Pettitte Can't Shoulder the Load

There were reports during the Summer that Andy Pettitte was pitching injured. He denied it at the time, but now admits he's been taking the mound with a sore shoulder. Clearly something is wrong. After last night's 6-2 loss to the White Sox, Pettitte had dropped 7 of his last 8 decisions and saw his record go from 12-7 to 13-14. He's never finished a season under .500.

Pettitte's start last night evolved the way many of his starts have this season, going from good to bad in the middle innings. Tied 1-1 in the fourth, Pettitte walked Brian Anderson to start the inning. Consecutive singles by Jermaine Dye and Ken Griffey Jr. produced the go ahead run, and Dye scored on a double by Paul Konerko to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead.

Pettitte finally retired A.J. Pierzynski for the first out of the inning and then intentionally walked Alexei Ramirez to set up a double play situation. But the move backfired when Pettitte walked Juan Uribe to force in a run.

As they have been all season, especially in the second half, the Yankees went lifeless after being behind. A Jason Giambi home run in the Yankees half of the fourth cut the deficit to 4-2, but they would get no closer. The White Sox tacked on runs against the worn out Jose Veras, and Dan Giese for a 6-2 final.

The only highlight of the night was Derek Jeter's passing of Lou Gehrig for hits at Yankee Stadium. Jeter's first at-bat took care of it, though the hit should have been ruled an error when the ball went right through Uribe at third base.

Gavin Floyd continued his break out season for the White Sox, improving to 16-7 with the win. The Yankees biggest threat against him was a bases loaded, two out jam in the fifth. A 10-pitch battle ensued with Jason Giambi, that Floyd won when Giambi swung and missed at a strike three breaking pitch. Bobby Jenks, in a non-save situation, easily retired the punchless Yankees in the ninth.


News and Notes

Hideki Matsui has decided to go in for knee surgery after Sunday's home finale.

Derek Jeter also passed Lou Gehrig for second place on the franchise career at-bats list.

Brett Gardner stole two bases and is 10-11 on the season.

Olympic medalist Dara Torres threw out the first pitch.

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The Pennant Race - 8/21

You just get the feeling that for the second straight year, the Mets and Phillies will come down to the final weekend to determine the NL East winner. The Mets are playing good baseball, but they haven't been able to put much cushion between themselves and the Phillies since moving into first place.

Mike Pelfrey has really stepped up this season and did again last night, limiting the Braves to three hits in a complete game, 6-3 Mets victory. David Wright continued his run at the NL MVP with his 24th home run and 97th RBI. Rookie Dan Murphy's two RBI gave him 11 in 18 games and he's batting .404 in 47 at-bats.

The Phillies got a complete game of their own from Brett Myers, who scattered nine hits in shutting down the Nationals 4-0. Washington has lost 12 straight. After a brief stint in the minors, Myers has returned to form and is 3-1, 1.47 in his last five starts.

The Marlins' hopes are fading away. They dropped a 6-5 game to the Giants last night that put them 5 games behind the Mets and 7.5 behind the wildcard-leading Brewers. Florida rallied for 3 runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, but Bengie Molina's sac fly won it for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth.

Speaking of the Brewers, they got themselves back to within 5 games of the Cubs with a 5-2 win over the Astros. J.J. Hardy hit a 2-run home run to help Manny Parra win his 10th game. Ryan Braun sat out for the 9th time in 11 games due to lower back soreness.

The Reds edged the Cubs 2-1 despite starter Ted Lilly allowing just two hits over seven innings.

The Cardinals remained 2.5 behind the Brewers in the wildcard with an 11-2 thumping of the Pirates. Todd Wellemeyer won his career-high 11th game and reached the century mark in strikeouts for the first time.

The Diamondbacks moved two games ahead of the Dodgers with an 8-6 win over the Padres. Neither starter Dan Haren nor Jake Peavy was good, but after allowing four runs in the first inning, Haren settled down to get the win. Adam Dunn belted a 3-run home run, his 34th of the season.

The Rockies played spoilers, beating the Dodgers 4-3. The Dodgers lead 3-0 early, but Brad Hawpe almost single-handedly beat LA. He reached on an error that cut the lead to 3-2, singled in the game-tying run in the seventh, and singled again in the ninth to drive in the go-ahead run.


There was no movement in the AL Central standings as both the White Sox and Twins were daytime winners. Chicago got four home runs in a 15-3 rout of the Mariners. Ken Griffey Jr. tied Sammy CheaterSosa with his 609th career home run, and his first in Chicago. Gavin Floyd earned his 13th win.

Francisco Lirano and four pitchers pitched the Twins to a 3-1 win over the A's. Little-used reserve Mike Redmond drove in two runs.

The AL East's top two teams remained 4.5 apart as they both lost last night. The Angels beat the Rays 5-4, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit, and then winning after blowing a 4-3 lead. Garret Anderson's ninth inning single was the game winner. K-Rod notched his 48th save.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but it was all Baltimore after that as the Orioles won it 11-6. Melvin Mora, who had four RBI, and Ramon Hernandez each hit 3-run home runs. Clay Buchholz was hammered for five runs in 2.1 IP and is reportedly headed back to Pawtucket.

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Trade Deadline Recap

This was one of the most active trade periods in recent memory. Not only were a number of deals that got done, but a number of high profile players exchanged places. Let's take a look at today's big deals and a couple of ones that had already taken place.

3 Hall of Fame Players - Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Ken Griffey Jr. were all dealt today. There have been rumors of Jr. to the White Sox on and and off for a couple of months. He finally went today, after waving his no-trade clause, for infielder Danny Richar and pitcher Nick Masset. Richar was thought to be the starting 2nd baseman for the White Sox this season before injury stalled his year. Eventually Alexi Ramirez made Richar expendable. Masset is a mediocre reliever who will just add some depth to the Reds pen.

Ivan Rodriguez gives the Yankees much needed punch at catcher while the Tigers got some much needed help in their bullpen with the acquisition of Kyle Farnsworth.

By adding Manny Ramirez to their lineup, the Dodgers have an excellent shot at overtaking the Diamondbacks for the NL West crown. Who ever would have thought Joe Torre would be managing the Man-child, and for that matter, Nomar.

The Red Sox get back a very solid player in Jason Bay. He's not Manny, but he's still a good addition. The biggest difference will be no protection for David Ortiz.

The poor fans in Pittsburgh, those who actually pay attention to baseball, get back 4 prospects. Reliever Craig Hansen, who was once thought to be closer material, and outfielder Brandon Moss, who has tremendous upside. He's a good outfielder with a decent bat, and will be just 25 in September.

From LA, the Pirates got Andy LaRoche, who joins his brother Adam, and pitcher Bryan Morris. The younger LaRoche will see time at 3rd base and eventually could supplant his brother on the other side of the diamond. He's got good power and will finally get the chance to see if he can live up to his hype. Morris is in just his second minor league season after missing 2007 due to Tommy John surgery. The 21-yr old's best pitch is his curveball.

The Reigning AL Cy Young Winner - CC Sabathia has been outstanding since his trade to the Brewers, going 4-0, 1.82 in 5 starts. The Indians have the chance for an outstanding bat in Matt LaPorta who was hitting .288-20-66 in 84 games in Double-A. He's made a slow transition to the Indians team in Akron, hitting just .212-1-7 in 14 games. Last year he drove in 31 runs in 30 games.

The Stud - Rich Harden finally won his first game as a Cub today. And yes, we are being sarcastic. Harden hasn't given as many innings as Sabathia, but his arm has to be cared for a lot more. Nonetheless, he's been outstanding, putting together a 1.11 ERA in 4 starts. He's also struck out 39 batters in 24.1 innings. Sean Gallagher is in the A's rotation and projects to be a number 3 or 4 starter. The reports on outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson are mixed. Murton, soon to be 27, did well in 2006, hitting .297-13-62 with an .809 OPS. But he's tailed off since. Patterson is getting a shot now after tearing the cover off the ball in 14 minor league games after the trade, and has the bigger upside.

The Big Bat - Mark Teixeira is playing in his second game in an Angels uniform tonight. After going 0-4 against Boston, he's 2-4 against the Yankees and drove in his first run in for the Halos. This was a great deal for the Angels. Casey Kotchman will be a very solid defender for the Braves, but the jury is still out on his bat. Pitcher Steve Marek is a hard thrower, but is pretty much a crap shoot.

So there you have it. Big names, big deals, big difference makers.

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Junior Heading to the South Side

Ken Rosenthal reports that Ken Griffey Jr. has accepted the trade from the Reds to the White Sox. In exchange for Junior, the Reds will receive pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar. Cash will be exchanged as well, but the details are not yet disclosed.

With Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin in the outfield, and Jim Thome as DH, the White Sox will probably move Nick Swisher to 1st base, thereby descreasing Paul Konerko's playing time.

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Deadline Deal Rumors

The Manny Ramirez, three team trade is of course the biggest rumor out there. Jayson Stark of ESPN quoted an official in the know as saying there's a 50/50 chance it will happen.

Ken Rosenthal reports that Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. is deciding whether or not to waive his no trade clause to accept a trade to the White Sox. No details on the trade itself. The White Sox are reportedly interested in relievers David Weathers and Jeremy Affeldt as well. The Chicago Sun-Times also reports the White Sox are interested in acquiring A's closer Huston Street to serve in a set up role to closer Bobby Jenks.

The Twins continue their search for a 3rd baseman. Much talk has been made about their interest in Adrian Beltre (Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins or Denard Span), but the Mariners are reportedly asking for too much in return. According to the San Francisco Chronicle the Twins have turned the sights on a lesser player such as the Giants' Rich Aurilia. (Yankees should send them Wilson Betemit..NOW). The Giants are also listening to offers for catcher Bengie Molina and shortstop Omar Vizquel.

The Mariners have clearly lost their minds. Jarrod Washburn has been on a tremendous roll, but their asking price for him is crazy, especially considering he's set to make $10.9 million next season. The Mariners asked the Rockies for top prospects Dexter Fowler and Casey Weathers, and were looking for a Jon Niese or Fernando Martinez type prospect from the Mets. The Mariners are also shopping closer J.J. Putz.

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Around the Horn - 7/22

Great pitching match up last night at the warehouse they call a ball park in Phoenix. The Cubs sent recently acquired Rich Harden up against Dbacks oldster Randy Johnson. Apparently the Big Unit still has something left in him. He tossed 2 hit ball over 7 innings to pick up his 291st win in the Dbacks 2-0 victory. Hard luck loser Harden allowed just 1 hit, a home run, in 7 innings and struck out 10.

Harden has thus far lived up to expectations - 1 earned run allowed in 12.1 innings pitched. He's yet to get a win though as the bullpen blew his first start and no offense spoiled his second time out.

CC Sabatha is also living up to expectations in Milwaukee. He's allowed just 5 earned runs in 24 IP (1.88 ERA), while winning 3 games, going the distance in 2 of them. He's also homered! After starting the season 1-5, 7.51, Sabathia has gone 8-3, 1.92.

Teammates Miguel Cabrera and Matt Joyce combined for 9 hits and 11 RBI last night in the Tigers 19-4 blow out of the Royals.

B.J. Upton's offensive numbers are down for the Rays, but he did reach 30 stolen bases for the first time in his career with a pair of swipes last night. Scott Kazmir was dominant in the Rays 4-0 win over the A's, striking out 9 and allowing just 2 hits over 7 innings.

Curt Schilling has been out, Dice-K hasn't been fantastic, and Clay Buccholz has not yet lived up to the hype, but the Red Sox are very much in the thick of things, in great part due to the performance of Jon Lester. Known more for his cancer battle and a no-hitter earlier this year, Lester has put together a very solid campaign, improving to 8-3 after 7 shutout innings against the Mariners last night. Boston won 4-0 with Lester lowering his ERA to 3.20.

The Dodgers and Rockies banged out 38 hits last night in the Dodgers 16-10 road win. James Loney drove in 5 runs in this horribly pitched game.

Watching him pitch, you wonder how he ever wins a game, but Paul Byrd did it again last night. He and the Indians out dueled All-Star Ervin Santana in the Tribe's 5-2 win against the Angels.

The Astros were on the brink of victory last night, leading the Pirates 3-2 in the 9th. Then Jason Bay, Adam LaRoche, and Freddy Sanchez each hit round-trippers. Sanchez's was a 3-run inside the parker that took a weird carom off the fence. Final score, Pirates 9 Astros 3.

You never expect pitching with the Rangers, but last night Scott Feldman and three relievers held the White Sox to one run in a 6-1 win. Josh Hamilton hit a 3-run home run to give him 98 RBI on the season. Carlos Quentin's 24th home run was the lone Chisox run.

The Brewers blew a 9th inning lead, but Bill Hall homered in the 10th and the Brewers added two more to beat the Cards 6-3. The victory moved Milwaukee into a tie for 2nd with the Cards in the NL Central, 2 games back of the Cubs.

Jose Campillo allowed just 2 hits over 7 innings in the Braves 4-0 blanking of the Marlins. The rookie is now 5-4, 2.83.

The Padres rallied for 3 runs in the 9th inning to overcome the Reds, 6-4. Kevin Kouzmanoff stroked the game winning 2-run double. Ken Griffey Jr. smacked career home run number 606.

Adam Jones and Ramon Hernandez both went deep in the Orioles 8-3 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto has lost 14 of 18 on the road.

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Around the Horn - 7/1

Look out AL Central, here come the Detroit Tigers. In case you haven't noticed, the Tigers, after last night's come from behind 5-4 win over the Twins, are now two games over .500 (42-40). The Tigers were 19-8 in June, and have won 7 straight, moving them to within 5 games of the White Sox for the AL Central lead.

The Tigers will be tested now though. Magglio Ordonez went on the DL after straining an oblique muscle on Sunday and Miguel Cabrera may be joining him after suffering from a hip flexor last night.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (42-40) «	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	5	12	3
Minnesota (45-38)	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	4	13	0

W: C. Fossum (1-0) L: M. Guerrier (4-3) S: J. Zumaya (1) HR: DET - M. Thames (15) MIN - None

Recap/Box

The Mets just can't build off of anything. They had a big win on Sunday against the Yankees after losing two straight. So what did they do last night? Go out and get clobbered 7-1 by the Cardinals. John Maine had a rough outing and the Mets offense fell flat. And Kyle Lohse is 10-2!

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (40-42)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	3
St. Louis (48-36) «	2	1	1	1	2	0	0	0	x	7	10	2

W: K. Lohse (10-2) L: J. Maine (8-6) HR: NYM - None STL - C. Duncan (5)

Recap/Box

Tampa Bay has its first big Summer series...EVER. They got off on the right foot last night, holding off the Red Sox 5-4 despite Troy Percival being forced from the game in the 9th inning. The Rays closer apparently re-aggravated a hamstring problem. Back up closer Dan Wheeler had already pitched, so J.P. Howell closed things out. And the Red Sox still haven't, and won't, taken any disciplinary action against Manny Ramirez.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston (50-35)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	4	8	1
Tampa Bay (50-32) «	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	x	5	6	0

W: J. Shields (6-5) L: J. Masterson (4-2) S: J. Howell (2) HR: BOS - J. Drew (16) TB - B. Upton (6), G. Gross (6)

Recap/Box

Jr. still has some pop in that bat. Ken Griffey Jr. came off the bench to hit a walk off 2-run home run to give the Reds a 4-3 win over the Pirates in the 9th. It was career home run number 603. Before the game, Jr. playfully asked manager Dusty Baker's 9-yr old son Darren why he wasn't playing. "You can't hit lefties, and you're old!", responded Darren. Take that kid.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh (38-44)	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	0
Cincinnati (39-45) «	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	4	8	0

W: F. Cordero (3-1) L: M. Capps (1-3) HR: PIT - A. LaRoche (8) CIN - J. Hairston (2), K. Griffey (10)

Recap/Box

The Marlins walked one off too against the Nationals. After the fish tied the game in the 9th, Josh Willingham hit his second home run of the game in the bottom of the 10th. These fish know how to hit home runs.

Final 10th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Washington (33-51)	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	5	10	0
Florida (43-39) «	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	6	11	0

W: K. Gregg (6-2) L: J. Rauch (4-2) HR: WAS - E. Dukes (4), D. Young (4) FLA - J. Willingham (7), H. Ramirez (19), J. Willingham (8)

Recap/Box

The White Sox know how to hit home runs too. Nick Swisher hit a pair last night, including his second grand slam in a week, as the White Sox out lasted the Indians 9-7. Jim Thome also went deep as the Pale Hose increased their lead over the Twins to 2.5 games in the AL Central.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland (37-46)	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	7	14	0
Chi. White Sox (47-35) «	3	0	5	0	0	1	0	0	x	9	9	2

W: G. Floyd (9-4) L: J. Sowers (0-4) S: M. Thornton (1) HR: CLE - J. Peralta (12) CHW - J. Thome (16), N. Swisher (10), N. Swisher (11)

Recap/Box

Good and Bad news for the Astros last night. Roy Oswalt struck out 9 to lead the 'stros to a 4-1 win over the Dodgers. The bad news? Oswalt left the game in the 7th inning with a strained hip. Lance Berkman belted his 22nd home run.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
L.A. Dodgers (38-44)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	11	0
Houston (40-43) «	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	x	4	6	0

W: R. Oswalt (7-8) L: E. Stults (2-1) S: J. Valverde (22) HR: LA - None HOU - L. Berkman (22)

Recap/Box

Talk about a change in fortune. The Rockies lead the Padres 8-3. Final score- Padres 15 Rockies 8 with a 7-run 9th inning. The Pads hit 4 home runs, including a pair by Edgar Gonzalez. Jody Gerut also had one and knocked in 4.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego (33-51) «	1	0	2	0	0	5	0	0	7	15	22	0
Colorado (32-51)	3	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	8	9	0

W: H. Bell (6-3) L: B. Fuentes (1-4) HR: SD - E. Gonzalez (2), K. Kouzmanoff (11), J. Gerut (4), E. Gonzalez (3) COL - B. Hawpe (11)

Recap/Box

Greg Smith pitched the A's to a big 6-1 win over the Angels. Smith threw the first complete game of his career, limiting the Angels to just 4 hits. The win moved the A's to within 3.5 games of the Angels in the AL West.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland (45-37) «	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	6	13	0
L.A. Angels (49-34)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	2

W: G. Smith (5-6) L: J. Garland (7-5) HR: OAK - None ANA - M. Napoli (12)

Recap/Box

Complete games are nothing out of the ordinary for Roy Halladay, who went the distance in the Blue Jays 2-0 blanking of the Mariners last night. It was the 10th career shutout for the big right-hander.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Toronto (41-43) «	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	10	1
Seattle (31-51)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

W: R. Halladay (9-6) L: R. Dickey (2-4) HR: TOR - None SEA - None

Recap/Box

Mark DeRosa homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in 6 as the Cubs pounded the Giants 9-2. Ted Lilly won his 9th while Barry Zito, unfortunately for Giants fans, went back to pitching like Barry Zito.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chi. Cubs (50-33) «	0	1	2	0	2	0	0	4	0	9	10	0
San Francisco (36-47)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	8	2

W: T. Lilly (9-5) L: B. Zito (3-12) HR: CHC - M. DeRosa (9), M. DeRosa (10) SF - None

Recap/Box

Good to see Doug Davis out on the mound and competing. In fact he picked up the win against his old club for the Diamondbacks last night.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Milwaukee (44-38)	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	1
Arizona (42-41) «	2	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	x	6	11	0

W: D. Davis (3-3) L: D. Bush (4-8) S: B. Lyon (17) HR: MIL - None ARI - M. Reynolds (17)

Recap/Box

O's closer George Sherrill blew a save in the 9th for the second straight game. This time it was the Royals coming from behind to tie things up on a Miguel Olivo home run. Jose Guillen knocked in the game winner in the 11th. Joakim Soria, the best unknown closer, picked up his 22nd save.

Final 11th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Kansas City (38-45) «	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	1	6	14	0
Baltimore (41-40)	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	10	1

W: R. Mahay (4-0) L: C. Bradford (3-3) S: J. Soria (22) HR: KC - M. Olivo (9) BAL - R. Hernandez (7)

Recap/Box

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The Daily Yankeeland - 6/23

The New York Post's Steve Serby has a Q&A with Mike Mussina. His colleague Mike Vaccaro has a story on Jason Giambi's revival.

Peter Abraham reported this afternoon that Al Aceves has been promoted to Scranton. This will be the third level that the former Mexican League pitcher plays at this year.

Earlier this year Kyle Farnsworth blamed Joe Torre for his ineffectiveness. Now he's saying the Yankees fans are too fickle. Can this guy take some responsibility for his ineffectiveness? Apparently not.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s home run off of Farnsworth was his first Stadium home run since 1999. Oh, and Farnsworth didn't like that the Yankee fans showed their appreciation for Jr.'s career by giving hi an ovation. Grow up.

David Waldstein of the Star Ledger points out that Derek Jeter has reached base safely in 37 straight interleague games.

Great line from David Cone during this weekend's broadcast, as reported by Phil Mushnick. "David Cone on YES, Wednesday, was asked by Michael Kay if he ever had a teammate who didn't swear. "None I trusted," said Cone." Can you say, "Chad Curtis"?

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Pettitte, Giambi Prevent Sweep

The Yankees struggled against another rookie Cincinnati pitcher Sunday afternoon, but this time out Andy Pettitte out dueled the latest Cincinnati kid, Johnny Cueto. The result was a 4-1 Yankees win before a crowd of 54,234 in the finale of the six game homestand. The win enabled the Yankees to finish those six games 4-2 to remain 5 games (4 in the loss column) back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Pettitte was superb, scattering 4 hits over 6 innings for his 8th win of the season and the 172nd of his Yankees career. He ran into a bases loaded, one out jam in the 4th, but struck out left handed hitters, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce to keep the Reds off the board.

The Yankees weren't having any success against Cueto either, getting just 2 hits over the first 4 innings, before taking the lead in the 5th. Jason Giambi lead off with the first of his three hits and Jorge Posada followed with a double into the right field corner. Robinson Cano brought home the first run of the day with a deep fly to center. Cueto stranded Posada at 3rd by striking out Melky Cabrera and retiring Johnny Damon on a pop up.

The winds, and lightning and thunder started up in the top of the 6th and heavy rains began to fall as the Reds put two men on base. Jeff Keppinger lead off the inning with a single and one batter later Pettitte hit Brandon Phillips on the toe of his right foot. But light hitting Paul Janish tried to bunt his way on and popped right up to Posada for the 2nd out. Fighting off a torrential downpour, Pettitte struck out Votto once again to strand the pair.

After a 56 minute rain delay the Yankees broke the game open against the Reds bullpen. Derek Jeter lead off the bottom half of the 6th with a single against Gary Majewski and two batters later Hideki Matsui followed suit. Dusty Baker sent for lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt to face Jason Giambi, but the move didn't pay off when Giambi delivered a 2-run double to left for a 3-0 lead. Posada, batting from the right side, doubled up the gap in righ-center for the Yankees final run.

After Edwar Ramirez tossed a scoreless 7th inning, Joe Girardi sent for Kyle Farnsworth, who made 2 mistakes. The first was giving up a 2-out home run to Ken Griffey Jr.. The second was trying to field Brandon Phillips comebacker. The ball ricocheted to Alex Rodriguez, who then compounded the problem with a throwing error to allow Phillips reach 2nd base. Farnsworth exited to have stitches between his fingers, so Mariano Rivera came in a four out save.

June 22, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	8	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	X		4	11	1

Cincinnati	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Hopper, LF	5	0	0	0	0	1	3	.250
Keppinger, SS-3B-SS	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.322
Griffey, DH	3	1	1	1	1	0	1	.249
Phillips, B, 2B	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.271
Encarnacion, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.241
Janish, SS	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	.180
a-Valentin, PH-3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.222
Votto, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	2	5	.293
Bruce, RF	4	0	1	0	0	2	4	.300
Patterson, CF	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.189
Ross, C	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.233
b-Dunn, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	.219
Totals	34	1	8	1	2	7	20
a-Grounded out for Janish in the 8th. b-Struck out for Ross in the 9th.
BATTING HR: Griffey (8, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Keppinger; Griffey 4; Phillips, B 2; Votto 2; Bruce; Ross. RBI: Griffey (32). 2-out RBI: Griffey. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Bruce 2; Votto; Valentin; Hopper. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING CS: Ross (1, 2nd base by Pettitte/Posada). PO: Ross (1st base by Pettitte). FIELDING DP: 3 (Ross-Janish, Phillips, B-Janish, Votto-Keppinger-Votto).

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Cueto (L, 5-8)	5.0	4	1	1	0	7	0	5.01
Majewski	0.2	2	2	2	0	1	0	4.70
Affeldt	0.2	3	1	1	1	0	0	4.50
Lincoln	1.2	2	0	0	0	1	0	4.93

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.323
Jeter, SS	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.279
Abreu, RF	4	0	2	0	0	1	3	.273
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	1	3	.332
Matsui, DH	4	1	1	0	0	2	2	.323
Giambi, 1B	3	2	3	2	0	0	0	.271
1-Betemit, PR-1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Posada, C	4	0	2	1	0	2	2	.311
Cano, 2B	2	0	0	1	0	0	2	.227
Cabrera, CF	3	0	1	0	0	1	1	.254
Totals	31	4	11	4	1	9	15
1-Ran for Giambi in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Posada 2 (9, Cueto, Affeldt), Giambi (12, Affeldt). TB: Jeter; Abreu 2; Rodriguez; Matsui; Giambi 4; Posada 4; Cabrera. RBI: Cano (26), Giambi 2 (42), Posada (19). 2-out RBI: Giambi 2; Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano 2; Damon. SF: Cano. GIDP: Matsui. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Giambi (2, 2nd base off Cueto/Ross). CS: Abreu (4, 2nd base by Cueto/Ross). FIELDING E: Rodriguez (6, throw). Pickoffs: Pettitte (Ross at 1st base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pettitte (W, 8-5)	6.0	4	0	0	2	4	0	4.04
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.74
Farnsworth	0.2	2	1	1	0	1	1	4.24
Rivera (S, 21)	1.1	2	0	0	0	1	0	0.76

HBP: Giambi (by Cueto), Phillips, B (by Pettitte).
Pitches-strikes: Cueto 75-50, Majewski 13-9, Affeldt 21-11,
Lincoln 17-12, Pettitte 97-63, Ramirez 9-7, Farnsworth 14-8, Rivera 30-19.
Ground outs-fly outs: Cueto 2-5, Majewski 0-1, Affeldt 2-0,
Lincoln 2-1, Pettitte 8-5, Ramirez 0-2, Farnsworth 0-1, Rivera 3-0.
Batters faced: Cueto 19, Majewski 4, Affeldt 6, Lincoln 5,
Pettitte 24, Ramirez 3, Farnsworth 4, Rivera 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Affeldt 2-2, Lincoln 2-0, Rivera 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Charlie Reliford. 1B: Greg Gibson. 2B: Brian Runge. 3B: Scott Barry.
Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:54 (:56 delay).
Att: 54,234.

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