figured in all but 2 of the games he's started. After a rough outing against the Orioles on Sunday, he was back in complete control of the young Royals lineup.

It only took 7 batters for Wang to have a lead as Robinson Cano smacked his 11th home run of the season off of Odalis Perez (6-10). But 3 straight, 2-out singles, the last by Ross Gload, allowed the Royals to tie the game up in the 3rd. That would be the last time the Royals were in a position to win. Wang retired Billy Butler on a ground out, what else, to end the inning.

Shelley Duncan started the 4th with his first of 2 singles on the night. Cano singled and Andy Phillips moved both runners up a base with a successful sacrifice bunt. Jose Molina, playing in place of the injured Jorge Posada, flied to deep left-center to score Duncan and put the Yankees ahead for good, 2-1. Johnny Damon's gapper to right-center scored Cano for a 3-1 advantage.

The Yankees put the game away in the 6th with the help of a whacky bounce. Perez walked Cano to end his evening and Buddy Bell brought on Ryan Z. Braun. Phillips immediately greeted him with a sharp single to left to set up another bunting situation. But Molina bunted it right back to Braun, who easily threw out Cano at 3rd. Braun's good fortune quickly turned thought, when he walked Damon to load the bases. Melky Cabrera lined Braun's 1st pitch off of the Royal hurler's foot and the mound. The ball ricocheted sideways and flew up into the stands on the 1st base, for possibly, the shortest 2-run ground-rule double in the history of the game.

A Derek Jeter walk loaded the bases and set the stage for a dramatic Alex Rodriguez at-bat. Still looking for his 500th home run. But A-Rod got under Braun's pitch, sending a high fly to right that turned into a sacrifice fly and a 6-1 Yankees lead.

As usual, Wang pitched like a man with confidence. He threw 98 pitches, 68 for strikes, and recorded 12 ground ball outs. He was lifted after allowing Mark Grudzielenak's lead-off double in the 8th. Mike Myers and Luis Vizcaino finished up the inning, before Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th in a non-save situation.

...

Alex Rodriguez's final at-bat in the 8th inning gave the crowd a quick thrill as he drove the ball to right-center, but it sunk for a fly out.

Robinson Cano had just 33 RBI at the end of June, but a huge July and a quick start to August has pushed his season total to 60. His 2 hits raised his average to .305.

Melky Cabrera's 3 hits raised his average to .292. The Yankees front office have to seriously be thinking about making Melky the long term centerfielder.

Johnny Damon is having another mini-revival, which must continue if he doesn't want to lose at-bats when Jason Giambi returns. Damon is 9-17 over the last 4 games with 4 RBI, and, more importantly, 8 runs scored.

Chien-Ming Wang's victory was the 40th of his short career. He now has a .714 lifetime winning percentage.


photos courtesy of AP

Royal Roster Weekend

You better not shout, you better not cry...Kansas City's coming to town. Need a little snow to cool off a 90+ July day. Maybe old man Clemens has cooled down by now. The Yankees play the Royals for 3 this weekend before heading north to Toronto.

The Yankees will have some decisions to make over the next few days as far as roster moves are concerned. Phil Hughes will be activated to start Saturday's game. Joba Chamberlain is expected to join the team in Toronto. He threw a scoreless inning for Trenton the other night after stopping in NYC to get his passport.

Jason Giambi is finishing up his rehab assignment and will probably re-join the team some time next week. So what does this all mean for the roster?

With the addition of Wilson Betemit, it's possible that Miguel Cairo will be let go. Cairo is a solid player whom Torre trusts so it would be hard to imagine that would be the case, but there's just no room.

With the addition of Hughes and Chamberlain, who goes from the pitching staff? I would love to see Myers cut loose, but that's probably not going to happen. Farnsworth, he should be the 'F' in 'DFA' (designated for assignment). Karstens? Villone?

Johnny Damon is already making noises of, "I'd rather play somewhere else, rather than sit". All right Johnny, shut the hell up. You reported to camp out of shape, you've been hurt all year, and you've killed the team more times than not.

KC's manager Buddy Bell made an emotion resignation, effective at season's end, the other day. Bell wants to spend more time with his family, including a daughter who has Down Syndrome. We all hope Bell is healthy, as he battled cancer a couple of years back.

Probable Pitchers for this weekend

Friday - Odalis Perez (6-9, 5.73) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (12-5, 3.61)
Saturday - Kyle Davies (4-8, 5.76) vs. Phil Hughes (1-1, 3.38)
Sunday - Gil Meche (7-8, 3.70) vs. Mike Mussina (6-7, 4.75)

Royal Roster Weekend

You better not shout, you better not cry...Kansas City's coming to town. Need a little snow to cool off a 90+ July day. Maybe old man Clemens has cooled down by now. The Yankees play the Royals for 3 this weekend before heading north to Toronto.

The Yankees will have some decisions to make over the next few days as far as roster moves are concerned. Phil Hughes will be activated to start Saturday's game. Joba Chamberlain is expected to join the team in Toronto. He threw a scoreless inning for Trenton the other night after stopping in NYC to get his passport.

Jason Giambi is finishing up his rehab assignment and will probably re-join the team some time next week. So what does this all mean for the roster?

With the addition of Wilson Betemit, it's possible that Miguel Cairo will be let go. Cairo is a solid player whom Torre trusts so it would be hard to imagine that would be the case, but there's just no room.

With the addition of Hughes and Chamberlain, who goes from the pitching staff? I would love to see Myers cut loose, but that's probably not going to happen. Farnsworth, he should be the 'F' in 'DFA' (designated for assignment). Karstens? Villone?

Johnny Damon is already making noises of, "I'd rather play somewhere else, rather than sit". All right Johnny, shut the hell up. You reported to camp out of shape, you've been hurt all year, and you've killed the team more times than not.

KC's manager Buddy Bell made an emotion resignation, effective at season's end, the other day. Bell wants to spend more time with his family, including a daughter who has Down Syndrome. We all hope Bell is healthy, as he battled cancer a couple of years back.

Probable Pitchers for this weekend

Friday - Odalis Perez (6-9, 5.73) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (12-5, 3.61)
Saturday - Kyle Davies (4-8, 5.76) vs. Phil Hughes (1-1, 3.38)
Sunday - Gil Meche (7-8, 3.70) vs. Mike Mussina (6-7, 4.75)

Winning Streak Thuds to a Halt

Hopefully last night was the last night we are subjected to watching Kei Igawa on the mound- at least as a starter. The Yankees 6 game winnings streak, predictably, came to a quick and sudden stop as the Kanas Royals slapped Igawa around for 4 runs in the 2nd inning and cruised to a 7-0 victory.

Jorge De La Rosa and 2 reliever blanked the suddenly cold Yankees bats, limiting them to 6 hits. The Yankees hitters understandably may have a defeatist attitude when Igawa pitches. In addition to being bad, he works extremely slowly, easing his fielders to sleep.

Alex Gordon started things off with a 1-out double, and Tony Pena Jr. brought him with triple. Igawa recorded the 2nd out, striking out Jason LaRue, but walked Esteban German. David DeJesus followed with a ball in the gap in right-center for a 2-run double. Mark Grudzielanek tripled in DeJesus before Igawa finally got Billy Butler to pop out for the 3rd out.

De La Rosa meanwhile escape one jam after another. The Yankees had a runner(s) in scoring position in 5 of the first 6 innings, but couldn't get the key hit. Zack Greinke replaced De La Rosa with 2 on and 1 out in the 6th and the Royals defense flashed their leather.

Jose Molina, who had 2 hits and threw a would-be base stealer in his Yankees debut, hit a ball in the hole to deep short. Pena Jr. slickly backhanded the ball and fired a strike to 2nd. With Shelley Duncan bearing down on him with a take out slide, an airborne Grudzielanek threw to 1st to complete the double play.

6 of the 7 hits Igawa allowed were for extra bases, and the final 2 knocked him from the game in the 6th. Gordon picked up the 3rd Royal's triple of the night and came home on Pena Jr.'s double for a 5-0 lead. Joe Torre finally saw enough and went to Brian Bruney who picked up the final out.

Gordon homered off Sean Henn in the 9th to finish a single shy of the cycle.

...

Alex Rodriguez went 0-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch in his 1st attempt at 500 home runs.

Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 7 games with a single. Andy Phillips extended his streak to 8 games.

It's possible Igawa will not get another start, since the Yankees are off on Monday and could skip his spot in the rotation. Then Phil Hughes, with an extra day's rest, could take over.

The Yankees fell 7.5 behind Boston in the AL East, but remained 4.5 behind Cleveland in the wild card race as the Red Sox outscored the Indians, 14-9.


photo courtesy of AP

Winning Streak Thuds to a Halt

Hopefully last night was the last night we are subjected to watching Kei Igawa on the mound- at least as a starter. The Yankees 6 game winnings streak, predictably, came to a quick and sudden stop as the Kanas Royals slapped Igawa around for 4 runs in the 2nd inning and cruised to a 7-0 victory.

Jorge De La Rosa and 2 reliever blanked the suddenly cold Yankees bats, limiting them to 6 hits. The Yankees hitters understandably may have a defeatist attitude when Igawa pitches. In addition to being bad, he works extremely slowly, easing his fielders to sleep.

Alex Gordon started things off with a 1-out double, and Tony Pena Jr. brought him with triple. Igawa recorded the 2nd out, striking out Jason LaRue, but walked Esteban German. David DeJesus followed with a ball in the gap in right-center for a 2-run double. Mark Grudzielanek tripled in DeJesus before Igawa finally got Billy Butler to pop out for the 3rd out.

De La Rosa meanwhile escape one jam after another. The Yankees had a runner(s) in scoring position in 5 of the first 6 innings, but couldn't get the key hit. Zack Greinke replaced De La Rosa with 2 on and 1 out in the 6th and the Royals defense flashed their leather.

Jose Molina, who had 2 hits and threw a would-be base stealer in his Yankees debut, hit a ball in the hole to deep short. Pena Jr. slickly backhanded the ball and fired a strike to 2nd. With Shelley Duncan bearing down on him with a take out slide, an airborne Grudzielanek threw to 1st to complete the double play.

6 of the 7 hits Igawa allowed were for extra bases, and the final 2 knocked him from the game in the 6th. Gordon picked up the 3rd Royal's triple of the night and came home on Pena Jr.'s double for a 5-0 lead. Joe Torre finally saw enough and went to Brian Bruney who picked up the final out.

Gordon homered off Sean Henn in the 9th to finish a single shy of the cycle.

...

Alex Rodriguez went 0-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch in his 1st attempt at 500 home runs.

Hideki Matsui extended his hitting streak to 7 games with a single. Andy Phillips extended his streak to 8 games.

It's possible Igawa will not get another start, since the Yankees are off on Monday and could skip his spot in the rotation. Then Phil Hughes, with an extra day's rest, could take over.

The Yankees fell 7.5 behind Boston in the AL East, but remained 4.5 behind Cleveland in the wild card race as the Red Sox outscored the Indians, 14-9.


photo courtesy of AP

Tonight's Lineups (7/26)

Igawa vs. De La Rosa

Yankees

M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b
S. Duncan dh
J. Molina c
Totals

Royals
E. German 3b
D. DeJesus cf
M. Grudzielanek 2b
B. Butler dh
R. Sanders rf
E. Brown lf
A. Gordon 1b
T. Pena Jr. ss
J. LaRue c

Tonight's Lineups (7/26)

Igawa vs. De La Rosa

Yankees

M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
A. Phillips 1b
R. Cano 2b
S. Duncan dh
J. Molina c
Totals

Royals
E. German 3b
D. DeJesus cf
M. Grudzielanek 2b
B. Butler dh
R. Sanders rf
E. Brown lf
A. Gordon 1b
T. Pena Jr. ss
J. LaRue c

Moose Bags a Big Game

Mike Mussina threw a solid 5.2 innings and Alex Rodriguez slugged career home run number 499 as the Yankees continued to roll with a 7-1 win over the Royals. It was the Yankees 6th straight win, 17th in their last 22 games, and locked up their 6th straight series win.

Mussina was coming off one of his worst outings, having allowed 6 runs in 4.2 innings last Friday night against Tampa. This time he was effective, mixing a good fastball with his array of pitches. And the Yankees quick start offense gave him immediate support.

After leaving 2 men on in the 1st, Robinson Cano singled off of Gil Meche with 1 out in the 2nd. Two batters later, Melky Cabrera belted his 5th home run of the season to right for a 2-0 lead. Meche was solid though through the 6th, keeping the Royals in the game.

Mussina (5-7) retired the 1st 2 batters in the 6th, but a double by Ross Gload and RBI single by Reggie Sanders sent him to the showers. Ron Villone came on and needed just one pitch to retire Alex Gordon on a fly to right.

The Yankees got the run right back in the 7th when Jorge Posada and Cano, who went 3-4, stroked back to back singles, Andy Phillips sacrificed them over, and Cabrera delivered his 3rd RBI with a sacrifice fly.

Meche (7-7) was still pitching an effective game, but manager Buddy Bell left him too long. Meche had a history of shoulder problems in Seattle, but Bell extended him to 120 pitches on the night. After allowing a lead off single to Derek Jeter in the 8th and retiring Bobby Abreu on a force out, Meche's 2-2 pitch to A-Rod was driven deep over the fence in right-center for a 2-run shot. It was A-Rod's 35th of the season, matching last year's total. It also gave him a major league leading 102 RBI.

Bell finally sent for lefty Jimmy Gobble, but the reliever would fare no better. Hideki Matsui greeted him with his 10th home run of July and number 18 on the season for a 6-1 lead. Phillips would add the final tally with an RBI double.

...

The win kept the Yankees 4.5 back of Cleveland in the wild card and moved them within 6.5 of Boston in the AL East. Fausto Carmona out dueled Josh Beckett in a 1-0 Indians victory.

Royals closer Octavio Dotel, the subject of many trade rumors and a member of the '06 Yankees, pitched the 9th and hit Derek Jeter just above the left elbow. Jeter went down to 1st Base, but was in obvious pain and left for a pinch-runner. Between innings Dotel spoke with Yankees 1st Base coach Tony Pena, apparently to explain that he didn't hit Jeter on purpose. Needless to say, Pena was still not happy.

Robinson Cano's 3 hits raised his season average to .299, and is hitting .402 in July. He now has a 7 game hitting streak.

Johnny Damon got a hit in his final at-bat to join Hideki Matsui in extending their hitting streaks to 6 games.

Andy Phillips' RBI gave him 15 in 21 July games.

photos courtesy of AP