The New York Rnagers win 5-0 over the Pittsburgh Penguins

The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Madison Square Garden and the final score was 5-0.  The Rangers had a bad weekend and came out like a team on a mission.  Henrik Lundqvist was great in goal and they had contributions from a lot of guys.  All of the goals were scored by a different player.  Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Kevin Klein, Derick Brassard and Mats Zucarello scored the goals. 

Lundqvist made 33 saves as the Rangers got back over 500 at 7-6-2.   They will now face off against the Colorado Avalanche at home on Thursday night.  The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.  Zuccarello, St. Louis and Klein scored the first period goals.  Brassard scored a power play goal in the second period and Nash scored a shorthanded goal in the third period to complete the scoring. 

Lundqvist earned his third shutout of the season and Marc-Andre Fleury took only his third loss of the season.  The Rangers and Penguins met for the first time this season after the Rangers rallied in the postseason last year to defeat them. 

The New York Yankees win another one run game and second in a row in Kansas City

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by the score of 3-2 on Saturday night. The game took place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Andy Pettite started for the Yankees and pitched well and the bullpen was good. Vernon Wells led the offense with a two run homerun and Jayson Nix had a pair of hits. 
Pettitte pitched seven innings giving up five hits and two runs with a walk and seven strikeouts. David Robertson pitched a perfect inning striking out the sides and Mariano Rivera picked up his 14^th save in 14 attempts. He pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit.

Brett Gardner drew a walk, Wells had a hit and two RBI and Travis Hafner had a hit. Nix had two hits and drew a walk, Lyle Overbay had a hit and Chris Nelson had a hit. Nix and Nelson each hit a double and Wells hit a homerun. The Yankees were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Gardner was caught stealing.

James Shields pitched eight innings giving up six hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked two and struck out five and Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Alcides Escobar had a hit, Lorenzo Cain had an RBI and drew a walk and Billy Butler had a hit and an RBI. Eric Hosmer had a hit, Salvador Perez had two hits and Elliot Johnson had a hit. Perez hit a double and Butler hit a homerun, the Royals were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Johnson had a stolen base and Moustakas committed an error.

In the third the teams traded runs. The Yankees scored on a throwing error and the Royals on a Cain RBI groundout. In the fourth Butler hit a solo homerun to make it 2-1 Royals and in the fifth Wells hit a two run homerun to make it 3-2 Yankees and that would be the final score.

The Yankees record improved to 22-13 and the Royals record dropped to 18-15. The two teams will play the finale of the three game series on Sunday afternoon. The Yankees will be going for the sweep before playing a doubleheader in Cleveland on Monday and then returning home.

The Yankees sweep the Oakland Athletics and win their fifth straight

The New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics by the score of 2-0 on Sunday evening. The game was played in Oakland, California. The Yankees got a strong start out of Hiroki Kuroda and Rafael Soriano closed it out. Mark Teixeira had another good offensive day as he has broken out of his slump. Derek Jeter had another day where he passed another legend on the all-time hits list. Tommy Milone started for the Athletics and pitched well. The A’s couldn’t get anything going offensively though.
Kuroda pitched eight shutout innings giving up four hits and one walk. He struck out three batters and picked up his fourth win of the season. Soriano picked up his fifth save of the season and is perfect since taking over the role. He gave up a hit and struck out two in his one inning of work. Soriano became the first Yankees closer other than Mariano Rivera to record at least four straight saves since 1997. Milone picked up his fourth loss of the season. He pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and two runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Cook retired the only batter he faced, Grant Balfour pitched a perfect inning striking out one and Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect inning striking out one.

Jeter gave up a hit, Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk and Teixeira had two hits and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez had a hit, Robinson Cano drew a walk and Nick Swisher had a hit. Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI and Jayson Nix had a hit. Nix and Teixeira each had a double and Jones had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-11 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base.

Jemile Weeks had a hit, Coco Crisp had a hit and Josh Reddick had a hit. Seth Smith had a hit and drew a walk. The Athletics were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Crisp had two stolen bases and Weeks was caught stealing.

Andruw Jones hit a solo homerun in the second inning. The Yankees had a 1-0 lead until the seventh inning when Teixeira hit an RBI double to make it 2-0. The closest the Athletics came was in the seventh. They had first and third one out but the next two guys struck out and flew out.

The Yankees swept the three game series and have won five games in a row. The five wins in a row are the most this season by the Yankees. The Yankees improved their record to 26-21. The Athletics record dropped to 22-26. The Yankees are now only two games out of first place in the loss column. The Yankees will begin a three game series in Anaheim against the Angels on Monday night.

Yankees win and MO breaks the all-time saves record

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Monday afternoon. It was a makeup game from an earlier rain out. The Yankees seemed to be on the road forever as they had a long and tough road trip. A.J. Burnett started this game and didn’t pitch very well. He was staked to a big lead and still couldn’t qualify for the win. The bullpen did it’s usual good job. The offense was good on this day.
Burnett pitched four innings giving up nine hits and four runs with one walk and eight strikeouts. Cory Wade who earned the win pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a walk and he struck out two. Wade is now 6-1 on the season. Boone Logan faced one batter and retired him, Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning. Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout to record his 43rd save of the season and also to earn the all-time major league baseball saves record. He now stands alone on top of the mountain with 602 saves and he has more to come. Rivera didn’t need validation but now he is officially the best there ever was.

Derek Jeter had three hits and a walk, Curtis Granderson had a hit, two RBI and a walk and Mark Teixeira had two hits. Alex Rodriguez had a hit, RBI and a walk, Robinson Cano had two hits an RBI and two walks and Nick Swisher had two hits and an RBI. Andruw Jones had a hit, Brett Gardner had a hit and Jesus Montero had a hit. Russell Martin had a hit, RBI and a walk. Jones and Jeter each had a double, Cano had a triple and Granderson had a homerun. The Yankees were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Martin had a throwing error.

The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a two run homerun by Granderson in the first inning. In the second Martin had an RBI single to make it 3-0 Yankees and in the third Cano had an RBI triple and Swisher an RBI single to make it 5-0. The Twins got on the board in the fourth inning. Chris Parmelee hit a solo homerun to make it 5-1. Michael Cuddyer hit a two run homerun in the fifth to make it a 5-3 game. Luke Hughes grounded out to score another run and pull the Twins to within 5-4. In the sixth Rodriguez had an RBI single to make it 6-4 and that would complete the scoring in the game.

The Yankees are off to a good start in their eight game final homestand of the season. This was a one game makeup from a rained out game in April. The Yankees will begin a four game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. The Boston Red Sox lost game one of a doubleheader on Monday afternoon and the Yankees are 5 ½ games up in the AL East. They have a magic number of three to clinch a playoff spot and five for the division title. The Yankees now have accomplished getting Rivera the record and they want to clinch as fast as possible now. The Yankees only have to win a couple of games against Tampa Bay and they will clinch a postseason berth. It depends on what Boston does but if they win a couple against Tampa, they may only need to win one against Boston to clinch the division title but will most likely clinch it against them at home. The Yankees would like to get that done and then be able to rest some guys and get their rotation set up for the first round of the playoffs. The playoffs will begin on Friday September 30th.

The Yankees have a nice comeback win and Mariano Rivera ties the all-time saves record

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 7-6 on Saturday afternoon. Bartolo Colon started the game and did not pitch well at all. The Yankees bullpen did an outstanding job and the offense did a good job as well especially later in the game. Alex Rodriguez had a good return to the lineup and Curtis Granderson had a great game. The Yankees in the beginning of the game were very sloppy, including on the base paths where they cost themselves at least a couple of extra runs.
Colon pitched four innings giving up six runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three. Scott Proctor pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out one, Aaron Laffey pitched a perfect inning picking up his third win of the season and Hector Noesi pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Rafael Soriano struck out the side in his one inning of work, Soriano has struck out the last seven batters he has faced and Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 42nd save of the season and 601st of his career. The 601 saves tie him with Trevor Hoffman for most all-time. Rivera is widely considered the greatest of all-time and doesn’t need a record to validate it but I guess this would prove it to anyone who has any doubt. Rivera will set the record with his next save and add to it with any additional and he also is under contract next season.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Granderson had three hits, two RBI and two walks and Mark Teixeira had two hits. Robinson Cano had an RBI, Rodriguez had two hits and three RBI and Jesus Montero had a hit. Brett Gardner had two hits, Teixeira and Granderson each had a double and Gardner had a triple. The homeruns were provided by Rodriguez and Granderson. Granderson hit his 40th of the season, what a season he has had. The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Austin Romine made an error.

The Blue Jays took an early lead in this game with four runs in the second inning. The Yankees were not looking good at all in this game. Colby Rasmus had an RBI double, Brett Lawrie grounded out scoring a run, Jose Molina had an RBI double and Mike McCoy had a sacrifice bunt that scored a run. It was 4-0 Jays at the end of the second inning. In the fourth Cano hit a sacrifice fly and Loewen made an error to score a run and make it 4-1. It could have been a much bigger inning but with second and third one out, Swisher hit a deep drive that the center fielder made a nice catch on. Cano for some reason just kept on running and not only got double off of second but was out anyway because he ran past Teixeira. The run would of scored and made it 4-2 if Cano would of just stayed at second, instead the inning ended and it was 4-1 Jays. In the bottom of the fourth McCoy hit a two run double and it was a 6-1 lead for the Jays. In the sixth Teixeira hit an RBI single and Rodriguez hit a three run homerun to make it a 6-5 game. In the seventh inning Granderson hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 7-6 lead and that is how the game would end up.

The Yankees have evened the three game series with the Blue Jays. The rubber game will be on Sunday afternoon at 1:00PM. Freddy Garcia will be on the mound for the Yankees. The Yankees now have a five game lead in the loss column for first place in the AL East. The Red Sox lost again to the Tampa Bay Rays and only are three games ahead of them for the AL wildcard. The Yankees magic number is five for the postseason and eight for the division. The Yankees will head home after Sundays game and play a makeup game against Minnesota on Monday before playing a four game series against the Rays. They will then play the Red Sox for three games. That series could be where the Yankees clinch the division and they would love nothing more then to clinch the division at the Red Sox expense and also knock them out or really hurt their chances. Phil Hughes was scheduled to start on Monday and he has been scratched with back spasms. The Yankees have been using six starters for a while now and this could answer their questions of who will be in the rotation depending on how serious it is.

Yanks at Jays

The New York Yankees will take on the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon inToronto. This is the final game of the 4 game series that the Yankees have taken 2 out of the first 3. This is also the final game of the 7 game roadtrip that they have won 5 out of 6. Sergio Mitre takes the mound for the first time since getting hit in the arm about a week and a half ago. He is trying to build off of that brilliant outing. Here are the pregame notes and linup via Peter Abraham. Jorge Posada is hitting 326 in his last 22 games with 15 xbh, 14 runs scored, 24 rbi's and 10 walks. Yankee relievers are 11-0 with 9 saves since Aug 5th. They have a 3.27 era in that stretch. The Yankees are 31-14 against left handers this season including winning 10 of their last 11. This seems to bold well for today as Brian Tallett is a lefty. Melky Cabrera is heating up again batting 406 in his last 8 games with 5 rbi's. He is now batting 277. The Yankees have hit homeruns in 106 of their 136 games this season. They are on pace for a team record of 253 after hitting 180 last season. Yes Yankee Stadium helps them but they also have a major league leading 95 homers on the road. Mo could be back today if needed, he has converted 38 of 39 save chances this season and 34 in a row. He has allowed one run in his last 29 innings. Phil Hughes in 3 save oppurtunities this season has pitched 4 2/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 6 strikeouts. Could he be the future closer, he could do it but they view him as a starter and I could see the same debate next yr as we had this yr with Joba. The Yankees are an incredible 36-12 since the all star break. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) Matsui(DH) Swisher(RF) Cano(2B) Hairston(3B) Cabrera(CF) Molina(C)

Yanks defeat Mariners

The New York Yankees won their sixth game in a row tonight beating the Seattle Mariners 8-5. Mariano threw out the ceremonial first pitch and closed out the game with his 501st save. Joba Chamberlain got the start and threw 5 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs. He gave up 9 hits, what I don't get about him is he has good stuff but as a starter he just doesn't challenge guys enough when he should, he tends to nitpick with 2 strikes and ends up walking guys and then gets into trouble. Phil Coke came in and got the two guys out he faced and Phil Hughes pitched a 1-2-3 7th inning on 9 pitches. Brian Bruney struggled in the 8th giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. The big question is why did Phil Hughes not pitch the 8th but Joe Girardi said that Bruney is the 8th inning guy but sometimes you just got to go with the hot hand. MO finished it off with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 501st save. The offense saw A-rod hit a 2 run bomb and draw a walk, he just missed another 2 run homer in his last at bat. Derek Jeter had a 2 run single. Melky Cabrera had a hit and 3 rbi's. Johnny Damon had 2 hits and a walk, Nick Swisher had a bun single, Hideki Matsui had a double and a walk. Big Tex had a hit and got robbed of another hit and Robinson Cano had 2 hits but he still isn't getting the clutch hit. The Yankees will try and make it 2 straight over the Mariners and 7 in a row overall tomorrow night with Andy Pettitte on the mound. The game is scheduled to start at 7 on the Yes network.

Yanks sweep away Mets

The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets tonight by the score of 4-2. Chien-Ming Wang got the start and finally recorded his first win of the season. He went 5 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. I don't know what to think of him because that is pretty good but he just doesn't go deep into game anymore, at least he got a win finally and hopefully can build on that. Phil Coke got a strikeout on the only guy he faced and Phil Hughes pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up one walk with a strikeout. Brian Bruney got two outs in the eighth but also walked two guys and Mariano Rivera got the final 4 outs for his 500th career save. Mo is now only the second guy in history with 500 saves, the other is Trevor Hoffman. Mariano Rivera also got his first Rbi of his career with a bases loaded walk. The Yankees didn't do much offensively, A-rod had a single and 3 walks, Jorge Posada had a hit and rbi and Mark Teixeira had a hit and 2 rbi's. Derek Jeter had a hit and 3 walks in his return from illness. The Yankees are now 3 games behind Boston in the AL East. They do lead the wildcard standings. The Yankees will have a day off tomorrow and then start a 3 game series with Seattle at the Stadium on Tuesday.