Game 105 notes: Yankees win 10-6

See what happens when Johnny Damon decides to show up? The Yankees' lead off hitter went 3-5 with two RBIs and four runs scored in their 10-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles Sunday afternoon.

In what has been a continuing trend, the Yankees scored early to win, as they scored one run in the first and three in the second.

Chien-Ming Wang (12-5) gave up three runs over six innings. His control was an issue today, as he walked four and struck out only one. He also gave up nine hits.

The Yankees' ace has struggled in his last four starts. He has a 4.62 ERA in his last 25 1-3 innings pitched. However, he is 3-1 over that span due to a large amount of run support.

The bullpen once again proved that changes need to be made. In its three innings of work, a combination of Luis Vizcaino, Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera gave up six hits and three runs. Rivera struck out the side in his one inning of work. During the game, word got out that highly-touted prospect Joba Chamberlain will be moved to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre bullpen.

Daniel Cabrera (7-11) started for Baltimore and was rather wild. He walked five batters in six innings. He also allowed six hits and four earned runs.

Some notes from the game:

• Hideki Matsui went 0-3 but drove in three runs. He hit two sacrifice flies and grounded into an RBI fielder's choice.
• Barry Bonds, er, Paul Bako went 1-1 with four walks.
• Alex Rodriguez's 500th home run will have to wait yet another day. He went 0-2 with three walks (one intentional walk). The Yankees play their next six games at home.
  
• Bobby Abreu went 2-3, raising his extremely high average (.364 before the game) in Yankee wins.
• Andy Phillips extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double in the second inning.
• Five Yankees had multi-hit games: Damon (three hits), Derek Jeter (two hits), Abreu (two hits), Robinson Cano (two hits) and Melky Cabrera (three hits).
• Farnsworth gave up a two-run home run in his one inning of work.
  
• The start of the game was delayed by about 40 minutes because of supposed rain in the area. It never rained during the "rain" delay or during the game.

This was a big win for the Yankees. They had lost their previous three games and needed to get back on track. Also, Cleveland and Boston both lost today. The Yankees now trail Cleveland by four games in the Wild Card race and Boston by eight games in the AL East race.

The Yankees now stand at a record of 56-49 and will open a three-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Mike Mussina will match up against ex-Yankee Jose Contreras.

This is the Yankees' last game before Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. non-waiver trading deadline, so the roster for Tuesday's game could look different.