Yankees win behind Hughes and Martin

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins by the score of 8-1 on Friday night. Phil Hughes made the start and pitched great. The offense was good, led by Russell Martin. Derek Jeter continued to get his, Teixiera had a big game with three RBI.
Hughes pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up one run on two hits. He walked three and struck out two. Hughes improved to 4-4 on the season. Boone Logan got the only batter out that he faced. Luis Ayala pitched one perfect inning with a strikeout.

Brett Gardner had a hit, Jeter had two hits and Curtis Granderson had two hits an RBI and two walks. Teixeira had two hits and three RBI, Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI and Nick Swisher had a hit. Jorge Posada had a hit and a walk and Martin had three hits and three RBI. Teixeira had two doubles, Cano and Granderson each had one. Martin had two homeruns. The Yankees were 3-11 with runners in scoring position with eight men left on base. Granderson had a stolen base.

Trevor Plouffe hit a solo homerun in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. Martin hit a solo homerun in the third inning to tie the game at one. In the fourth inning Cano hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. In the fifth Granderson had an RBI double and Teixeira a sacrifice fly. The Yankees had a 4-1 lead which seemed insurmountable the way Hughes was pitching. In the sixth Martin hit a two run homerun to make it 6-1. In the ninth inning Teixeira hit a two run double to make it 8-1 and finish the scoring.

The Yankees have won the first two of four in Minnesota. They are also 4-1 on their current seven game road trip. The Yankees remain ½ a game in front of the Boston Red Sox who also won on this night. The Yankees and Twins will play game three on Saturday night. The Yankees look like they will wait until Sunday to activate Alex Rodriguez. Freddy Garcia was placed on the disabled list on Friday but it is retroactive and he will return next Saturday in Baltimore to pitch in a doubleheader. Hughes pitched as good as he has all year, he continues to get better with each start and if he keeps pitching this way he could be their number two starter in the postseason, I think the Yankees would like that.

Yankees notes as they get their third baseman back with the team

Alex Rodriguez is in the clubhouse and on the field, but he won’t be in the lineup until Saturday at the earliest.  He is now continuing his rehab but doing conditioning and working on his defense and running.  He feels his swing is fine and that is why he left Scranton.  Interesting thing to watch is that in his time in Scranton he took top hitting prospect Jesus Montero under his wing.  He invited him to Miami to work out in the offseason and the coaches down there are really hoping for him to get called up soon and be happy with the challenge.  They think he is getting bored down in AAA because he has basically conquered the competition. 


“We’re shooting for this weekend, trying to be optimistic about that,” he said. “The one thing that I’m lacking the most is first-step quickness and defense, and opening up my gait and really trying to make good turns going home to second or first to third. Today we did a little bit of that, and tomorrow we’ll have another session.”

“If I felt like hitting was the one thing I felt most behind, it would probably be most productive to be down either in Tampa or Scranton getting a bunch of at-bats,” Rodriguez said. “But this is a situation that’s a little bit rare where conditioning is the most important thing and fielding is the most important thing, and those are things I can do here with our staff.”

Those pregame drills at third base were fairly intense, and Rodriguez went through two different conditioning sessions with strength coach Dana Cavalea. He ran this afternoon — “Opened up my gait as much as I have post-op,” Rodriguez said — and he was planning to doing a spinning session on a weight room bike after his media session.

Joe Girardi didn’t go into detail, but it’s clear that he’s mapped out a loose plan for how to use Rodriguez through the first week or so. It will probably include semi-regular DH games, gradually giving him more and more time in the field.

When he gets back in the lineup, Rodriguez expects to show the kind of power that was missing in the two or three weeks before he went on the DL.

“I’m able to lean back on my swing,” he said. “Kevin (Long) and I worked today, and every swing hurt a lot before going on the DL, so therefore I had to get off my back side and really jump out to the front side and really become more of a handsy hitter. In order to hit for power, you always have to lean back, and that’s the feeling I feel like I’m getting back to.”

Girardi was obviously frustrated and disappointed to learn that he was right and the umpires were wrong last night. He should have protested the game, but he trusted that the umpires — both crew chief Dana DeMuth and home plate umpire Chad Fairchild — knew the Kansas City ground rules better than he did.

“When two separate umpires on two different accounts tell you that, ‘No, that’s what we said, it’s a home run,’ I believe them,” Girardi said. “Maybe I don’t need to be so trustworthy next time.”

Girardi said he told the umpires that Mick Kelleher had been told the opposite — that a ball like Butler’s shouldn’t be a home run — but both umpires told him that they had clarified the rule after talking to Kelleher. Girardi said he won’t be so hesitant to question a similar situation in the future.

“I’ll be protesting every night,” he said.

 Freddy Garcia’s attempt to finally throw a splitfinger was pushed back yet again. At this point, it seems that starting on Sunday is a serious question, and Girardi said it’s entirely possible that Garcia could land on the disabled list. With the move retroactive, Garcia could be activated early next week.

Phil Hughes starts tomorrow and A.J. Burnett on Saturday. Ivan Nova will start Sunday if Garcia can’t make that start.

 Nick Swisher is just getting a half day off at designated hitter. He’s not hurt.  Joe Girardi likes doing this to keep his players fresh.

 Joba Chamberlain is with the Yankees during this series. He showed up because he started a weight lifting program today. “It feels really good,” he said. Everything is on schedule for Chamberlain, and he thinks he could begin throwing, “in a couple of weeks.”

 By the way, Chamberlain had two stomach surgeries this summer. He had his appendix out, and just a couple days later he was still hurting, and doctors discovering infection. Chamberlain was in the hospital for two weeks with a tube in his right side draining the infection. “I would rather have about 10 Tommy Johns than two stomach surgeries,” Chamberlain said. “That was no fun.”

 Chamberlain really does look a little bit thinner than when he left. He said he’s been able to work out some, and he’s been able to stay active outside. He said he feels terrific. “I’ve been tossing around a 5-year-old,” he said. “So I think that’s probably the best rehab you can do.”

Yankees get some help tonight on homerun call as they defeat the Twins

The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins by the score of 8-4 on Thursday night. CC Sabathia made the start and pitched pretty well, he struggled in the beginning and end of his outing. The bullpen was very good and the offense was also very good.
Sabathia pitched seven innings giving up four runs with three of them earned. Sabathia gave up ten hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Sabathia saw his record improve to 17-7 on the season. Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Cory Wade pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Curtis Granderson had three hits and Mark Teixeira had two hits, two RBI and two walks. Robinson Cano had one hit, Nick Swisher had one hit, two RBI and a walk and Andruw Jones had two hits an RBI and a walk. Eduardo Nunez had two hits, Francisco Cervelli had two hits and two RBI and Brett Gardner had an RBI. Teixeira and Nunez had doubles. Granderson had a triple, Teixeira, Swisher and Jones each had a homerun. The Yankees were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and they left ten men on base.

In the second inning Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning the Twins took a 2-1 lead. Tsuyoshi Nishioka had an RBI single and Drew Butera hit a line drive sacrifice fly. Teixeira hit a two run homerun in the third inning giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead. In the fifth inning Swisher hit a two run homerun and Jones followed with a solo homerun. It was a 6-2 lead for the Yankees and then in the seventh inning the Twins started a comeback scoring two runs, making it a 6-4 game. Ben Revere hit an RBI single and Joe Mauer hit a sacrifice fly. Nunez made an error in the inning that cost him a run but it could have been a lot worse.

The Yankees have won three of their first four on this current seven game road trip. The Yankees won the first game of four in Minnesota. The Yankees and Twins will meet up again on Friday night. Phil Hughes will make the start for the Yankees. Sabathia was coming off of two poor outings and in this game he wasn’t great but it was an improvement. Sabathia started off slow and then retired nine in a row and 13 of 16. The Yankees remain ½ a game ahead of the Red Sox who also won on this night. The Yankees had a call go in their favor tonight after having one go against them last night. Justin Morneau hit what he thought was a two run homerun in the first inning. Joe Girardi came out to argue and they reviewed it. Upon review the call was switched to a foul ball and he ended up striking out. It was a big play in the game as it became 0-0 instead of 2-0.

Yankees begin a four game series in Minnesota

The New York Yankees begin a four game series in Minnesota tonight.  They have their ace CC Sabathia on the mound.  Sabathia who has been good all year, has had two rough starts in a row, he looks to turn that around tonight.  I wouldn't expect it to last too long and I am sure he will get straightened out sooner then later.  The Yankees have Arod with the team but he is not in the starting lineup and not even active yet.  He went through extensive drills pregame, he may be active for tomorrow or Saturday's game.  Here is the Yankees lineup for tonights game at 8:00PM on MY9.  The Yankees had some controversy in the game last night with Billy butler hitting a homerun that should of been only a double.  The umpires didn't know the ground rules and upheld the initial call after replay.  Joe Torre today the VP of on field operations admitted the call was wrong and it was because they didn't know the ground rules.  He said it was an unfortunate incident.  If Joe Girardi protested, he should of but admitted later he is second guessing that now, they would of had to upheld it.  There has been no protest upheld since 1986 and he believed what the umpire told him.  It would of been interesting to see the game replayed from that point at some point later in the season. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher(DH), Andruw Jones(RF), Eduardo Nunez, Francisco Cervelli, Brett Gardner.

The Mets win the finale in San Diego

The New York Mets defeated the San Diego Padres by the score of 7-3 on Wednesday evening. Dillon Gee made the start and pitched well as he has for most of the season. The bullpen pitched very well except for Ryota Igarashi who gave up a couple of runs in mop up duty. Angel Pagan and Willie Harris set the table with good games and David Wright drove in a few runs.
Gee pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up five hits and one run, he walked four and struck out five. Tim Byrdak walked the only batter he faced, Manny Acosta struck out the only batter that he faced and Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless inning striking out one. Igarashi pitched one inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.

Pagan had two hits and three RBI, Harris had two hits an RBI and a walk and Wright had a hit and three RBI. Lucas Duda had a hit, Jason Bay had a walk and Jason Pridie had a walk. Ruben Tejada had a hit and a walk and Scott Hairston had a walk. Wright had a homerun and the Mets were 3-12 with runners in scoring position. The Mets left eight men on base. Pagan and Tejada had stolen bases.

Wright hit a three run homerun in the third inning to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. In the seventh inning Pagan grounded out scoring a run and making it 4-0 Mets. In the bottom of the seventh inning Aaron Cunningham hit an RBI double making it a 4-1 game. In the seventh Pagan had a two run single and Harris had an RBI single making it 7-1. The Padres scored a couple of runs in the ninth to make it a 7-3 game and that was how it ended.

The Mets took two out of three from the Padres. It was the first series they have ever won at PETCO Park. The Mets had a tough beginning to the road trip by getting swept in Arizona but they finished strong in San Diego. The Mets record is 60-63, the Mets will have the day off on Thursday and then begin a three game series at Citi Field against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yankees lose a tight one on a disputed call

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Kansas City Royals by the score of 5-4 on Wednesday night. Bartolo Colon started for the Yankees and wasn’t very good. He allowed a couple of homeruns although one of them should of only been a double. Hector Noesi pitched very well in relief of Colon. Derek Jeter continued his hot hitting with another multi-hit game.
Colon pitched five innings giving up five runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out four. Noesi pitched three innings giving up one hit, walking one and striking out one. Colon took the loss seeing his record fall to 8-7 on the season. It looks like he isn’t the same pitcher he was early on, maybe he is running out of gas.

Jeter had four hits, Curtis Granderson had three hits an RBI and a walk and Mark Teixeira had a walk. Robinson Cano had a hit, RBI and a walk, Nick Swisher had a hit, RBI and two walks and Andruw Jones had a walk. Russell Martin had a hit and an RBI. Granderson and Jeter had doubles, Granderson and Martin each had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. Jeter was caught stealing and picked off.

Granderson hit a solo homerun in the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the third Swisher had an RBI single making it 2-0. The Royals scored four runs in the bottom of the third. Alex Gordon hit a three run homerun and Billy Butler hit a solo homerun. The Butler homerun was controversial, it was reviewed but the problem was the rules that the umpires gave in the beginning of the game weren’t followed on the homerun. The ball hit the second fence and should have been a double but they said it didn’t need to clear both fences. The rule is that it does need to clear both but unless Joe Girardi protested it right there, you can’t protest the game. The Royals had a 4-2 lead. Melky Cabrera tripled and Butler walked before Eric Hosmer hit into a force out scoring a run. The Yankees cut the lead to 5-3 in the sixth on a Martin solo homerun. They had their chances in the seventh with first and second no outs but couldn’t do anything and in the ninth with the bases loaded but couldn’t do anymore then a sac fly. The final score was 5-4 and although the umpire cost the Yankees they had plenty of chances to score more runs.

The Yankees won two out of three in the series. The Yankees remain in first place ½ a game ahead of the Red Sox, one game in the loss column. The Yankees will play in Minnesota for the next four games beginning on Thursday night. CC Sabathia will be the starter on Thursday for the Yankees against Brian Duensing. The Yankees are in the middle of a tight pennant race and it would be a shame if they lost out on it by one game. The umpires can make mistakes but when it is that they don’t know the rules that is hard to take. I also don’t agree on that you can only protest at the time of the call not after. The Yankees will have to move on and bounce back with their ace on the mound.

Yankees go for the sweep in Kansas City

The New York Yankees will be looking for the three game sweep of the Kansas City Royals tonight at 8:00PM.  Bartolo Colon will be making the start against Bruce Chen.  The Yankees have been putting up a lot of crooked numbers in Kansas City and they will look for that to continue, Alex Rodriguez will be in Scranton for one last rehab game tonight and hopefully be rejoining the team tomorrow in Minnesota.  Here is the Yankees Lineup:

Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Andruw Jones, Russell Martin, Eduardo Nunez, Brett Gardner.  Enjoy the game on YES, I will have some notes later on tonight. 

Nova struggles but the offense bails him out in Yankees win over K.C.

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by the score of 9-7 on Tuesday night. Ivan Nova made the start and struggled for the first time since coming back from the minor leagues. The bullpen pitched very well and the offense was great. Derek Jeter had another good game and Robinson Cano had a big game.
Nova pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up nine hits and seven runs with a walk and two strikeouts. He earned his 12th win to move to 12-4 on the season. He has won eight straight starts, although this was his first bad one in that stretch. This is when you really find out about a young player, when they face some adversity and see how they bounce back. Boone Logan pitched one inning and striking out one, Rafael Soriano pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters he faced, one on a strikeout and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Rivera earned his 32nd save with a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out one and the crisis is over. The Yankees fan base was in panic mode when Rivera had a couple of bad outings but he has bounced back nicely from that with two straight saves in Kansas City.

Jeter had two hits and two RBI, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Mark Teixeira had a hit, RBI and a walk. Cano had two hits and four RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and a walk and Jorge Posada had a pinch hit walk. Russell Martin had a hit, two RBI and a walk, Eduardo Nunez had two hits and Brett Gardner had two hits. Jeter had a double, Gardner had a triple and Cano had a homerun. The Yankees were 6-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Martin threw out a runner at second base, he has been great at that this year.

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a Eric Hosmer RBI double and Jeff Francoeur RBI single. Cano had an RBI single and Martin had a two run single to give the Yankees a brief 3-2 lead in the third inning. In the bottom of the inning Alcides Escobar hit a triple and Alex Gordon had an RBI groundout tying the game at three. Melky Cabrera hit a solo homerun making it 4-3 Royals and Francoeur had an RBI double making it 5-3. In the fourth inning the Yankees came right back. Jeter had an RBI double to cut the lead to 5-4, Teixeira had an RBI single to tie the game at five. Cano hit a three run homerun to make it 8-5 Yankees and they never trailed again. In the bottom of the sixth Salvado Perez hit a two run double cutting the lead to 8-7. The Yankees added another run in the seventh inning for the final run of the game.

The Yankees have won the first two games of this series to win it and will go for the sweep on Wednesday night. The Yankees have moved into first placed all by themselves with the Red Sox losing to Tampa in the night cap of their doubleheader. The Yankees are ½ game ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. It was Nova’s shortest outing in a non-interleague game since May 28th. He also had a rough outing against the Royals on May 12th. The Yankees will look to extend their lead in the AL East on Wednesday night and keep it rolling.

A.J. earns first August win as a Yankee

The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by the score of 7-4. A.J. Burnett made the start and pitched ok. He gave up a lot of hits but was able to limit the damage. It was his first August win as a Yankees. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter led the Yankees offense. Jeter has been a different player since coming off the disabled list.
Burnett pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on ten hits. He walked one and struck out two. Burnett is now 9-9 on the season. Boone Logan pitched 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout, Rafael Soriano pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit and one run with a walk and Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Mariano Rivera earned his 31st save of the season pitching an inning and striking out one.

Gardner had two hits and two RBI, Jeter had three hits and three RBI and Curtis Granderson had two walks. Mark Teixeira had a hit, RBI and two walks, Robinson Cano had two hits and Nick Swisher had two hits. Jorge Posada had a hit and a walk, Andruw Jones had a hit and an RBI and Russell Martin had a hit. Cano and Swisher had doubles. Jeter had a triple and the Yankees were 6-21 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees left 11 men on base. Jeter had a stolen base and Logan picked off a runner at first base.

In the second inning the Yankees jumped out in front 2-0. Gardner had an RBI single and Jeter had an RBI single. In the fifth inning the Royals came back and took the lead. Melky Cabrera had an RBI walk and Billy Butler had a two run single making it 3-2 Royals. In the sixth inning Gardner had an RBI single and Jeter had a two run triple making it 5-3 Yankees. In the seventh inning Jones had an RBI single making it 6-3 Yankees. In the bottom of the inning Cabrera had an RBI double cutting the lead to 6-4. The Yankees added the last run of the game in the eighth inning. Teixeira had an RBI single making it 7-4.

The Yankees who were rained out on Sunday began a seven game road trip. The Yankees record is 73-46 which is tied for first with the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. They have the best records in the league. The two teams will play game two of the three game set on Tuesday night. Ivan Nova will make the start for the Yankees. Burnett is still looking for his first quality start since June 29th. Burnett will take the baby steps though and take winning his first August game as a Yankee as a positive. The Yankees who are 2-10 against the Red Sox know that if they keep playing the way they are and beat the Red Sox that they will get home field advantage through the AL playoffs. The Yankees have always enjoyed a home field advantage and after starting slow, this year is no different.

The Mets get swept in the desert

The New York Mets lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon by the score of 5-3. Chris Capuano made the start and did what he normally does, he pitched ok. He didn’t pitch great but he didn’t pitch terrible. He is pretty consistent where he will give you six average innings. The bullpen pitched well other then Ryota Igarashi who had a rough game. Angel Pagan and Lucas Duda led the offense.
Capuano saw his record fall to 9-11. He pitched six innings giving up nine hits and four runs. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out six. Manny Acosta pitched an inning walking one and striking out two, Igarashi didn’t record an out and gave up a hit, run and two walks and Tim Byrdak faced one batter and got him out. Pedro Beato faced two batters and retired both of them.

Pagan had three hits, Justin Turner had a hit, RBI and a walk and David Wright had a hit. Duda had two hits, two RBI and a walk, Jason Pridie had a hit and Ruben Tejada had a walk. Wright, Turner and Pagan each had a double. Duda hit a homerun and Pagan had a stolen base. Pridie was caught stealing. The Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a solo homerun by Duda. In the bottom of the fourth Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI double to tie the game at one. Capuano threw a wild pitch allowing a run to score and giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead. In the fifth inning Turner hit an RBI double and Duda hit an RBI single to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the fifth the Diamondbacks tied the game on a solo homerun from Justin Upton. In the bottom of the sixth the Diamondbacks took the lead for good. Henry Blanco the former Met hit an RBI double. In the eighth Blanco had an RBI walk to make it 5-3 diamondbacks and that would be the final run of the game.

The Mets got swept in the three game series in Arizona. The Mets record dropped to 58-62 on the season. The Mets got to the desert and were calling the road trip, huge, big, important, whatever adjective you can think of. They have left the desert in a different mood as they are further out of contention then they have been all season long. The Mets vowed to keep fighting though no matter what. The Mets have averaged exactly four runs over their last 14 games. The Mets with 42 games left to play are 20 ½ games behind the division leading Phillies and now 11 ½ behind the Braves for the wild card. Their season is essentially over so it is time to look towards 2012. There are lots of reasons to feel optimistic, but they want to finish strong here to have a good feeling going into spring training. The Mets now head to San Diego to continue the road trip.

Mets postgame notes after a loss in the desert

The Mets were defeated by the Diamondbacks by the score of 6-4 tonight at Chase Field.  Here are some postgame notes.  The Mets are about to drop out of the race quickly here, they have done a great job of staying in it but it looks like they are starting to run out of gas. 


The Mets have lost four games in a row, 10 of their last 13, are now three games under .500 for the first time since June 21.

Mike Pelfrey started for the Mets, and while he pitched well for four innings, he had to leave the game after he took a come backer on his elbow off the bat of Gerardo Parra in the fifth inning.

D.J. Carrasco, who was second in the league in stranding inherited runners, allowed a three run home run to Ryan Roberts in that fifth inning, allowing Parra to score.

Mike Baxter had a big night, going 2 for 4 with two runs scored including an RBI triple in the fourth inning.

Ruben Tejada contributed two hits and two RBI.

Here are some thoughts from Matthew Cerrone over at Metsblog.com, I thought Pelfrey looked as good as he has in a long time before being removed from tonight’s game. He struggled in the first inning but was crisp and efficient for his final three innings. It was the right move to remove Pelfrey after being struck by that line drive – there is no reason to risk him trying to compensate for any swelling in his elbow, and potentially doing some major damage to his arm.

Unfortunately, asking for five innings from the bullpen, especially the Mets bullpen, is a lot to ask, and the Mets got burned almost immediately by the injury to Pelfrey. Carrasco floated a hanger to Ryan Roberts and Pedro Beato once again struggled with his command which allowed the Diamondbacks to rally from behind and beat the Mets for a second straight night.

On a more positive note, I’m enjoying watching Baxter this week, as he’s becoming a very nice story as the Mets fade down the stretch of the season. He has a nice swing and doesn’t try to do too much at the plate, and makes solid contact as a result. He’s a guy that the fans can root for as so many Mets are right now.  The Mets have been doing this with a lot of young guys.  The good thing is the guys that make the team will have lots of experience from this year. 

By the way, x-rays were taken on Pelfrey’s elbow and they were negative; he is day-to-day with a contusion in his right elbow.

The Mets will look to salvage the final game of their three game series with the Diamondbacks tomorrow afternoon at Chase Field in Phoenix, with Chris Capuano facing Jason Marquis at 4:10 PM ET.

Yankees Game Recap from their win over Tampa

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 9-2 on Saturday afternoon. Phil Hughes made the start in what could have been an audition to stay in the rotation. Hughes pitched well and did nothing to make the decision any easier on the Yankees. The decision actually was made for the Yankees after the game as it was discovered that Freddy Garcia had a kitchen accident and cut himself, he will not be able to start on Sunday and for now is out of the rotation. The bats came alive with Jorge Posada having the biggest day. Derek Jeter also had a good day.
Hughes pitched six innings giving up two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Hughes improved his record to 3-4. Cory Wade pitched two innings giving up one hit and he struck out one and Hector Noesi pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Brett Gardner had two hits, Jeter had two hits and Curtis Granderson had two hits, an RBI and a walk. Mark Teixeira had two hits and an RBI, Robinson Cano had two hits and a walk and Nick Swisher had three walks. Eric Chavez had a hit, RBI and a walk, Posada had three hits and six RBI and Russell Martin had a hit.

Cano and Teixeira had doubles. Granderson and Posada had homeruns. Granderson hit his 33rd of the season which ties him for the major league lead with Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Posada hit a grand slam which was the tenth of his career. The Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base. Gardner was picked off and Jeter made an error.

The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a two run single from Posada. In the fifth inning Granderson hit a solo homerun to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Posada hit a grand slam to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead. The Rays tried to fight back and they scored two runs in the sixth inning to make it a 7-2 lead for the Yankees. Desmond Jennings hit a solo homerun and Ben Zobrist had an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the sixth the Yankees got the two runs right back. Teixeira had an RBI double and Chavez grounded into a force out scoring another run. The Yankees had a 9-2 lead and that is how the game would end.

The Yankees record is now 72-46, they have evened up the three game series. The Yankees lost on Friday night and won on Saturday. The rubber game will be on Sunday weather permitting. The Yankees were supposed to send Garcia to the hill but he was taken out of the rotation with a cut on his hand. He had a kitchen mishap and the Yankees think will miss just one start. It worked out well for the Yankees for now as they were about to make a decision on eliminating one of their starters from the rotation. The Yankees have been using a six man rotation for a couple of weeks now and it seemed to be Hughes against Burnett. Hughes had had two good starts in a row as Burnett continues to struggle. It doesn’t matter right now as everyone will stay where they are until Garcia gets back. The Yankees currently trail the Red Sox by one and a half games in the AL East. The Red Sox were playing on the West Coast and depending on the outcome it would either be a one or two game deficit in the standings. The Yankees lead the wild card by eight games over the Anaheim Angels. Posada had this to say after the game “It’s special, I got an opportunity today to play. It’s tough to sit around. It’s not easy to be sitting here and looking at everybody playing. It’s tough.” Posada had not played in six days since being informed at Fenway Park that he would no longer be the regular DH. Girardi said “I said to him that day in Boston that he still was going to play a role on the team and I meant it. I knew he was itching to get back in there.” Posada talking about the fans, the Yankees had a sellout crowd today said “They’ve been so supportive , the fans are a big reason why I love playing the game, especially here. They deserve a lot of credit. They’ve supported me all throughout my career. They were a big part for me today.”

I'm extremely happy," Jeter said. "Jorge has a lot of pride. You're talking about someone that's used to playing every day for a long time. He's been working extremely hard, and he had a huge day. That's not easy to do when you haven't played for a while, to come in and be productive." Jeter has been quiet but Posada is his best friend on the team and you know it must have been bothering him also.

Granderson hit his fifth homerun in the last five games. Girardi wouldn’t commit to far down the line on Posada but said he will start on Sunday. Girardi said “This guy is a beloved Yankee, and we all love him. At times, it has been a struggle for him, but he has never stopped working. For that, I’m extremely proud of him.” Girardi and Posada have an interesting relationship, Girardi was the catcher when Posada came up and basically took his job. They have had their disagreements since Girardi has been the manager but they have seemed to work through everything. The bottom line with Posada is if he continues to be productive he will play more and if not he will ride the bench. Posada is in his swan song as a Yankees and it usually doesn’t end well for a great player. Posada has been a great Yankee and it is very difficult to say goodbye to someone like that and for him to say goodbye.

The Mets Game Recap from their loss in Arizona

The New York Mets lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 6-4. Mike Pelfrey started the game and left after being hit by a line drive. He pitched ok in the four innings he was in the game. The bullpen wasn’t great as D.J. Carrasco and Pedro Beato both gave up homeruns. Ronny Paulino, Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada carried the offense.
Pelfrey pitched four innings giving up four hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. Carrasco pitched an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and a strikeout, Beato pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run and he struck out three and Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Angel Pagan had a hit, Willie Harris had a walk and Lucas Duda had a walk. Paulino had two hits, Baxter had two hits and an RBI and Tejada had two hits and two RBI. Pelfrey had a hit and an RBI. Tejada and Paulino had doubles, Baxter had a triple. The Mets were 3-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Paulino made an error.

The diamondbacks jumped out in front in the first inning. They took a 2-0 lead on a Justin Upton RBI single and a Miguel Montero sacrifice fly. In the second inning Tejada had a two run double to tie the game at two. In the fourth inning Baxter had an RBI triple and Pelfrey had an RBI single giving the Mets a 4-2 lead. Ryan Roberts hit a three run homerun in the fifth inning to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead. In the sixth inning the Diamondbacks would score the final run of the game on a Daniel Hudson RBI single.

Pelfrey met with manger Terry Collins in his office before the game. It was a closed door chat sparked by Pelfrey being critical of the team the day before. Pelfrey wanted to make everything right by going out and piching a great game. He was hit in the elbow by a line drive and really didn’t have that chance. The Mets have now lost four straight games. Pelfrey wanted to stay in the game but Collins wasn’t going to let him. X-rays taken during the game were negative. The Mets will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon.