Yankees notes as the second half begins

The New York Yankees are still playing shorthanded. They are hoping to have some guys back but they can’t count on it. Derek Jeter came back for one game and is back on the disabled list. It shouldn’t be much more then the 15 days though; he expects to be ready by Friday or Saturday. Alex Rodriguez is expected to come off the disabled list on Monday but stay tuned for that.

The Yankees were playing short handed on Friday night as Brett Gardner got ejected and Zoilo Almonte got hurt. They had Alberto Gonzalez and Brent Lillibridge playing the outfield corners. Gonzalez was making his first career appearance in left field. He had previously played right field and also pitched this season.

Melky Mesa and Thomas Neal were being summoned from AAA Scranton and Almonte is headed to the disabled list. The other move was to DFA Gonzalez, which happened on Saturday.

Andy Pettitte hasn’t been bad this season but he hasn’t been great. He has now allowed at least four runs in seven straight starts. It is tied for the longest such streak of his career. He is 4-7 with a 5.14 ERA in his last 14 starts.

Girardi said he wasn’t mad at Gardner for the ejection. He was mad at the umpire. He said he threw him out for throwing equipment, Girardi said it is an emotional game. Gardner said he never said anything to the umpire. Gardner kept apologizing though saying he should of controlled his emotions better and he let the team down putting them in a bad spot.

The Yankees on Saturday night had some good defense and pitching of course. They were able to even the series and now have a chance to win it on Sunday night with CC Sabathia on the mound. Chris Stewart dove into the stands in the 8th inning caught the ball and then fired to second to get the runner and complete a very unusual double play. There was a lot of talk and excitement about that play. Stewart said he was surprised that he was able to jump in there without the fans being there and then be able to get out of the stands so quick pick up the runner and make a good throw to second.

The Yankees are now six games behind the Red Sox; they had lost their previous three games to them so this was an important win for the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez had a tight quad and was switched to DH and went 0-4 with three strikeouts. It doesn’t seem to be much of anything though since he still played just not in the field. Girardi didn’t know much after the game or wasn’t saying anything at least.

A very rare moment at Fenway as Mariano Rivera got a standing ovation from the crowd. This was a sincere thing and showing appreciation to the greatest closer and an all around good guy. The last time they cheered him was in jest in 2005 after he blew saves in the 2004 ALCS that led to them winning the series and breaking the curse.

David Robertson made his 311th career appearance. He tied with Steve Hamilton on the Yankees all-time games pitched list. Hiroki Kuroda has been amazing for the Yankees. In his last 10 starts he has a 2.63 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 11 walks. Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Eduardo Nunez had his second three hit game of the season. Lyle Overbay also had three hits and is hitting 331 with 17 doubles and 32 RBI in 45 career games at Fenway Park