The New York Yankees win a wild and crazy game over the Oakland A's to remain in first place

The New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics by the score of 10-9 in 14 innings on Saturday evening. The game took place in the Bronx, New York. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and was terrible and they went through a whole bunch of pitchers who were mostly good. Freddy Garcia was good for a while then ran out of gas and looked like he would be the loser. Ichiro Suzuki had another good game for the Yankees and Raul Ibanez hit two homeruns. Travis Blackley started for the Athletics and wasn’t very good and their bullpen mostly did a good job. Stephen Drew led the Athletics offense with four hits. 
Nova pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up five hits and three runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Clay Rapada pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts, Derek Lowe pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a walk and a couple of strikeouts and Boone Logan pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and a walk with a strikeout. Cody Eppley faced one batter and retired him, Joba Chamberlain pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Garcia pitched three innings giving up four hits and three runs with a couple of walks and a strikeout. Justin Thomas pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Cory Wade picked up his first win in pitching a perfect inning. Blackley pitched two innings giving up four hits and four runs with two of them being earned. He walked three and struck out one, Jim Miller pitched three innings giving up three hits and a run with two walks and a strikeout, Jerry Blevins pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and Ryan Cook pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts. Grant Balfour pitched two scoreless innings giving up a hit and striking out two, Evan Scribner pitched two innings giving up a hit and two walks with two strikeouts and Pedro Figueroa didn’t record an out and give up three hits and three runs. Pat Neshek blew his first save pitching an inning giving up a hit and a run and Tyson Ross lost his 10^th game of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and an unearned run with a walk.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Suzuki had three hits, an RBI and drew two walks and Alex Rodriguez had three hits and drew two walks. Robinson Cano had two hits and an RBI, Nick Swisher had two hits and drew a walk and Eduardo Nunez had an RBI. Ibanez had three hits and three RBI, Jayson Nix had a hit and Andruw Jones had an RBI and drew a walk. Curtis Granderson drew two walks, Eric Chavez had a hit and drew a walk and Ibanez hit a double and hit two homeruns. Suzuki hit a homerun and the Yankees were 4-17 with runners in scoring position and left 17 men on base. Dickerson had a stolen base.

Drew had four hits and an RBI, Seth Smith had a hit and an RBI and Jonny Gomes had a hit and two RBI. Yoenis Cespedes had two hits and two RBI and two walks, Brandon Moss had three hits and drew a walk and Chris Carter had a hit, two RBI and drew two walks. Josh Donaldson had a hit, George Kottaras had a hit and Cliff Pennington had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Drew, Smith, Cespedes and Donaldson each hit a double. Drew, Gomes, Cespedes and Carter each hit a homerun and the Athletics were 3-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. Donaldson, Pennington and Moss each committed an error and Norris had a passed ball. Cespedes had an outfield assist.

The Yankees remained one game in front of the Baltimore Orioles who won their 16^th straight extra inning game. The Yankees are now three games in front of the Oakland Athletics in case they end up being a wild card team. The Yankees record improved to 88-63 and the Athletics record dropped to 85-66. The two teams will play the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon with the Yankees going for the sweep.

The New York Mets earn R.A. Dickey his 19th win in victory over the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 4-3 on Saturday afternoon. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and pitched well and the bullpen held on. Josh Thole led the Mets offense with a couple of hits. Donovan Solano led the Marlins offense and Mark Buehrle started for the Marlins and was just ok, their bullpen was good. 
Dickey picked up his 19^th win pitching eight innings giving up six hits and two runs. He walked two and struck out four. Rauch saved his fourth game of the season pitching one inning and giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts. Buehrle pitched six innings giving up five hits and four runs with three walks and three strikeouts. He earned his 13^th loss of the season, Tom Koehler pitched an inning giving up a hit and A.J. Ramos pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI and Scott Hairston had a hit and an RBI. Lucas Duda drew two walks, Ike Davis drew a walk and Jason Bay had a hit and two RBI. Andres Torres had a hit, Thole had two hits and drew a walk and Thole and Torres each hit a double. Bay and Hairston each hit a homerun and the Mets were 0-6 and left eight men on base. Duda committed an error.

Bryan Petersen drew a walk, Gorkys Hernandez had a hit and Greg Dobbs drew a walk. Solano had three hits, John Buck had a hit and three RBI. Velasquez had two hits and Brantly had a hit. Solano hit a double and Buck hit a homerun. The Marlins were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Petersen had a stolen base. Solano committed an error.

Bay hit a two run homerun in the second inning to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Hairston hit a solo homerun in the fourth, Murphy reached on a fielders choice in the fifth to score another run. It was 4-0 Mets. Buck hit a three run homerun in the ninth to make it 4-3 and that was the final score.

The Mets won the first two of the series and will try and sweep on Sunday afternoon. The Mets record improved to 68-83 and the Marlins record fell to 66-86.

The New York Mets avoid last place with a 7-3 victory over the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 7-3 on Friday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started and pitched well for the Mets and their bullpen held the lead. Scott Hairston led the Mets offense. Turner started for the Marlins and wasn’t great and their bullpen was ok. The Marlins offense was led by Solano. 
Niese pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs. He walked one and struck out seven and earned his 12^th win of the season. Bobby Parnell pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Jacob Turner lost his fourth game of the season pitching five innings giving up eight hits and six runs with three of them being earned. He walked one and struck out three. Dan Jennings pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Wade LeBlanc pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Carlos Zambrano pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI, Ike Davis had two hits and two RBI and Hairston had two hits and three RBI. Lucas Duda had a hit, Mike Baxter had two hits and drew a walk and Ruben Tejada had a hit. Josh Thole had a hit, Niese had a hit and Thole hit a double. Tejada hit a double and Hairston hit a triple and a homerun. Davis hit a homerun and the Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Murphy had a stolen base and Baxter was caught stealing and Thole had a passed ball.

Gorkys Hernandez had a hit, Solano had two hits and two RBI and Jose Reyes had a hit and drew a walk. Austin Kearns had a hit and an RBI, Gil Velazquez had two hits and Donovan Solano hit a double. The Marlins were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Reyes committed an error and Brantly had a passed ball.

In the first Davis hit an RBI single and Hairston hit a two run homerun to make it 3-0 Mets. In the second a wild pitch scored a run and Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. Solano hit an RBI single in the third to make the score 5-1. In the fifth Hairston hit an RBI triple to make it a 6-1 game. In the sixth Solano hit an RBI double and Kearns an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-3. The Mets would score the final run of the game in the seventh on a Davis solo homerun.

The Mets won the first of three games, the battle for last place. The Mets record improved to 67-83 and the Marlins record fell to 66-85.

The New York Yankees defeat the Oakland Athletics on a Martin walk off homerun

The New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics by the score of 2-1 on Friday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and for the first time in a while was great. He looked like the ace that he is, Rafael Soriano blew the save but Russell Martin was the hero with a walk off homerun. Jarrodd Parker was also great starting for the Athletics, their offensive hero was Brandon Moss. 
Sabathia pitched eight shutout innings giving up three hits. He walked two and struck out eleven. Soriano pitched an inning giving up a run on a hit with two walks and a strikeout and David Robertson picked up his second win of the season pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. Parker pitched eight innings giving up six hits and a run with seven strikeouts and Sean Doolittle pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts. Doolittle lost his first game of the season.

Derek Jeter had a hit, Nick Swisher had a hit and Alex Rodriguez had two hits. Curtis Granderson had an RBI, Martin had a hit and an RBI and Ichiro Suzuki had two hits. Eduardo Nunez had a hit, Martin hit a homerun and the Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Suzuki and Nunez each had a stolen base.

Cowgill had a hit, Gomes drew a walk and Chris Carter drew a walk. Moss had a hit and an RBI, Bud Norris drew a walk and Stephen Drew had two hits and drew a walk. Moss hit a homerun and the Athletics were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Crisp had a stolen base and Cespedes had an outfield assist.

Granderson hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. In the ninth Moss hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one and in the tenth Martin hit a solo homerun to end the game and give the Yankees a 2-1 victory.

The Yankees have won six straight games and this was the first of a three game series. The Yankees remain one game ahead of Baltimore for first place in the AL East. The two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees record improved to 87-63 and the Athletics record dropped to 85-65.

The Mets get blown out at home by the Phillies as they are swept

The New York Mets were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 16-1 on Thursday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jeremy Hefner started for the Mets and was awful, he couldn’t even get an out. The Mets bullpen was good and bad and they only had three hits. Cloyd pitched well for the Phillies and their offense was led by Juan Pierre and Chase Utley. 
Hefner lost his seventh game of the season and gave up six hits and seven runs with a walk and he didn’t record an out. Collin McHugh pitched three innings giving up three hits and with a run, Justin Hampson pitched a perfect inning and Mejia pitched an inning giving up three hits. Robert Carson pitched an inning giving up two hits, Manny Acosta pitched an inning giving up a hit and Elvin Ramirez pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout. Familia pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and five runs with two walks and a strikeout, Josh Edgin gave up a hit and two runs and Ramon Ramirez pitched to one batter and retired him. Cloyd won his second game of the season pitching eight innings giving up three hits and a run with two walks and six strikeouts. Rosenberg pitched an inning giving up a walk.

Fred Lewis had a hit and drew two walks, David Wright had a hit and Mike Baxter had a hit and an RBI. Lucas Duda drew a walk, Baxter hit a homerun and the team left two men on base. Duda had an outfield assist.

Jimmy Rollins had two hits and three RBI with a walk, Pierre had five hits and an RBI. Utley had four hits and four RBI, Ryan Howard had two hits and five RBI and John Mayberry had two hits. Dominick Brown had three hits and an RBI, Frandsen had a hit and an RBI and Kratz had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Cloyd drew a walk, Utley hit a double and Howard hit a homerun. The Phillies were 11-16 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

The Mets were swept in three straight games by the Phillies. The Mets record fell to 66-83 and the Phillies improved their record to 76-74.

The New York Yankees sweep the Toronto Blue Jays as the offense explodes

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 10-7 on Thursday night. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Phil Hughes started and threw too many pitches but he was able to get the win. The Yankees bullpen other then Cory Wade was good. Ichiro Suzuki had another couple of hits and Nick Swisher hit a grand slam. Aaron Laffey started for the Blue Jays and didn’t pitch great and their bullpen was up and down. Kelly Johnson led the Jays offense. 
Hughes won his 16^th game of the season pitching five innings and giving up four hits and four runs with three walks and nine strikeouts. Derek Lowe pitched two innings giving up a hit and two walks with two strikeouts, Wade pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up three hits and three runs with a strikeout and Joba Chamberlain pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits. Dave Robertson picked up his second save of the season with a 1-2-3 inning. He struck out the side, Laffey pitched three innings giving up two hits and five runs with four of them being earned. He walked five and struck out three and lost his sixth game of the season. Brad Lincoln pitched an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout, Brett Cecil pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs with a strikeout and Jason Frasor pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Joel Carreno pitched two innings with a walk and five strikeouts.

Derek Jeter had two hits and two RBI, Swisher had a hit, four RBI and drew a walk and Robinson Cano drew a walk. Alex Rodriguez had a hit, Russell Martin drew two walks and Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk. Casey McGehee drew a walk, Suzuki had two hits and three RBI and Jayson Nix had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks. Suzuki, Granderson and Nix each hit a double. Suzuki and Swisher each hit a homerun. The Yankees were 5-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Martin had a stolen base and two passed balls.

Brett Lawrie had a hit and an RBI, Mike McCoy had an RBI and Edwin Encarnacion had two hits and drew a walk. Adam Lind had a hit and drew two walks, Moises Sierra had a hit and three RBI and Johnson had two hits and two RBI. J.P. Arencibia had a hit, Hechavarria had a hit and Anthony Gose had a hit and drew two walks. Lind, Johnson and Gose each hit two doubles, Sierra and Johnson each hit a homerun. The Blue Jays were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Gose was caught stealing and Johnson committed an error.

In the second inning Johnson hit an RBI double to give the Jays a 1-0 lead. Sierra was hit by a pitch in the third inning to give them a 2-0 lead. Suzuki hit a solo homerun to make it a 2-1 game. In the fourth Suzuki hit a two run double to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Jeter hit an RBI single to make it 4-2 and Swisher hit a grand slam to make it 8-2. In the fifth Sierra hit a two run homerun to make it 8-4. Nix had an RBI double and Jeter an RBI single in the fifth to make it 10-4. Johnson hit a solo homerun in the eighth and Lawrie hit an RBI single to make it 10-6. McCoy had an RBI groundout to make it 10-7 and that would be the final score.

The Yankees swept the three game series and have won five straight games. The Yankees are one game in front of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East and will begin a three game series with the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. The Yankees record improved to 86-63 and the Jays record dropped to 66-82.

The New York Mets blow a lead in the ninth and lose 3-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies

The New York Mets were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 3-2 on Wednesday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Matt Harvey started for the Mets and well in his last action of the year. The bullpen blew the save though for the Mets. The Mets offense was led by Ruben Tejada. Cole Hamels started for the Phillies and pitched well. Their bullpen pitched well also and the Phillies offense was led by Ryan Howard. 
Harvey pitched seven innings giving up a hit and a run with three walks and seven strikeouts. Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out two, Josh Edgin blew his second save of the season and lost his second game of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Jon Rauch pitched to one batter and struck out one. Hamels pitched six innings giving up six hits and two runs with a walk and ten strikeouts. Anthony Bastardo pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and two strikeouts, Justin De Fratus pitched to one batter and struck him out and Phillippe Aumont pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and striking out one. Jeremy Horst won his second game of the season pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and Jonathan Papelbon pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. Papelbon saved his 36^th save of the season.

Tejada had three hits, Daniel Murphy had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and David Wright had a hit and an RBI. Scott Hairston had two hits, Ike Davis had two hits and Lucas Duda drew a walk. Justin Turner drew a walk, Hairston hit a double and Wright hit a homerun. The Mets were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Tejada and Hairston each had a stolen base.

Jimmy Rollins had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Chase Utley drew a walk and Ryan Howard had a hit and two RBI. Carlos Ruiz drew a walk, John Mayberry had a hit and Frandsen drew a walk. Rollins and Howard each hit a homerun. The Phillies were 0-1 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. Rollins hit a solo homerun to lead off the game and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Murphy hit an RBI single in the third to tie the game at one. Wright hit a solo homerun in the sixth to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. In the ninth Howard hit a two run homerun to make it 3-2 and the Phillies held on to win the game 3-2.

The Mets are now 66-82 and the Phillies are 75-74. The Mets have lost two games to the Phillies and will try and avoid the sweep on Thursday night in the makeup of Tuesday nights game. The Phillies are trying to hang in on the wild card race and the Mets are finishing out the season.

The New York Yankees sweep a doubleheader from the Toronto Blue Jays

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays be the score of 4-2 in game one on Wednesday afternoon and 2-1 on Wednesday night. The games were played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. In the first game Andy Pettitte started and pitched well in his return from the disabled list. Dave Robertson struggled and Rafael Soriano picked up a four out save. Ichiro Suzuki had three hits in the game to lead the offense. In the nightcap David Phelps was great and the bullpen did it’s job. Suzuki had four more hits and stole four bases to lead their offense once again. Henderson Alvarez started the day game for the Blue Jays and started off horribly but settled down. Rickey Romero pitched very well in the night cap and their bullpen gave up a late run. The Jays offense was led by Omar Vizquel, Adam Lind and Hechavarria in the day game. Toronto only managed three hits in the night cap. 
Pettitte pitched five shutout innings giving up four hits. He walked two and struck out three and won his fourth game of the season. Clay Rapada gave up a hit to his only batter, Derek Lowe pitched a perfect inning and Joba Chamberlain pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit. Boone Logan retired the only batter that he faced, Robertson pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and two runs with two strikeouts and Soriano saved his 41^st game pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk and striking out two. Alvarez lost his 13^th game of the season pitching seven innings giving up five hits and three runs and striking out seven. Darren Oliver pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run.

In the second game Phelps pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up three hits and a run with three walks and six strikeouts. Logan pitched an inning striking out two, Cody Eppley pitched to one batter and picked up his first win with a strikeout. Soriano picked up his 42^nd save pitching a 1-2-3 inning. Romero pitched six innings giving up seven hits and a run with five walks and five strikeouts. Steve Delabar lost his third game of the season pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up a run and a walk and two strikeouts, Aaron Loup pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one and Brandon Lyon pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two walks and a strikeout.

In the first game Suzuki had three hits, Nick Swisher had two hits and an RBI and Robinson Cano had two hits and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez had an RBI, Curtis Granderson had an RBI and Cano and Suzuki each hit a double. The Yankees were 2-3 with runners in scoring position and left two men on base. Swisher committed two errors. In the second game Suzuki had four hits and four stolen bases with an RBI. Derek Jeter had a hit and drew a walk, Swisher had a hit and drew two walks and Cano had a hit. Granderson drew a walk, Jayson Nix drew a walk and McGehee drew a walk. Chris Stewart had a hit, an RBI and drew two walks. Stewart and Suzuki each hit a double and the Yankees were 3-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base. Nix had a stolen base, Suzuki had four stolen bases, Granderson and Stewart each had a stolen base. Jeter committed an error.

In the first game Rajai Davis had a hit, Colby Rasmus drew a walk and Brett Lawrie had a hit. Lind had two hits, Kelly Johnson had a hit and an RBI and Moises Sierra had a hit and drew a walk. Omar Vizquel had two hits and an RBI and Hechavarria had two hits and Anthony Gose drew a walk. Hechavarria, Lawrie and Vizquel each hit a double. The Jays were 3-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

In the second game Davis, Gomes and Hechavarria each had a hit. Hechavarria had the only RBI and J.P. Arencebia drew a walk and so did Johnson. The Jays were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Davis was caught stealing and Rasmus had an outfield assist.

In the first game the Yankees jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They gave up two runs in the eighth inning but then scored a run in the bottom of the eighth and held on for a 4-2 win. In the night cap they were down 1-0 in the second but tied the game at one in the second and it stayed that way until Suzuki had an RBI single in the eighth and the Yankees won the game 2-1.

The Yankees swept the doubleheader and will look for the sweep of the series on Thursday night. The Yankees are a full game up on the Baltimore Orioles and it could be 1 ½ if they lose their game on Wednesday night. The Yankees have won six out of their last seven games overall.

The New York Jets lose big in Pittsburgh to the Steelers

The New York Jets were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers by the score of 27-10. The game took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The New York Jets record fell to 1-1 on the season and they will come home to take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. 
The Jets gave up 331 total yards and they gained 219 total yards. Mark Sanchez the Jets quarterback was 10-27 for 138 yards and one touchdown. Bilal Powell led the receivers with nine catches for 33 yards. Shonn Greene had 11 rushes for 23 yards and Tim Tebow had one rush for 22 yards. Joe McKnight even had one rush for 12 yards.

Jeremy Kerley had two receptions for 67 yards. Santonio Holmes had three catches for 28 yards, one touchdown .

The Jets were winning 7-3 at the end of the first quarter but trailing at the half. At halftime the score was 13-10 Pittsburgh. At the end of the third quarter it was 20-10 Steelers. The Steelers scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter and won the game 27-10.

The New York Giants win a wild one over the Tampa Bay Bucaneers

The New York Giants defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 41-34 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The Giants did not get off to a good start and had to comeback to win the game. The Giants improved their record to 1-1 and will play next at the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. 
Eli Manning was sensational throwing for over 500 yards. He did have three interceptions but rebounded really nicely in the second half. He threw for 510 yards which is the second most in franchise history and he also threw for three touchdowns. Manning was 31-51 and said “It’s fun”. The Giants had 604 total yards which is also second in franchise history.

Victor Cruz caught 11 passes for 179 yards including catching an 80 yard touchdown. Hakeem Nicks caught ten passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. They are the first teammates in NFL history with at least 10 receptions and 175 yards in the same game. Ahmad Bradshaw went down with a neck injury and Andre Brown was asked to step in. Brown had a career rushing total of -1 yards. He had 71 yards on 13 carries. He had the game winning touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining. Lawrence Tynes had four field goals.

The defense didn’t look great but I can’t totally blame them. Manning had three picks which led to 17 points. The Giants were down 27-16 in the fourth quarter. The defense had to get some big stops for the offense to be able to come back and they did. The Giants will take their 1-1 record to Carolina to take on the Panthers on Thursday night Football.

The New York Mets fail to get Dickey to his 19th win in loss to the Philadelphia Phillies

The New York Mets were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 3-1 on Monday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. R.A. Dickey started for the Mets and pitched pretty well. The bullpen was good and Daniel Murphy produced the Mets offense. Cliff Lee started for the Phillies and was really good and Jonathan Papelbon closed it out. The Phillies offense was led by Chase Utley and Dominick Brown. 
Dickey lost his sixth game of the season pitching seven innings giving up five hits and three runs with two of them being earned. He walked two and struck out eight. Robert Carson pitched pitched an inning giving up a hit, Josh Edgin pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out one and Ramon Ramirez retired the only batter that he faced. Lee won his sixth game of the season pitching eight innings. He gave up seven hits and a run with a walk and ten strikeouts. Papelbon saved his 35^th game of the season pitching a perfect inning and striking out one.

Ruben Tejada had a hit and drew a walk, Murphy had a hit and an RBI and David Wright had a hit. Lucas Duda had a hit, Andres Torres had a hit and Mike Nickeas had a hit. Kelly Shoppach had a hit, Duda hit a double and the Mets were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Dickey committed an error and Nickeas had a passed ball.

Jimmy Rollins had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Utley had two hits and an RBI and Carlos Ruiz had a hit. Domonic Brown had two hits and an RBI, Frandsen drew a walk and Brown hit a triple and hit a homerun. Rollins hit a homerun. The Phillies were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Utley hit a sacrifice fly in the first to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. In the fifth the Phillies took a 2-0 lead on a Rollins solo homerun. The play was reviewed and overturned after it was initially ruled not a homerun. The Mets came back with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Murphy hit an RBI single, Brown hit a solo homerun in the seventh to make it 3-1 and that was the final score.

The two teams will play game two of three on Tuesday night weather permitting. The Mets record fell to 66-81 and the Phillies record improved to 74-74. The Phillies remain in the hunt for the second wild card while the Mets are playing out the string.

The New York Mets are shutout in Milwaukee

The New York Mets were defeated by the Milwaukee Brewers by the score of 3-0 on Sunday afternoon. Chris Young pitched well and their bullpen as well. The Mets offense produced two hits. Ryan Braun led the Brewers offense and Peralta started and pitched well for the Brewers. 
Young pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up eight hits and three runs, striking out two. Young lost his eighth game of the season. Josh Edgin didn’t record an out and gave up a walk and Manny Acosta pitched 1/3 of an inning retiring the only batter that he faced and Frank Francisco pitched an inning striking out one. Wily Peralta won his second game of the season pitching eight innings giving up two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. John Axford saved his 29^th game of the season pitching an inning giving up a walk and striking out one.

Daniel Murphy drew a walk, Josh Thole had a hit and drew a walk and Andres Torres had a hit. The Mets were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Young had a pickoff.

Aoki had two hits and drew a walk, Rickie Weeks had a hit and Braun had two hits and two RBI. Aramis Ramirez had a hit and an RBI, Jean Segura had a hit and Peralta had a hit. Aoki had two doubles and Peralta hit a double. Braun hit two homeruns and Ramirez also hit a homerun. The Brewers were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Aoki had two stolen bases and Segura was picked off. Braun and Ramirez hit back-to-back homeruns in the fourth inning to make it 2-0 Brewers. In the sixth inning Braun hit a solo homerun to make it 3-0 and that was the final score.

The Brewers took two out of three in the series. The Mets record fell to 66-80 on the season and the Brewers record improved to 74-72. The Mets will begin a three game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.

The New York Yankees take a series from the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 6-4 on Sunday afternoon. The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched pretty well, the numbers look worse then they were. He had one bad inning and really one bad bounce. The Yankees bullpen was good. The offense was led by Russell Martin. Matt Moore started for the Rays and didn’t pitch very well, their bullpen did. Evan Longoria led the Rays offense. 
Kuroda pitched six innings giving up four hits and four runs with two walks and ten strikeouts. He won his 14^th game of the season. Boone Logan faced one batter and retired him, David Phelps pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout and Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Rafael Soriano picked up his 40^th save of the season pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout. Moore lost his 11^th game of the season pitching three innings giving up three hits and five runs with four walks and four strikeouts. Brandon Gomes pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and an unearned run with a walk and a strikeout, Cesar Ramos pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and he struck out one and Wade Davis pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings striking out four batters. J.P. Howell pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and Burke Badenhop pitched 2/3 of an inning retiring both batters that he faced.

Derek Jeter had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Nick Swisher drew a walk and Alex Rodriguez had a hit and two RBI. Robinson Cano had a hit and drew a walk, Martin had a hit and three RBI and Curtis Granderson had a hit and drew a walk. Steve Pearce drew a walk and Eduardo Nunez drew a walk. Cano hit a double and Martin hit a homerun. The Yankees were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Nunez had three stolen bases and Rodriguez had one. Rodriguez committed an error.

Desmond Jennings had a hit, Ben Zobrist had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Longoria had a hit and two RBI. Ben Francisco had a hit, Lobaton drew a walk and Carlos Pena drew a walk. Zobrist and Francisco each hit a double. Zobrist hit a homerun. The Rays were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base. Moore and Gomes each committed an error.

In the third inning the Yankees scored five runs to take a 5-0 lead. Jeter hit an RBI single, Rodriguez had an RBI single and Martin hit a three run homerun. In the fourth Zobrist hit a solo homerun to make it 5-1. The Yankees took a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Rodriguez sacrifice fly. In the sixth Longoria hit a two run single and Joyce grounded into a double play to score a run and make it 6-4. The final score was 6-4.

The Yankees took two out of three in the series and they will be off on Monday. The Yankees remain in first place by a game over the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees record improved to 83-63 and the Rays record fell to 78-68. The Rays are five games behind the Yankees and with 16 games left that pretty much finishes them. The Yankees will start a three game series at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night and Andy Pettitte will return.

Yankees Saturday night postgame notes

Here are the Yankees postgame notes courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog after a huge Saturday evening win over the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Yankees and Rays will play the rubber match of the three game series on Sunday afternoon.  I also add my own thoughts in to the notes. 

With Ivan Nova having not seen any real game action since August 21, no one knew what to expect going into his first start since coming off of the disabled list with an injured right shoulder. Nova had struggled mightily in the second half — he was 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA since the All-Star break before today — so it seemed like a giant leap of faith to expect immediate success.  He has been good for a while but struggled before landing on the DL so of course you didn't know what to expect but maybe the rest was good for mind and body.  If he keeps pitching like that the Yankees will be in good shape. 

But with his six-plus innings of three-hit ball in their 5-3 win over a Tampa Bay Rays team that continues to nip at their heels, Nova suddenly has the Yankees feeling pretty good about themselves.

“Everything,” Joe Girardi said bluntly when asked what he liked about Nova’s outing. “His fastball was outstanding, his curveball was really good today, his location, the quick outs that he got. You think about it, he was on about an 80 pitch count and he got into the seventh inning. It seems like before this little layoff, he was struggling with command, and (what he did today) was tough to do.”

It was clear from the get-go that Nova had his stuff working. His fastball was hitting 95 mph on the gun, and his breaking ball was generating swings-and-misses. He allowed just two runs (one of which was plated after he left the game) while striking out eight in an extremely encouraging performance.

After the game, you couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face.

“It felt really good,” Nova said. “I was going crazy the last few days because I couldn’t pitch.”  He does usually smile and he has won a lot in his young career.  The losing and then the DL may have grounded him a little and he needs to gain the confidence back, this helps for sure. 

After the game, Nova dismissed the notion that he had anything to prove, but the truth is, he was probably fifth in the rotation pecking order entering today’s start. CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda are the clear-cut top two, Phil Hughes is coming off of a tremendous start, and Andy Pettitte is set to return on Tuesday. Suddenly, the Yankees rotation looks like it could be the strength it was earlier in the season with all of its horses in place. (It’s crazy to think that CC is probably the biggest concern at the moment.) “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything,” Nova said. “I was struggling and I wanted to pitch better. That’s what I was thinking.”  I agree Nova and Pettitte could be the boost the Yankees needed, pitching is what wins. 

Nova was asked about how much the shoulder had really been bothering him during that rough patch that he had before going on the DL. The rest certainly looked like it benefited him today. “That day when they put me on the DL, it was really bad,” he said.  You have to wonder if he was hurt before that and didn't say anything. 

After pretty much cruising through the first five innings, Nova finally gave up a run on Evan Longoria’s solo shot with two outs in the top of the sixth. Girardi came out to talk to him, which led you to believe that Nova was done, but it was just a rare mound visit from the skipper. He left Nova in, and he got B.J. Upton to strikeout to end the inning. “Just to tell him, ‘Let’s get the next guy,’ ” Girardi said when asked what he told Nova. ” ‘Forget (the home run). Turn the page; let’s go.’ ”  It was a good pep talk that worked. 

Here’s catcher Chris Stewart on what he saw from Nova: “Just the confidence level was there. He was back. That’s the guy you want out there.”  I think with him it is confidence, he borders on cocky sometimes but he needs that. 

Nova’s performance somewhat overshadowed another huge homer from Curtis Granderson. Granderson connected for a two-run shot in the second to get the scoring started, hitting his fifth long ball in the last six games and 39th overall. “The big thing is just trying to get something up in the zone that you can hit,” Granderson said of his at-bat against James Shields, who he came into the game hitting just .107 against in his career. “You know he has a good changeup, and he was also using his curve a lot, so you can’t sit on one pitch.”

Before his recent hot streak, Granderson had been slumping, which led to him being dropped from the two-hole. His batting average is still down, but he’s on pace for career highs in homers and RBI. “I never go into (a season) thinking what my average should be,” he said. “I’ve never looked at average as an important stat. It’s about scoring runs and driving in runs.”  I would say though that he is too homerun or nothing, him and Swisher have really been hurting the team but Granderson is heating up now. 

Granderson’s homer was immediately followed by a solo shot from Eduardo Nunez, who has had his way with Shields. When asked how he explains his success against him, Nunez had no answer. “I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “He’s a great pitcher.”

Before the game, Girardi talked about how important he felt it was to get Nunez right back in the field after last night’s error. Prior to the game, Girardi said he had a chat with Nunez. “I said, ‘You know, you made a lot of good plays,’ ” Girardi recalled. ” ‘You can’t focus on the one that you didn’t make. Learn from it, and move on. Turn the page.’ ”  I would agree you can't always focus on the negative and turn it into a self fullfilling prophecy. 

 It sounded like the pep talk meant a lot to Nunez. “It’s always a good feeling when the manager gives you comforting,” he said.

 It was important that the Yankees not get complacent with a 3-0 lead, and they added a big run in the fifth with two outs. Ichiro singled and stole second to get himself into scoring position, and Derek Jeter singled up the middle to drive him in and extend the lead to 4-0. “It’s a great at-bat,” Girardi said. “You’re talking about a really good pitcher, and Ich to get the base-hit and get to second, Jeet put together a long at-bat to give him a chance to steal… That’s the thing about Derek – he’s not going to try to do too much in that situation, and that’s why he’s successful so often.”  I like those two at the top of the order, similar type players to me, they will grind it out and find ways to get it done. 

Nova was pulled after giving up a leadoff single Jeff Keppinger in the top of the seventh, coming out to a loud ovation from the crowd. He was replaced by Boone Logan, who gave up a double to Ryan Roberts to put runners on second and third. Joba came into replace him, getting Sam Fuld to ground out for the second out, but that was followed by a two-run single from Luke Scott to cut the lead to 4-3. Joba didn’t let it spiral out of control, though, and struck out Desmond Jennings to end the inning and preserve the lead.

A-Rod came through with a big RBI single in eighth to give the Yankees an insurance run. Of course, he was helped out by Upton, who completely misplayed a ball off the bat of Robinson Cano in center field (yet, somehow it was ruled a double).

 The win gives the Yankees a four-game lead over the Rays in the division, and for the moment, a half-game lead over the Orioles. Baltimore plays the A’s tonight at 9 p.m. “This is where you want to be,” Girardi said. “You want an opportunity to play in the postseason. Let’s go back to day one in spring training, we talked about how tough our division was going to be. It hasn’t disappointed