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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Yankees Outlast O's

Phil Hughes started out slow as usual, but ground out 5+ innings and Hideki Matsui homered for the 1st time in over month as the Yankees topped the Orioles 8-5. The Yankees had busted the game open, but a shaky performance by Kyle Farnsworth, who hadn't pitched in 9 days, caused Joe Torre to call on Mariano Rivera to get the final 2 outs. The win moved the Yankees to within 3.5 (3 in the loss column) of Boston in the AL East and pushed them 3.5 ahead of Detroit in the Wild Card.

Hughes (4-3) spotted the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the of the 1st, but Doug Mientkiewicz, taking advantage of his playing time, tied things up with a 2-run single in the 2nd off of Daniel Cabrera (9-17). Then Matsui put the Yankees ahead for good in the 3rd with his 24th home run of the season in the 3rd.

The Yankees added 2 runs in the 4th on Robinson Cano's ribbie double and an RBI single by Johnny Damon. Bobby Abreu's double and Alex Rodriguez's sac fly plated a pair more in the 6th as as the Yankees stretched the lead to 7-2. Abreu's RBI single in the 8th would prove to be important as Farnsworth made the game interesting in the 9th.

The inconsistent right-hander hadn't been able to appear in a game since September 9th due to a stiff neck. It should have stayed that way. He walked Brian Roberts to start the inning and a ground out and wild pitch moved him to 3rd. Nick Markakis delivered and RBI single to cut the lead to 8-4 and Rivera started to loosen up.

Farnsworth retired pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez, but when Kevin Millar singled, Torre was taking no chances. Rivera, who struggled through Sunday night's save - and as it turned out, had a bruised right pinky as the result of a stray ball from the Red Sox bullpen - allowed an RBI double to Aubrey Huff before striking out Melvin Mora to end the game.

...

Derek Jeter had a pair of hits and passed Bernie Williams for 4th all-time on the team with 2,337.

After an unbelievably bad start, Bobby Abreu now has 98 RBI. In 62 games since the break, he's batting .316 with 11 HR and 57 runs batted in. He's also scored 109 runs on the season.

In his back-to-back starts, Doug Mientkiewicz is 3-4 with 2 walks and 2 RBI. He's also made several outstanding plays in the field.

photos courtesy of AP

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Uh O

The Yankees open a 3 game series tonight with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles that allowed 30 runs in 1 game to the Texas Rangers. The Orioles that bullpen has imploded in the 2nd half. The Orioles that are 64-84, 2 million games out of 1st place. And alas, the same Orioles that won 4, count 'em 4, best 2 of 3 series from the Yankees this season.

The good news is that the Orioles ace, Erik Bedard, will miss this one with a badly strained oblique. The bad news is that we have to watch Mike Mussina on the mound again tomorrow.

Here are the pitching probables for the series:

Monday - Daniel Cabrera (9-16, 5.37) vs. Phil Hughes (3-3, 4.91)
Cabrera did his best Armando Benetiz imitation recently, pissing off his manager and teammates. Hughes has posted back-to-back solid outings and the Yankees need to get this series off on the right foot.

Tuesday - Jon Leicester (2-1, 6.32) vs. Mike Mussina (9-10, 5.28)
Leicester has never faced the Yankees and we've seen how those games go. Mussina needs to build off his last start or pitch poor enough so that Torre is never tempted to put him in again.

Wednesday - Brian Burres (6-5, 5.47) vs Andy Pettitte (13-8, 3.89)
Burres is 1-0, 2.53 in 5 appearances (1 start) against the Yankees. Pettitte will be looking for career victory #200.

Here are the lineups for tonight's game. Doug Mientkiewicz gets rewarded for his stellar 2-way play last night.

Orioles

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

Yankees
J. Damon cf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
J. Giambi dh
R. Cano 2b
D. Mientkiewicz1b

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Today's Lineups

Bedard vs. Hughes

Orioles

B. Roberts 2b
C. Patterson cf
N. Markakis rf
M. Tejada ss
K. Millar dh
A. Huff 1b
M. Mora 3b
P. Bako c
T. Redman lf

Yankees
M. Cabrera cf
W. Betemit 2b
D. Jeter ss
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada dh
A. Phillips 1b
S. Duncan rf
J. Molina c

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The Throwaway

We've seen many occurrences over the years of last night's ball game. Start a pitcher that's garbage and fiddle as Rome burns.. The opposing pitcher, may be mediocre. A guy with flashes of brilliance who, more often than not, ends up throwing a poor game. But in "Throwaway" games, he's brilliant. Once your starting pitcher is gone, 1 or 2 relievers will get lit up as well. And as soon as the pitching goes into the tank, so does the offense, and the defense.

Last night it was Jeffrey Karstens turn to play the role of the crappy Yankees pitcher. Daniel Cabrera was in the starring role for the Orioles as he and the O's bullpen held the Yankees to 2 hits (in true Daniel Cabrera fashion he walked 6 in 6.2 innings; part of 9 walks issued by the O's). And Robinson Cano made the error - you get the impression Cano loses his concentration in these games as this is when he tends to screw up. The outcome was a 12-0 Orioles white washing, that combined with a 9th inning Red Sox win, dropped the Yankees back to 5 games out in the AL East. Both Seattle and Cleveland lost, so the Bombers remain tied for the wild card lead.

Before these games even take place, you already know what will happen. Granted, we don't know if Ian Kennedy would have pitched well had he been recalled, but we were pretty positive that Karstens wouldn't. Karstens teased the crowd with a scoreless 1st, got of out a jam in the 2nd by only allowing 1 run, and then gave up the big blow- a grand slam to Aubrey Huff - in the 3rd, that signaled the end of a competitive game. Brower then came in - hopefully for the last time now or ever - and gave up the next 6 runs, 2 earned, in 4 innings.

Singles by Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui were the lone hits for the Yankees, as Melky Cabrera's 18 game hitting streak came to an end.

What makes this game even more annoying is that there is a good chance the Yankees will lose 2 of 3, AGAIN, to the O's. They've already dropped 7 of 11 meetings. And while we love seeing Phil Hughes out there today, we can't be sure how he'll be yet from start to start. However, Erik Bedard goes for the O's and we're pretty sure you can figure on 6-7 innings minimum, with 8-10 strikeouts.

To address the bullpen needs - and Joe Torre told reporters last night that he thought help would be on the way - Edwar Ramirez has been rumored to be returning. I love that, but it's also time to get Chris Britton back up here. We've already seen that Bruney can't throw strikes consistently, so Britton should get the call. Send Karstens and Brower back down (in Brower's case I believe he has to be DFA'ed).

....

As expected, the Yankees showed a video tribute to Phil Rizzuto on the stadium videoboard. The number 10 was painted into the foul lines and stitched into the left sleeve of the Yankees uniforms for the remainder of the season. Flowers were also placed at his plaque in Monument Park.

Yogi Berra briefly joined Michael Kay and Ken Singleton in the YES booth and was very emotional.












photos courtey of AP

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BP Swings

Another exciting win for the Yanks last night, blowing a 9th inning lead and then coming right back to win in the bottom half of the 9th.

Chien-Ming Wang got tagged for a quick 3 runs in the 1st and we worried if our boy was going to have replicate his awful start in Toronto. But the Wanger settled down over the next 3 before allowing a run in the 5th. We know Joe Torre didn't want to burn a reliever for one batter in the 7th, but sending Wang back out there was ridiculous.

Jeremy Guthrie has been shaky of late for the O's and he was again last night, giving up HRs to Bobby Abreu and Wilson Betemit. The Betemit acquisition is looking good so far. The kid seems to come up with a big hit every time he plays. And yes, he doesn't look to good from the right side of the plate. But his 2-run HR put the Yankees ahead for what we thought was good, and was a game changer.

Ron Villone looked really good and really bad in his 1 inning stint. Joba Chamberlain, what can you say, outstanding again. 2 strikeouts and that incredibly filthy slider. And yes, Mo has looked human the last 2 games. Melky saved him once with a great throw, but Abreu couldn't do it twice. And someone please tell Michael Kay to take it down a notch. Abreu does NOT have an outstanding arm. The guy is never accurate.

Derek Jeter's game winning, hard to use the word hit to describe it, was hardly a smash, but he always finds a way to get it done.

...

A-Rod was honored by the Yankees before the game for his 400th home run. Derek Jeter presented a silver plaque from the team and Peter Max presented original artwork. Max nearly destroyed it when he knocked it over during the unveiling.

Jeffrey Karstens gets the start tonight, which means we can only hope that Daniel Cabrera doesn't throw strikes tonight. With Joba and Mo unavailable, that doesn't leave a whole lot left in the pen.

There will be an obvious sadness surrounding tonight's game due to the passing of Phil Rizzuto. I met him twice in the mid-80s and it was quite an honor. My Dad used to work for a company that sponsored the Yankees radio broadcasts, so there was an annual dinner in the stadium club and a meet and greet with the broadcasters. My photo with Scooter, Bill White, and John Gordon, and Scooter's autograph, is a prized possession. I need to find where I safely stored it now, since I realize that Bobby Murcer may be in it too. Meeting him, of course, was a big thrill for me, as I was nearly speechless.
...

Melky Cabrera's double last night extended his career high hitting streak to 18 games. Great sign in the stands. A mastercard logo that said MelkyCabrera...18 game hitting streak..priceless.

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The Week Ahead

The Birds of Baltimore shocked us, taking 2 of 3 from the Boston Red Sox. And now we have to be on our toes for that same Orioles squad. The Yankees have squandered 6 of 9 games to the O's this season. And things get tougher at week's end when the AL Central leading (as of this writing) Detroit Tigers come to town for a huge 4 game series.

The Yankees need to get off on the right foot tonight and that means a bounce back performance from Chien-Ming Wang. The Wanger got thrashed last Wednesday night by the Blue Jays, allowing 8 runs in 2 2-3 innings. His worst big league outing ever.

The Orioles Jeremy Guthrie will be looking to do the same. Guthrie gave up 5 runs in a 4 inning stint and loss to the Mariners in his previous outing. But Guthrie is 5-0, 2.70 on the road this season.

Here are the full pitching probables:

Monday - Jeremy Guthrie (7-4, 3.22) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (13-6, 3.94)

Tuesday - Daniel Cabrera (8-12, 5.14) vs. Jeffrey Karstens (0-2, 10.13)
Spurred on by rumors in the local papers, many fans were hoping to see last year's #1 pick Ian Kennedy go on Tuesday. But that was always a plan 'B' for the Yankees, who had no intention of starting anyone other than Karstens unless he was needed in long relief.

Wednesday - Erik Bedard (12-4, 3.11) vs. Phil Hughes (2-1, 4.64)
What a great match up (at least on paper). Bedard is an emerging star in MLB and Hughes is one of the brightest prospects for the future (and now for that matter). My Pinstripes would have been at the game if not for a blown central a/c. We're still upset :(

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Yankees Get Away With One

Chien-Ming Wang was effective enough and the offense came back to life, as the Yankees salvaged the final game of the 3 games series with the Orioles, 10-6. After failing to solve Jeremy Guthrie or Brian Burres, the Yankees took advantage of early wildness by Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera to jump out to a 4-0 lead after 2 innings.

But Wang (12-5) struggled with his command and exited after 6 with a 4-3 lead. Leading 5-4 in the 8th, the Yankees finally broke the game open. Melky Cabrera started things with a 1-out single against Paul Shuey. Jorge Posada, pinch-hitting for Jose Molina, drew a walk and the Yankees were in business. Johnny Damon, whose 9th inning double play grounder killed a potential big rally on Saturday, delivered his 3rd hit of the day, an RBI double to give the Yankees a 6-4 lead. Derek Jeter walked, which sent Shuey to the showers in favor of Danys Baez. Bobby Abreu, who K'ed for the final out on Saturday, singled to right to plate both runners for a 8-4 lead. Hideki Matsui drove in the 9th run with a ground out and Robinson Cano brought home the final tally with an RBI double.

The Yankees would need all of those runs, because once again Kyle Farnsworth spit the bit, allowing a 2-run home run to Brian Roberts. After the game, Farnsworth had the balls to blame inactivity for his lack of command. Granted it was only the 2nd time he had pitched in 11 days, but that's because he STINKS.

Cabrera's (7-11) control issues have plagued his career and they did to start the game. Cabrera issued walks to Damon and Abreu sandwiched around a Jeter single. He managed to escape with the Yankees scoring just 1 run on Matsui's sac fly.

Cabrera wouldn't be so lucky in the 2nd. Andy Phillips and Melky Cabrera stroked back to back doubles for a 2-0 lead. After a sac bunt by Molina, Damon singled through the right side for a 3-0 lead. Back to back walks to Jeter and Abreu brought Alex Rodriguez up for the 2nd time with the bases loaded. A-Rod, who has not had a hit since his 499th home run, bounced into an odd double play that both scored a run and ended the inning. Abreu, smartly stopped between 1st and 2nd as Orioles' 2nd sacker Roberts threw to 1st. With the force off, Damon crossed the plate with the 3rd run of the inning. With Abreu in a run down, Jeter raced for home. He appeared to elude the tag of catcher Paul Bako, but home plate umpire Sam Holbrook called him out. The play would have a far greater impact as Jeter jammed his shoulder and would leave the game in the 8th inning. Of course he said he will play on Tuesday.

Wang uncharacteristically walked 4 hitters, including the light hitting Bako 3 times. It got him into trouble in the 4th when Luis Rodriguez single in a pair of runs, and again in the 5th, when a Roberts single cut the lead to 4-3.

...

Hideki Matsui drove in 3 runs in the game without a hit. He had 2 sacrifice flies plus an RBI ground out.

Melky Cabrera's 3 hits raised his average to a season high .291.

Andy Phillips' 2nd inning double extended his hitting streak to a career high 11 games.

The start of the game was delayed about 40 minutes by the threat of rain. It never did actually rain. The fans didn't mind though as the Orioles played part of the hall of fame ceremonies on their big video screen. Orioles great Cal Ripken was among those honored.

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Epitome

Merriam Webster

Epitome:

2: a typical or ideal example : embodiment epitome of tradition — Richard Joseph>

Last night's game epitomized the Yankees season. The starting pitcher, Roger Clemens, isn't outstanding, but keeps his team in the game. The bullpen, Mike Myers-Luis Vizcaino-Brian Bruney, throw grease on the fire, putting the game out of reach. The Yankees hitters do nothing against a soft tosser, Brian Burres, and rally late, but the 2 guys who have killed them all season, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu, kill a 9th inning rally.

'Nuff said.

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Tonight's Lineup (7/28)

Clemens vs. Burres

Yankees

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

Orioles
B. Roberts 2b
C. Patterson cf
N. Markakis rf
K. Millar 1b
M. Tejada ss
A. Huff dh
R. Hernandez c
J. Payton lf
C. Gomez 3b

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Pettitte Hard Luck Loser...Again

Andy Pettitte pitched his heart out, but came away with another loss, because of a lack of run support. Pettitte allowed 3 runs in the 3rd inning as part of a 7 inning stint. But the Yankees, who were shut out on 6 hits against the Royals on Thursday, managed only 2 runs and 6 hits off of starter Jeremy Guthrie and the Orioles bullpen.

The game started about a half-hour after the Yankees completed an 8-7 win the game suspended on June 28. The Yankees struck first when Andy Phillips drew a 2-out walk in the 2nd inning, and came home on Melky Cabrera's booming triple to left-center. But Cabrera was stranded when Johnny Damon's hard one hopper was snared by shortstop Miguel Tejada. Tejada was playing his first game since June 21st when he suffered a broken wrist. Of course in the odd recordkeeping for the suspended game, he is now credit as playing on June 28th since he had an at-bat in the resumed game.

Pettitte (6-7) escaped a bases loaded jam in the 2nd, but wouldn't be so lucky in the 3rd. With runners on the corners and 1 out, Pettitte struck out Tejada for the 2nd out, but then walked Aubrey Huff. Ramon Hernandez's single to left scored 2 and Jay Gibbons lined an RBI single to right for a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees mounted a rally in the 5th when Phillips and Damon singled. Jay Payton booted the ball, allowing runners to move up to 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out. But Guthrie (7-3) froze Derek Jeter with a wicked breaking ball for a called 3rd strike, and Bobby Abreu grounded out to 1st.

The Yankees cut the deficit to one in the 6th. Alex Rodriguez, celebrating his 32nd birthday, walked and came around on singles byHideki Matsui and Robinson Cano. But Phillips grounded into an inning ending double play. That would end the night for Guthrie, who the Yankees were glad to see go.

Scott Proctor, who lately has been serving up gopherballs like IHOP serves up pancakes, gave up a solo shot to Yankees-killer Kevin Millar for an insurance run. It would be more than enough as the Yankees could only manage 2 base runners against John Parrish, Paul Shuey, Jamie Walker, and Chad Bradford (1st save).

....

Phillips was 2-3 to extend his career high hitting streak to 9 games and is hitting .345 in July.

Pettitte has allowed 3 or fewer runs in 9 starts this season without getting a win. The Yankees have scored 2 or fewer runs in 6 of his last 15 starts.

The Tampa Yankees were rained out on Friday, pushing Jason Giambi's rehab back a day.

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Yankees Win, Time to Play Again

Mariano Rivera walked the tightrope in a 5 out save as the Yankees hung on for an 8-7 win. No A-Rod home run, so 500 will be 500.

Here are the lineups for the regular game.

Pettitte vs. Guthrie

Yankees

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

Orioles
B. Roberts 2b
C. Patterson cf
N. Markakis rf
K. Millar 1b
M. Tejada ss
A. Huff 3b
R. Hernandez c
J. Gibbons dh

J. Payton lf

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Double Rain Delay?

I guess to get the weather just right, like it was the night of June 28, a thunderstorm is rolling through the Baltimore area. This could ba LONG night.

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Yankees vs. Orioles Preview

Alex Rodriguez's 32nd birthday, the chase for 500 home runs, and the conclusion of a suspended game are just part of tonight's start of a 3 game series between the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.

The Yankees have to be glad to be not seeking Erik Bedard in the serires.

Pitching Probables

Friday (susp) - The suspended game picks up with Derek Jeter on base and the Yankees leading 8-6. Hideki Matsui is at the plate. Mike Myers was the last pitcher used by the Yankees, but Joe Torre has not said who will pitch the bottom of the 8th. Chien-Ming Wang and Luis Vizcaino have already been used in the game. Chris Ray was pitching for the O's, but is now on the DL.

Friday - Andy Pettitte (6-6, 4.12) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (6-3, 2.88)
These two faced off against each on June 26 and were both outstanding. Each allowed 2 runs- Pettitte in 7 innings, Guthrie in 6.1. Scott Proctor walked 3 in the 9th, including Ramon Hernandez with the bases loaded to give the O's the win.

Saturday - Roger Clemens (3-4, 3.72) vs. Brian Burres (4-4, 4.33)

The Yankees don't do well against guys they don't know, and Burress has only pitched 3.1 relief innings against them.

Sunday - Chien-Ming Wang (11-5, 3.57) vs. Daniel Cabrera (7-10, 5.04)
Hopefully the ace of the Yankees staff is finishing off a good series on Sunday with a win. This was the starting match up in the suspended game on June 28.

...

Wil Nieves accepted his minor league assignment and reported to Scranton.

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Suspend Your Disbelief

The Yankees finally had a lead late in a game last night. And then the rains came and did not want to stop. It was as if God was saying, "Thy shall not win just yet". The game, thanks to baseball's new rules, was suspended and will be completed the next time the Yankees are in Baltimore (July 27). The old rule would have had the game revert back to the previous inning, which would have meant an Orioles victory.

Chien-Ming Wang was cruising along with a 4-2 lead in the 7th when the Orioles and the first waive of rain struck. After Nick Markakis singled, Kevin Millar hit a slicing fly ball to right that fell in front of a semi-lunging Bobby Abreu (you will NEVER see Abreu dive for a ball) and rolled to the wall for an RBI triple.

The Yankees brought the infield in and Wang retired Aubrey Huff on a ground out to Robinson Cano. But Melvin Mora walked and the struggling Jay Gibbons lined a double up the gap in left-center to give the Orioles a 5-4 lead. Corey Patterson pinch ran for Gibbons and immiedately stole 3rd. To make matters worse, Jorge Posada's throw sailed into left field for a run scoring error. A walk to Paul Bako finally got Joe Torre to summon Luis Vizcaino from the bullpen.

Vizcaino struck out Jay Payton before Brian Roberts singled. Then the rains came. After a lengthy delay, Mike Myers came on to retire BrandonFahey on an inning ending ground out.

The Yankees came right back in top of the 8th, before another wave of very heavy rain would suspend the game. Orioles reliever John Parrish issued back to back walks to Posada and Abreu to start the frame. Melky Cabrera drove home Posada with a double, and Cano's RBI ground out tied the game.

Orioles' closer Chris Ray came on to retire Andy Phillips for the 2nd out, but Johnny Damon hit a tapper up the middle for an infield single, Cabrera moving to 3rd. After Damon stole 2nd, Derek Jeter singled back up the middle to bring both runners home and give the Yankees the lead back 8-6. That's when umpires decided it was time to build an ark or call the game. Melvin Mora got into a heated argument with home plate ump Tim Tschida, feeling (and probably rightly so) that the game should have been stopped sooner.

The game will replayed prior to the Yankees-Orioles regularly scheduled game on July 27 in Baltimore.

~~~

Andy Phillips homered in the 3rd inning, his first since returning to the Yankees. He also laid down a nice sacrifice bunt in the 7th that helped lead to a run. Unfortunately, he also popped out to end a bases loaded rally.

Over his last 2 starts, Wang has allowed 10 earned runs in 12.2 innings.

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Tonight's Lineups (6/28)

Wang vs. Cabrera

Yankees

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

Orioles

B. Fahey ss
N. Markakis rf
K. Millar 1b
A. Huff dh
M. Mora 3b
J. Gibbons lf
P. Bako c
J. Payton cf

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