Moose Grabs 18th With Two to Go

Mike Mussina still has a shot at his first 20 win season after defeating the Chicago White Sox last night, 9-2, at Yankee Stadium. Mussina must win each of his final two starts, but either way, he made his final Stadium start a memorable one. He got a big hand from Bobby Abreu, who hit a pair of home runs and drove in a season high 6 runs.

All eyes were on Mussina though, who is in his eighth, and possibly last, season in the Bronx. He started out shaky, loading the bases with just one out in the first, but escaped with just one run allowed. Abreu picked him right up though with a 2-run, upper deck blast off of ex-Yankee Javier Vazquez in the home half of the inning.

Two innings later Abreu struck again, this time with no one aboard, hitting a Vazquez delivery into the bleachers in right-center field (as far as we know that fan didn't make it three nights in a row). It was Abreu's 19th home run of the season, and he leaves one home run shy of becoming only the third player in MLB history with eight 20 home run, 20 steal seasons (The Bonds', Barry and Bobby, have 10 seasons.).

Mussina allowed just two more base runners until the seventh inning when, at Dave Eiland's suggestion, Joe Girardi sent him out to face one hitter. Mussina allowed a lead off double to Brian Anderson, but exited to the standing ovation Eiland had counted on.

The Yankees broke the game open in the fourth after Robinson Cano drew a one out walk, his first free pass since August 20. Vazquez struck out Juan Miranda, but then issued back to back walks to Jose Molina and Brett Gardner. Derek Jeter's infield single extended the score to 4-1 and knocked Vazquez from the game. Ozzie Guillen brought in left-hander Horacio Ramirez to face Abreu, but the Yankees right fielder delivered again, this time with a single to right field that plated two more runs. An Alexei Ramirez error on Alex Rodriguez's grounder allowed the final run of the inning to score and built the Yankees lead to 7-1.

Guillen then made a curious decision, ostensibly out of frustration, by pulling starters Orlando Cabrera, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Ken Griffey Jr., and Ramirez from the ball game, despite it being only the fifth inning. The move had no effect. Jose Veras finished up the seventh for Mussina and then the much anticipated debut of Humberto Sanchez took place in the eighth inning. Francisco Cervelli also made his debut behind home plate.


News and Notes

Chris Britton allowed a solo home run to Paul Konerko in the ninth.

Johnny Damon missed the game due to the birth of his daughter Danica.

Mike Mussina won his 268th game, tying him for 33rd place on the all-time wins list with Jim Palmer. Winning the final two won't be easy, he has to face Toronto and Boston.

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Yankees Win, but Hughes Average

The Yankees played spoiler again last night, defeating the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox, 5-1, but starter Phil Hughes was less than spectacular in his return to the major league mound. Hughes labored through 4 innings, throwing 89 pitches, 57 of them for strikes. He did show some grit getting out of a pair of jams relatively unscathed, but did allow six base runners.

Hughes stranded Orlando Cabrera after he led off the game with a double, but wasn't as fortunate in the third inning when Cabrera repeated the feat. Dewayne Wise sacrificed Cabrera to third, and Jermaine Dye brought him home with a ground out to Alex Rodriguez.

An inning later the White Sox put two aboard with one out on a single by A.J. Pierzynski and walk to Ken Griffey Jr.. But Hughes retired Alexei Ramirez on a deep fly to center field and struck out Juan Uribe to get out of the jam.

The Yankees offense faced its worst enemy, a rookie left-hander they had never seen before. Robinson Cano's single was the only home team hit off of Clayton Richard through the first six innings. After stranding two men in the sixth, the Yankees finally broke through in the seventh. A-Rod drew a one out walk and moved to second on Jason Giambi's ground out. Since Richard had easily handled Xavier Nady all night, Ozzie Guillen stuck with him, but Nady made him pay when he lined a hanging breaking pitch to center field for a game tying single.

Cano's third hit of the night, a double into the left field corner, put two men in scoring position and finally knocked Richard from the game. Reliever Mike McDougal came on and wild pitched home the go ahead run before retiring Ivan Rodriguez to end the inning.

The Yankees tacked on three runs in the eighth inning on a Johnny Damon 2-run home run off of Scott Linebrink, and a solo shot by A-Rod. It was A-Rod's 35th home run of the season, making him the first player to hit 35 home runs and drive in 100 runs for the 12th straight season (we won't talk about how the home run itself was meaningless).

After Phil Coke tossed two shutout innings, extending his scoreless streak to 10 innings, Brian Bruney, Joba Chamberlain, and Edwar Ramirez tossed a frame each, with Bruney (3-0) getting the win.


News and Notes

Melky Cabrera made his first start in center field since his recall from Scranton. He went 1-3 with a run scored, but failed to get a bunt down in a crucial situation.

The Yankees clinched the season series with the White Sox, having won 4 of the first 6, with tonight's finale left. They also won the series with the AL East leading Rays. Only the Angels, the West winners, won the season series with the Yankees. They also won the season series with the Central contending Twins, 6-4. They have a chance to win or split the series with the Red Sox too, which they trail 8-7.

The White Sox maintained their 2.5 game lead over the Twins after Minnesota fell to Cleveland, 6-4.

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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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Rivera Records Record Save

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


News and Notes

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

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

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

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The Daily Yankeeland - 9/15

The Yankees open a four game series this evening with the Chicago White Sox at the Stadium tonight. The pale hose swept the Tigers in a doubleheader on Sunday to extend their AL Central lead to 1.5 games over the Twins.

Pitching match ups for the series:
Monday: Mark Buehrle (13-11, 3.88) vs. Al Aceves (1-0, 1.29)
Tuesday: Gavin Floyd (15-7, 3.77) vs. Andy Pettitte (13-13, 4.52)
Wednesday: Lance Broadway (1-0, 8.49) vs. Phil Hughes (0-4, 9.00)
Thursday: Javier Vazquez (12-13, 4.15) vs. Mike Mussina (17-9, 3.63)

Jorge Posada is a team leader in the Yankees clubhouse, but it will be interesting to see the reaction to comments he made on a taping of Centerstage, with Michael Kay. When Kay played word association and said, "Joba Chamberlain", Posada answered quite bluntly.

"Leave him in the bullpen," Posada replied flatly, before being asked to expand on his answer. "If you start him and he pitches 200 innings, he won't be able to (last).

"You're going to lose him. He's going to get hurt . . . I don't see him as a starter. I'd leave him in the bullpen."

We hadn't realized that Jorge was a pitching expert/coach. Posada expects to be ready by spring training and in not so many words, said Ivan Rodriguez has to go.

"Pudge, he's my friend, but he's going to have to go somewhere else."

There was no real likelihood of the Yankees bringing back I-Rod anyway.


The Journal Star has a profile on Joba Chamberlain's mom.

Unfortunately, Bob Sheppard will be unable to attend the Stadium finale on Sunday.

Newsday's Anthony Rieber thinks the Stadium farewell is "falling flat".

More on Derek Jeter's record tying Sunday.

Joe Girardi talked with Jack Curry about this year's disappointments.

The Scranton Yankees, winners of the International League championship, will face the Sacramento RiverCats, the A's triple-A affiliate and Pacific League champions, in a one game showdown on Tuesday. The game will be televised at 8 PM EDT on ESPN2.

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Live and Let Dye

When you score 8 runs you expect to win. When you come back from an 8-0 deficit to tie the game, you hope to win. When your bullpen gives up 5 more runs, you lose. That's what happened in the Bronx yesterday when the White Sox scored 8 runs in the 2nd, the Yankees responded immediately with 8 of their own, but lost anyway 13-9.

This game was touted as a great pitching match up, but neither Roger Clemens or John Garland made it out of the 2nd inning. The Yankees comeback went for naught as Jermaine Dye led the assault on the Yankees pen with a pair of home runs. Paul Konerko also homered as part of a 17 hit attack.

Anatomy of an inning

The 2nd inning took an hour as the teams stood toe to toe, exchanging blows. First the White Sox.

Paul Konerko single
A.J. Pierzynski single
Jermaine Dye RBI double
Darin Erstad RBI single
Juan Uribe RBI single
Danny Richar flies out for the 1st out of the inning
Robinson Cano misplays Jerry Owens grounder for an error. The fans are growing restless.

Alex Cintron hits a comebacker to Clemens. He forces out Erstad at home. 2 away and the inning would have been over if not for Cano's error. This is where Clemens needed to step up and didn't.

Jim Thome singles home 2 more run. The booing is getting louder. Konerko, the 10th man up, doubles in a run, and Pierzynski follows with an RBI single. When Dye gets his 2nd double of the inning, Torre finally goes to the mound. Clemens exits to loud boos. Mike Myers walks the only he batter he faces before Jeff Karstens finally gets the 3rd out.

Anatomy of an inning, Part II

John Garland had to be feeling pretty good about things as he toed the rubbed to start the 2nd inning. An 8-0 lead. He wouldn't feel that way for long.

Hideki Matsui singles to right
Jorge Posada ropes a double
Robinson Cano singles in the 1st run
Switch-hitter Wilson Betemit bats from the left side and becomes an instant fan favorite with a long home run to left-center field. It's an 8-4 game.
Andy Phillips singles
Garland finally strikes out Johnny Damon for the 1st out, but Melky Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Alex Rodriguez stroke consecutive singles to cut the score to 8-6.

A-Rod's hit snaps an 0-22 skid and knocks Garland out of the game. Boone Logan strikes out Matsui, but Posada bloops a ground rule double to tie the game at 8-8, sending the fans into a frenzy. Cano grounds out to finally end the inning.

The teams managed not to score in the 2nd, but the White Sox started up again in the 4th. Scott Podsednik pinch-hit for Thome, who left the game with back spasms, and immediately joined the hit parade with a double. 3 batters later, Dye launched his 20th home run of the season to give the White Sox the lead again, and for good.

Podsednik touched up Karstens again in the 5th for an RBI single and an 11-9 lead. Needless to say, the fans were getting restless again. Bobby Abreu belted his 10th home run of the season, off of Ryan Buckvich, in the 6th to cut the lead back to 11-9 and made the fans even more ready for an A-Rod blast. But the man stuck on #499 popped out. Reliever Matt Thornton then came on and struck out Matsui and Posada to end the inning.

Kyle Farnsworth was soundly booed when he entered the game in the 8th, and if possible, was even booed louder by the time the inning ended. First, Paul Konerko his 23rd HR of the season and then Dye hit a long blast into the darkened bleachers in centerfield for his 21st of the season, for an insurmountable 13-9 lead.

...

Clemens' outing was his shortest non-injury related start in 12 years. It was just the 8th time in his career that he didn't make it out of the 2nd inning.

Jorge Posada had to leave the game in the 8th after a collision at home plate with Richar. His knee swelled up and was stiff. Jose Molina will probably get the start tonight.

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Today's Lineup (8/2)

In memory of Thurman

Garland vs. Clemens

White Sox

J. Owens cf
A. Cintron 3b
J. Thome dh
P. Konerko 1b
A.J. Pierzynski c
J. Dye rf
D. Erstad lf
J. Uribe ss
D. Richar 2b

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

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Yankees High Five White Sox

The Yankees power surge continued tonight with a 5 home run outburst and a 8-1 drubbing of the White Sox. Alex Rodriguez once again went hitless, but Jorge Posada hit a pair of home runs, and Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Shelley Duncan hit one each.
Andy Pettitte got to enjoy some run support and gave the Yankees bullpen some rest as a reward. Pettitte threw 117 pitches in a 7 inning effort in evening his record at 7-7.

The White Sox reached Pettitte for 1-0 lead in the 2nd on Scott Podsednik's RBI triple, but the Yankees quickly jumped on young lefty John Danks. Hideki Matsui lined a single to center and Posada followed with his 13th home run, from the right side of the plate, to tie the game at 1 apiece. Melky Cabrera later added an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

In the 4th, Cano hit his 10th of the season off Danks (6-8), and 2 batters later, Duncan belted his 5th in 8 games. Derek Jeter homered off of Ryan Bukvich in the 7th and Posada hit his 2nd of the night and 14th of the season, this time from the left side, against knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Haeger than hit Cano with a 71 mph knuckleball and was ejected by home plate ump Tom Hallion. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who was ejected Tuesday night, argued vehemently, but to no avail. It was clearly a horrendous overreaction call by Hallion.

Despite having already thrown 106 pitches, Torre send Pettitte out for the 7th and he responded with a 1-2-3 inning. Luis Vizcaino and Brian Bruney finished up the Yankees 2nd straight win.

....

Posada's multi homer game was the 14th of his career. The 2 homers raised his average to
.341.

To make room on the roster for Wilson Betemit, Chris Basak was sent down to Scranton. The Yankees also activated Jeff Karstens from the 60-day DL.

Pettitte's victory was the 193rd of his career and the 156th of his Yankees career.

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John Sterling Gets Laryngitis

Okay, not really. But those famous pipes were put to the test last night when the Yankees clubbed 8 home runs and bombarded the Chicago White Sox, 16-3, at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees tied the team record set back in 1939, when Joe DiMaggio (2), Babe Dahlgren (2), Bill Dickey, George Selkirk, Tommy Henrich, and Joe Gordon all went deep. The one home run missing from those 8 last night was Alex Rodriguez's 500th. The Yankees also had 16 hits, but A-Rod went 0-5, though he just missed hitting one out a couple of times.

The Yankees jumped all over Jose Contreras, whose trade value dropped quicker than Dubya's approval rating, in the first two innings. Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter lead off the 1st with singles and Bobby Abreu crushed his 9th home run for a quick 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Hideki Matsui hit his first of two home runs on the night for a 4-0 lead. Matsui finished July with 13 home runs.

Mike Mussina (or Miss Sena as One-By-One of The Yankee Zone calls him) nearly gave the lead it all back at once. After allowing 2nd inning singles to Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik, Moose served one up to Juan Uribe, who promptly crushed his 10th home run to cut the lead to 4-3. But Contreras was as bad as it gets.

The Cuban born right-hander retired the side in order in the 2nd, including a pair of strikeouts, but he wouldn't make it out of the 3rd. Matsui drew a 2-out walk and Jorge Posada followed with a single to center. Robinson Cano (9th) ripped a bullet into the bleachers in right-center to push the lead back to 7-3, and send Contreras to an early shower.

It only took 2 batters for reliever Charlie Haeger to join the party. Andy Phillips reached on an error and Melky Cabrera, batting from the right side, lined a 2-run HR (his 6th) into the left field seats. Even Mussina wasn't going to blow a lead on this night.

Moose settled down and gave the Yankees 6 innings before Kyle Farnsworth, who was roundly booed, Mike Myers, and Sean Henn threw 1 inning each. But the Yankees offense wasn't done.

Jorge Posada hit a 2-run shot, his 12th, in the 4th inning. Posada went 4-5 to raise his season average to .339. Matsui added a 2-run blast in the 6th, and Johnny Damon (6th) and Shelley Duncan, a late inning replacement, hit solo home runs in the 7th.

On a day that was unmemorable for the Yankees ability to make a trade, the night at Yankee Stadium was one to remember for the ages.

...

The victory moved the Yankees to within 7 games of Boston and 3 of Cleveland.

Mussina's victory was the 245th of his career.

A-Rod may have gone 0-5, but one young fan behind the Yankees dugout was quite happy with him. After his last at-bat, A-Rod gave him his bat.

Duncan's home run was his 4th in 7 games, and 21 at-bats. Hideki Matsui must have hated for the calendar to turn to a new month. He hit .345-13-28. Ironically, he only had 14 runs scored - or he was driven in only 1 time by someone other than himself.

Robinson Cano reached the .300 mark for the 1st time this season. He hit .385 in July with 6 HR and 24 ribbies. He's batting .410 since the All-Star break.

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Tonight's Lineups (7/31)

Contreras vs. Mussina

White Sox

J. Owens cf
J. Fields 3b
J. Thome dh
P. Konerko 1b
A.J. Pierzynski c
J. Dye rf
S. Podsednik lf
J. Uribe ss
D. Richar 2b

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

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Yankees 'A' Game Unravels Sox

Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez delivered the clutch hits late as the Yankees overcame some shoddy relief pitching for a 10-3 win. Mike Mussina bounced back from his bad outing in Boston to give the Yankees 6 solid innings. But leading 1-0 in the 7th Moose allowed back to back singles to Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, putting runners on the corners with no one out.

With lefty A.J. Pierzynski due up, Joe Torre opted to go to good-for-nothing lefthander Mike Myers. Myers failed again - no shock there - allowing an RBI single to Pierzynski to tie the game 1-1. Scott Proctor (1-3) quickly came in and retired 3 straight to end the rally.

The Yankees bats bounced right back in the top of the 8th. Derek Jeter, pinch-hitting for Wil Nieves, lead off with a walk against Jose Contreras (4-6). With 1 out, Jeter advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and then moved to 3rd on Melky Cabrera's infield single.

Ozzie Guillen went to his lefty specialist, hard throwing Matt Thornton, to face Abreu. But Abreu drilled one in the gap in right-center to score both runners. A Hideki Matsui sac fly pushed the lead to 4-1. Torre than called on Kyle Farnsworth to pitch the home half of the 8th, but the inconsistent Farnsworth prompted an early call to Mariano Rivera (7th save).

After Luis Terrero lined out hard to left, Farnsworth gave up a single to Jerry Owens and promptly threw away a pick-off attempt to move Owens to 2nd. When Tadahito Iguchi delivered an RBI ground-rule double, Torre quickly went for his closer. A 2-out infield single by Konerko cut the lead to 4-3, but Mo struck out A.J. Pierzynski on a high fastball to end the inning.

Pierzynski, still upset about a called strike earlier in the bat, exchanged words with home plate ump Bob Davidson, and was tossed from the game. A suspension could be in store since Pierzynski then tossed his helmet in Davidson's direction.

No matter for the suddenly surging Yankees as they blew the game open the 9th. A-Rod blasted his 2nd grand slam of the season, and the 15th of his career, off Ryan Buckvich to put the game out of reach. It was A-Rod's 486th career HR. Robinson Cano added an RBI triple and scored on a Juan Uribe error one batter later.

The victory was the 6th in the last 8 games for the Bombers as they return home for a weekend series with the Pirates, and the return of Roger Clemens.

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Complete Domination

Chien-Ming Wang pitched the Yankees first complete game since August, 2006 as the Yankees won their 2nd straight over the White Sox, 5-1. Wang, who now has 3 career complete games, breezed through the White Sox lineup, limiting them to 5 singles, while walking just 1 batter and striking out 4. Wang's sinker was biting hard- 15 outs came via the ground ball.

The only attempt to make it a ball game came in the 6th with the Yankees up 4-1. Jerry Owens singled and stole second base. Tadahito Iguchi followed with a single to center, but Melky Cabrera threw a laser to home plate to easily nail Owens.

The Yankees broke open a scoreless game with a 4-run 2nd inning. Miguel Cairo got the first of his two singles and two stolen bases and came home on a Johnny Damon double. A Derek Jeter single and walk to Bobby Abreu loaded the bases for Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod drilled a Javier Vazquez pitch off the base of the left field wall for a 2-run single. A-Rod had broken into his home run trot before he realized the ball was in play. He was thrown out at 2nd, though replays clearly showed he was safe. (Perhaps his lack of hustle to start the play was why Joe Torre didn't come out to argue?)

Hideki Matsui's sac fly brought home the final run of the inning. Abreu added a solo HR, his 3rd, in the 8th for the game's final score.

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Yankees Hit Their Mark

After the Yankees hit into double plays in the first 3 innings last night, it wasn't difficult to think it was going to be another long evening. But then the Yankees pounded Mark Buehrle and the White Sox bullpen for 17 hits in a 7-3 win. A-Rod had 3 run producing hits, including his major league leading 21st HR in the 9th.

Tyler Clippard was effective enough in 5 innings to pick up his 3rd win in 4 decisions. After 2 scoreless innings by Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney were ineffective enough to make things nerve wracking, but Mariano Rivera came on to record his 6th save.

The Yankees broke open a 1-1 game in the 6th. Johnny Damon lead off with a double and Derek Jeter followed with a bunt single. Bobby Abreu's single put the Yankees on top 2-1. A-Rod's double to deep center brought home the 2nd run of the inning and Jorge Posada followed with a sac fly. Hideki Matsui's RBI single brought in the final run of the inning.

Mariano came on in the 9th with the bases loaded and just 1 out. After giving up a sac fly to Jermaine Dye, Mo got A.J. Pierzynski to bounce into a game ending ground out to Robinson Cano.

~~~

After going 0-5 the last 2 games, Jeter bounced back with a 2-5 night.

Robinson Cano had 2 hits and is 11-21.

Bobby Abreu continues to come out of his offensive doldrums. He's 9-18 with 6 walks over the last 5 games.

~~~

As expected, Sean Henn and Chris Basak were called up for the game. Kevin Thomspon and Matt DeSalvo were sent back down. Basak was able to be added to the 40 man roster, because Carl Pavano underwent his Tommy John surgery yesterday and was placed on the 60 day DL.

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Sox it to Me

The Yankees followed up their series win against the Red Sox in Yankees Stadium last month with a 5 game losing streak. Last night they started their next post Red Sox series win on the wrong foot. Matt DeSalvo was awful and John Garland came within 2 outs of a complete game in the White Sox 6-4 win.

One has to wonder why DeSalvo was even given another chance to pitch. He was designated for assignment after his awful performance against Toronto on May 28, and then assigned to Scranton when he passed through waivers. It was clear that Joe Torre no longer had any confidence in him. That was backed up when he pulled DeSalvo in the 2nd inning, trailing 3-1.

Obviously DeSalvo only got another chance because of the injury to Roger Clemens. It's possible the Yankees didn't want to make another change to the 40 man roster, but at this point it would have made more sense to bring Kei Igawa back up to pitch (not that I have a lot of confidence in him either, but that's what he's getting paid big money for).

Just as it did on Saturday, a poor throw lead to a bigger inning and an injury. With the game tied 1-1, and runners on the corners with 1 out in the 2nd, Josh Phelps cleanly fielded Jerry Owens' grounder, but threw wide to 2nd. Derek Jeter was left prone and was upended when Joe Crede slid into the bag. Jeter was slow to get up and was grimicing noticeably. It was obvious from the way he ran the rest of the game that Jeter was hurting. Afterwards he said Crede stepped on his foot on the slide.

The White Sox built up a 6-1 lead as Jim Thome and Paul Konerko homered. Ozzie Guillen left Garland in to try for the complete game, but the Yankees finally woke up. Hideki Matsui nearly hit one out and settled for a one out double, knocking Garland from the game. Matt Thornton walked Robinson Cano and Josh Phelps followed with an RBI single. Melky Cabrera's sac fly off of closer Bobby Jenks cut the lead to 6-3 and the Yankees added another when Tadahito Iguchi threw away Johnny Damon's infield single. But Jeter, representing the tying run, bounced out to short to end the game.

~~~

Newsday is reporting that utility infielder Chris Basak, not Andy Phillips, will be recalled for tonight's game. This may lead to Johnny Damon playing 1st base earlier than expected.

Chris Britton showed why he should be on the squad instead of retreads like Mike Myers, Ron Villone, or Luis Vizcaino. The hard throwing righty allowed on one hit, Konerko's solo HR, in 3 innings of work.

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Those Other Sox

The Yankees open a 4 game series in Chicago tonight with the White Sox. In their previous meeting, the Sox took 2 out of 3, including a win over tonight's starter Matt DeSalvo. In the stupidity that is major league scheduling, this will be in 7 meetings in Chicago, without one game played in New York.

Here are the probables, including facing some former contract rip-offs

Monday - Matt DeSalvo vs. John Garland
Tuesdsay - Tyler Clippard vs. Mark Buehrle
Wednesday - Chien-Ming Wang vs. Javier Vazquez
Thursday - Mike Mussina vs. Jose Contreras

Bobby Abreu-Jermaine Dye rumors have begun again. Dye is a free agent after this season, while Abreu has a $16 million option. It's not a deal I would make since Dye's offense tends to disappear for great periods of time.

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Watching Paint Dry

That's what the average Yankees game is like these days. The good feelings from a victory don't last very long as another lackluster loss follows. Today it was at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, 4-1. Matt DeSalvo (1-1), who had shined in 2 previous starts against the Mariners, didn't have command and Jermanie Dye drove in all 4 White Sox runs. DeSalvo lasted just 3 1-3 innings before giving way to Luis Vizcaino.

Meanwhile the Yankees offense was nearly non-existent. Again. John Garland (3-2) gave up 8 hits and issued 4 walks in his 7 innings of work, but the Yankees managed to push across just 1 run, an Doug Mientkiewicz RBI double in Garland's final inning.

The last 2 games of the series were literally like night and day. Hideki Matsui drove in 4 runs in Wednesday's night game, but hit into 2 inning ending, rally crushing double plays.

Alex Rodriguez snapped out of a 2-22 slide with a pair of hits, but Bobby Abreu, once again, hit for the collar. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games.

Ron Villone made his 1st appearance of the season and worked 2 scoreless innings. Scott Proctor made his 1st appearance since his 4 game suspension and worked a scoreless 9th.

The loss dropped the Yankees to 18-21, 9 games back of Boston, which defeated Detroit 2-1 in the 1st of two.

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The Magic Wang

Chien-Ming Wang gave the Yankees a bunch needed boost last night as they took the nightcap of the day-night doubleheader with the White Sox. The offense didn't do much off of Sox starter Jose Contreras, but Wang allowed just 1 run over 7 innings. Then the Yankees broke the game open in the 9th against the Sox bullpen.




A rarity of late - Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada celebrate a run.


This game was all about Wang (2-3) though. After a shaky start by Mike Mussina in the opener, Wang threw 91 pitches in a 7 inning stint in which he scattered 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. With the relatively low pitch count, Wang is still an option to face the Mets on Sunday on 3 days rest. Kyle Farnsworth pitched the 8th, and though they were up 8-1 going to the bottom of the 9th, Mariano Rivera, who had been warming up at 4-1, came in for a non-save situation.

One of the Yankees looking to find a consistent stroke is Hideki Matsui and last night he did just that, driving in 4 runs. Granted the first 2 were courtesy of a gift double when centerfielder Darin Erstad got a bad jump on Matsui's fly ball. Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada jump started the 9th inning with solo home runs.

Posada, who entered the game as pinch-hitter in the 7th, and Derek Jeter both extended their hitting streaks to 11 games. Jeter has had a hit in 31 of the last 32 games he has played.

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The Yankees may call up a minor leaguer to start Sunday's game against the Mets out at Shea. Tyler Clippard, Chase Wright, and Steve Jackson are all being considered.

Reliever Edwar Ramirez who had an amazing strikeout to innings pitched ratio (2:1) at Trenton was promoted to Scranton before yesterday's game. He got a chance to pitch and struck out 4 in 2 innings. In a Thunder game last, Ramirez recorded 8 of 9 outs by strikeout.

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Lineups for Game 2 vs. White Sox

The guys impersonating Yankees

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

White Sox

D. Erstad cf
P. Ozuna 2b
J. Dye dh
P. Konerko 1b
R. Mackowiak rf
J. Crede 3b
R. Sweeney lf
J. Uribe ss
G. Molina c

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Yankees Lose.....the Yankeeeeeeeeeees Lose

It's becoming more and more prevalent and it continued this afternoon. Between knowing that I'll have to sit in rain traffic on the way home, losing, and having listened to John "Mr. Showmanship" Sterling for 9 innings, I am ready to get violent.

The offense did nothing again, and just like last year's playoffs, Mike Mussina (2-2) kept spitting up the lead. David Wells pitched to the scoreboard. Mike Mussina pitches to a loss.

Trailing 1-0 in the 5th, Bobby Abreu tied it up with a solo HR off of John Danks (2-4), his 2nd, to left. Sterling, the Butcher of the Bronx, said the ball dropped in. George Bush might say, "nice job Sterly".

Mussina immediately gave the lead back, giving up an RBI single to Darin Erstad in the bottom half of the inning. It would have been worse if left fielder Melky Cabrera hadn't robbed Juan Uribe of a 2-run HR. Sterling of course said that Melky didn't have it.

Melky Cabrera doubled in Jorge Posada in the 6th to tie things up again, but there was Moose blowing it again in the bottom of the inning. A.J. Pierzynski homered to lead off the inning and Joe Crede and Tadahito Iguchi added RBIs for a 5-2 lead.

Josh Phelps hit a solo HR off of David Aardsma in the 8th, but it was too little, too late. Ozzie Guillen opted to go with hard throwing lefty Matt Thornton in the 9th instead of closer Bobby Jenks and it paid off as the Yankees went in order.

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Jorge Posada went 2-3 to raise his average to .373 and pass Derek Jeter (.372) for the AL lead.

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Rainout Theater

Yankees rained out tonight - day/night doubleheader for Wednesday.

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