NY Times: Ortiz, Ramirez on 2003 steroid list

According to The New York Times, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are on the infamous 2003 list of failed drug tests.

Oh happy day! I was giddy when Ramirez tested positive earlier this year, and I'm even giddier right now.

This is bad for baseball, sure. It's bad that they cheated and it's bad that the names have been leaked by lawyers cherry picking the most popular players.

However, in terms of the New York/Boston rivalry, this is great. After hearing all of the "steroids" chants at Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi, Yankees fans finally have some fodder as well.

This all said, release the entire list. From the potential Hall of Famers to the utility infielders, all of the names must be released.

Joba rolls over Rays

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

Joba Chamberlain pitched eight shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, leading the Yankees to a 6-2 victory.  With the win, the Yankees took the three-game series against the defending American League champions.

Chamberlain threw 101 pitches over his eight innings, striking out five and walking two.  He has won each of his three starts since the All-Star break to improve to 7-2 on the season.

The Yankees got on the board in the first inning when Mark Teixeira hit an RBI single to drive in Derek Jeter, who led off the game with a triple.  They’d score another run in the fourth on Robinson Cano’s RBI groundout.

Robinson Cano added a solo home run in the sixth to extend the Yankees’ lead to 3-0, and the Yankees would get another in the eighth on a Jorge Posada RBI single.

The 4-0 seemed to be enough with the way Chamberlain was pitching, but for good measure, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira hit solo home runs in the top of the ninth.

That gave the Yankees much-needed breathing room, because Brian Bruney struggled mightily in the bottom of the ninth when he entered with a 6-0 lead.  Carl Crawford led off with a triple.  Evan Longoria followed that up with a two-run home run.  After a one-out double, manager Joe Girardi summoned Mariano Rivera, his trusted closer, to put out the fire.

The Yankees are back to 23 games over .500 and are now 3.5 games ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East after their loss against Oakland tonight.  The Yankees begin a four-game series in Chicago tomorrow night.

Another Twitter service announcement

For reasons beyond my control, I was forced to make a new Twitter account.  I can now be followed at @fletch788.

So please follow me back, and I hope this is the last of my Twitter problems.

Kazmir dominates Yankees in Rays’ 6-2 victory

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

Tampa Bay Rays starter Scott Kazmir allowed one earned run over seven innings as the Rays were able to stop the surging Yankees 6-2 Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

CC Sabathia struggled through his 5 2/3 innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits.  He wasn’t helped when Derek Jeter overthrew first base in the second inning, but he didn’t have his best stuff all night.

Hideki Matsui drove in both of the Yankees runs on a single and a double, but the Rays were able to get to Sabathia.

B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford and Ben Zobrist each had two hits.  Evan Longoria added a solo home run off Sabathia in the fifth inning.

Mark Melancon appeared in his first game since July 10.  He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing only one hit.

After the game, the Yankees learned that starter Chien-Ming Wang will need shoulder surgery and will be out for the rest of the season.

Joba Chamberlain starts tomorrow night as the Yankees will look the take the rubber game.

Yankees roll over Rays 11-4

(Originally posted by Baseball Digest)

The New York Yankees hit four home runs and each starter had at least one hit in their 11-4 victory of the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Five of the Yankees’ starters had multi-hit games and starter A.J. Burnett gave up one run (zero earned) over seven innings, striking out five and walking two.

The Yankees scored three runs in the second inning of James Shields.  Jorge Posada (double), Robinson Cano (triple) and Nick Swisher (groundout) had the RBI.  They would add two more runs in the sixth inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Cano and Swisher.  Swisher’s home run was his first of two on the night.  The shots gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

Tampa got a run back, as the Yankees traded a double play for a run.

Up 5-1, Alex Rodriguez, on his 34th birthday, hit a two-run double.

The 7-1 lead seemed comfortable, but reliever Jonathan Albaladejo, who was called up when Brett Gardner was placed on the disabled list, made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth.  Carl Crawford hit a sacrifice fly and Ben Zobrist hit an RBI single to cut the Yankees’ lead to 7-3.

However, the Yankees hit two more home runs in the top of the ninth against Brian Shouse to put the game out of reach.  Swisher hit his second home run of the game and Johnny Damon added a three-run home run to give the team an 11-3 lead.  Pat Burrell hit a solo home run in the ninth to reach the final score of 11-4.

The Yankees are now 61-38 and remain 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Yankees rally in sixth to cap 9-1 homestand

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

The Yankees came from behind twice Sunday afternoon to defeat the Oakland Athletics 7-5 and cap a 9-1 homestand that saw the team reach 22 games over .500.

The A’s scored quickly against starter Sergio Mitre in the first inning.  Orlando Cabrera hit a one-out single and, after he stole scored, scored on Scott Hairston’s double.  Hairston would then score on catcher Kurt Suzuki’s single to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.

However, the Yankees came right back, scoring four in the bottom of the first inning.  Hideki Matsui hit a two-out RBI single to halve Oakland’s lead.  Two batters later, Robinson Cano cleared the bases with a three-run double into the gap.  He then overslid third and was tagged out.  Nevertheless, the Yankees had a 4-2 lead.

Oakland got one run back in the fourth inning on Mark Ellis’ sacrifice fly.  However, Mitre was able to escape further trouble by inducing a double play to end the threat.  This cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-3.

After giving up a leadoff single in the sixth inning, Mitre was pulled.  He gave up nine hits and four earned runs in 5+ innings, striking out one and walking none.  After retiring the first two batters he faced, Phil Coke gave up a two-run home run to Ellis to give Oakland a 5-4 lead.

The Yankees roared right back in the bottom half of the inning.  Melky Cabrera walked with one out and third baseman Cody Ransom doubled.  Derek Jeter followed with a two-run single to center to put the Yankees back ahead 6-5.  Jeter was picked off, but Johnny Damon doubled and was driven home by Mark Teixeira to give the Yankees another insurance run at 7-5.

Phil Hughes pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief before being bullpen for Brian Bruney when he ran into trouble.  Bruney struck out his only batter and was replaced by Mariano Rivera, who retired all four batters he faced.  The save was Rivera’s 29th of the year.

Boston lost their game this afternoon, so the Yankees are back on top of the AL East by 2.5 games.  The Yankees begin a three-game series in Tampa tomorrow night.

Gardner to DL with broken thumb

The news broke earlier this morning that Brett Gardner broke his left thumb during his takeout slide at second base yesterday afternoon.  He was put on the 15-day disabled list, with Jonathan Albaladejo taking his spot on the roster.

Peter Abraham says that have the extra pitcher up is temporary and they’ll add a position player in the next couple of days.  He suggests Austin Jackson, Shelley Duncan or John Rodriguez.

Gardner will be in a cast for two weeks.

I think if the Yankees call up Jackson, they feel that Gardner’s injury is more serious.

Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

Andy Pettitte and Alfredo Aceves unraveled in the seventh inning of this afternoon’s 6-4 loss to the Oakland A’s at Yankee Stadium.

Read all about it on YanksBlog.com.

A note to my Twitter followers

As many of you know, I am on Twitter (@ProctorsArm).  A few days ago, my list of followers and people I follow got deleted. 

So if you previously followed me, please follow me back and I will return the favor.  Also, if you are just discovering my Twitter account, please also follow!  I don’t bite!

Tied for first

The Yankees and Red Sox are in a tie for first place in the AL East, 4.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.

This is amazing, considering the Yankees are 0-8 against the Red Sox this season.  It kind of hurts thinking about where the Yankees would be if they won just a few of those games against their archrivals.

I forgot to mention this in the previous post, but how great were those two plays at home?  The fact that they came at the most crucial part of the game only added to them.

Matsui walks off

Hideki Matsui’s walk-off solo home run tonight gave the Yankees their third straight 2-1 victory and fourth straight win overall to reach 18 games over .500.

The Yankees have now hit five solo home runs over this span.

Andy Pettitte continued this stretch of solid starting pitching.  Though he didn’t factor into the decision, he struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and walking two.

Sergio Mitre makes his Yankees and team debut tomorrow night.

Game 91: Tigers at Yankees

Detroit Tigers (48-41)	New York Yankees (53-37)
Curtis Granderson CF	Derek Jeter SS
Placido Polanco 2B	Brett Gardner CF
Miguel Cabrera 1B	Mark Teixeira 1B
Marcus Thames DH	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Clete Thomas RF	Hideki Matsui DH
Brandon Inge 3B	Jorge Posada C
Josh Anderson LF	Robinson Cano 2B
Gerald Laird C	Nick Swisher RF
Ramon Santiago SS	Melky Cabrera LF

Edwin Jackson RHP (7-4, 2.52 ERA) vs. Joba Chamberlain RHP (4-2, 4.25 ERA)

Time: 2:05 p.m.
TV: YES, TBS
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 179

Tigers vs. Chamberlain

• Granderson: 0-3
• Polanco: 0-3, RBI
• Cabrera: 1-3
• Thames: 0-1
• Inge: 0-2
• Anderson: 1-3
• Laird: 1-5
• Santiago: 0-2

Yankees vs. Jackson

• Jeter: 11-27, 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI
• Gardner: 1-4
• Teixeira: 2-10, 3B
• Rodriguez: 7-19, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI
• Matsui: 7-22, 3B, HR, 3 RBI
• Posada: 2-8
• Cano: 6-24, 2B, RBI
• Swisher: 4-12, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI
• Cabrera: 6-17, RBI

Joba appears in a Powerade commercial

Hello, folks. It's been a while. I'm not the biggest fan of the All-Star hubbub, so I chose not to make any posts about it. Anyway, baseball returns tonight (even though the Yankees don't start up again until tomorrow), and the kind folks at Powerade sent over a YouTube link of Joba Chamberlain appearing in a new ad promoting their fine drink.



The ad, which also features Carmelo Anthony, Ryan Howard and others, will appear in cinemas nationwide.

Failing to get clutch hit, Yanks get swept in Anaheim

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

When the Yankees began their series in Anaheim on Friday, they were tied for first place in the AL East.  Now as they head into the All-Star break, they are three games behind the Boston Red Sox after getting swept at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.  The Yankees lost Sunday’s game by the score of 5-4.

The Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs in the seventh and eighth innings, but they failed to get clutch hits to put them on top.

Down 4-2 in the seventh, Mark Teixeira struck out and Alex Rodriguez grounded into a double play to end the threat.  And in the next inning, after CC Sabathia allowed the Angels to score another run to make it a 5-2 ballgame, the Yankees came within one run, but Nick Swisher lined back to the pitcher for a double play.

For the third straight game, the Yankees had a lead only to lose it soon after.  Derek Jeter drove in a run on the fielder’s choice in the third inning.  But Sabathia gave up four runs in the bottom of the fourth, including RBI doubles from Bobby Abreu and Howie Kendrick, as well as an RBI from Robb Quinlan and a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Brandon Wood.

John Lackey only allowed two runs and six hits over seven innings.  He struck out six and walked three.  On the other hand, Sabathia gave up five earned runs over 6 2/3 innings, bringing his season ERA to 3.86.

Jeter and Melky Cabrera had two hits apiece, but the nine combined runners left on base by Teixeira and Rodriguez effectively sealed the Yankees’ fate.

After the All-Star break, the Yankees will begin a 10-game homestand with three-games against the Detroit Tigers on July 17th.

Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

Awful pitching.  Awful game.  The Yankees fell to the Angels 14-8.  Read about it on YanksBlog.com.

Game 86: Yankees at Angels

New York Yankees (51-34)	Los Angeles Angels (46-37)
Derek Jeter DH	Chone Figgins 3B
Johnny Damon LF	Maicer Izturis 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B	Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Juan Rivera LF
Nick Swisher RF	Kendry Morales 1B
Robinson Cano 2B	Mike Napoli DH
Melky Cabrera CF	Gary Matthews Jr. CF
Cody Ransom SS	Jeff Mathis C
Jose Molina C	Erick Aybar SS

Joba Chamberlain RHP (4-2, 4.04 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders LHP (8-5, 4.44 ERA)

Time: 10:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Yankees vs. Saunders

• Jeter: 2-8, HR, 2 RBI
• Damon: 3-8, 2B
• Teixeira: 2-9
• Rodriguez: 3-7, 2B, RBI
• Swisher: 4-15, HR, 4 RBI
• Cano: 1-5, 3 RBI
• Cabrera: 0-1
• Molina: 0-2

Angels vs. Chamberlain

• Rivera: 0-1
• Morales: 1-1, 2B
• Napoli: 0-1
• Mathis: 0-1

Note: Jonathan Albaladejo has been optioned out with Mark Melancon coming up.

Melancon is moving on up

The Yankees defeated the Twins 6-4 this afternoon to sweep the season series.  They are now 51-34 and have won 13 of their last 15 games overall.  With Boston’s loss tonight, the two teams are in a tie for first place in the AL East.

Because the Yankees burned through the bullpen this afternoon, the Yankees have called up Mark Melancon according to Chad Jennings.

Melancon appeared in four games for the Yankees at the end of April and the beginning of May, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.  He walked five batters while striking out two over that span.

For Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Melancon has struck out 42 and walked nine over 39 2/3 innings.

No corresponding move has been announced yet.

Behind Burnett, Yankees defeat Twins 4-3

A.J. Burnett pitched just well enough to get the win.  He was wild, but he didn’t let it cost his team, as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4-3 to clinch their fifth straight series win.  Read all about it on Baseball Digest.

Game 84: Yankees at Twins

New York Yankees (49-34)	Minnesota Twins (43-41)
Derek Jeter SS	Denard Spans LF
Johnny Damon LF	Brendan Harris SS
Mark Teixeira 1B	Joe Mauer C
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Justin Morneau 1B
Hideki Matsui DH	Michael Cuddyer RF
Jorge Posada C	Jason Kubel DH
Robinson Cano 2B	Joe Crede 3B
Nick Swisher RF	Carlos Gomez CF
Brett Gardner CF	Nick Punto 2B

A.J. Burnett RHP (7-4, 3.83 ERA) vs. Anthony Swarzak RHP (2-2, 3.90 ERA)

Time: 8:10 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 180

Yankees vs. Swarzak

• No Yankees have any experience against Swarzak

Twins vs. Burnett

• Span: 1-7
• Harris: 2-9, HR, RBI
• Mauer: 3-10
• Morneau: 4-12, HR, 3 RBI
• Cuddyer: 2-10, 2B, RBI
• Kubel: 3-14, 2B
• Crede: 1-4
• Gomez: 1-5
• Punto: 1-9

Aceves to start; Kevin Millar speaks

Alfredo Aceves will start on Thursday in place on the injured Chien-Ming Wang.  I had a feeling this would happen after he pitched four innings on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kevin Millar was on MLB Home Plate on SIRIUS XM this morning and gave his thoughts on the new Yankee Stadium.  Here’s the transcript of that portion of the conversation:

Host, Jim Duquette: “What’s your impression of the new Yankee Stadium?”

Kevin Millar: “I’m going to be honest with you.  You know I’m going to shoot from the hip.  I’m not a big fan of it.  Nothing pops there, nothing pops.  The old stadium, you walked in, you knew this was where [Mickey] Mantle played and [Joe] DiMaggio.  It was just that old school.  I got booed a lot louder.  They didn’t boo me as loud here.  I like to get booed.  They were too nice to me here.  They’re too nice to me.  I don’t know if it’s all corporate, but they’re too nice.  But it’s just like a big, huge – it’s a beautiful facility, don’t get me wrong – but the navy blue seats, a lot of concrete and nothing pops.  I mean, nothing pops there, personally.  Now, it was our first trip in and I don’t know if I was expecting more, but that’s the truth and it’s just I loved the old stadium.”

Host, Seth Everett: “Is it impossible to ever live up to that old stadium?”

Millar: “It’s not impossible, but yes, all the comeback wins and all the memories there, of course, it’s going to take time.  And this is year no. 1 and there’s some tinkers.  Like for one, you know, it’s a beautiful scoreboard but they have the radar gun readings at the very top of the scoreboard with the pitch count.

"Fans want to know how hard the pitcher’s throwing, for instance.  You come to the game, you want to see, ‘Yeah, Brandon League’s on the mound, he’s throwing 90-what?’  You don’t want to have to look around the stadium to find it, and this is at the very top, a very little scene up there with your miles per hour where most stadiums have them above the dugouts on the second tier of the second deck so you can kind of see it easier.

"You know, it was hard to read what the guy’s hitting for the batting average.  It was tough to find certain things.  And for a stadium that’s got $1.5 billion in it, you would think it had been just some easier scenes, and I’m just using those as examples and those might be nit-picking.  But for the monuments: I wish they would’ve pulled the monuments up so you could see the monuments.  I mean, they’re behind center field and it’s kind of blocked off with the hitter’s eye so you don’t even see them.  At least in the old stadium, left center, you kind of saw them a little bit, glimpsed through over there from the bullpen area, and when you’d hit a home run to left center they’d bounce in the monuments.

"So there’s some things that, in my opinion, nothing’s really popping out.  But it’s a gorgeous scene, I guess, for the fans inside - the food, the televisions, all the marble and stuff.  But from what we see as a player, you walk in the lobby and it was straight concrete.  We walk in the locker room, beautiful locker rooms, but it was just, it was OK, personally.”

I’ve gone on record as not being pleased with new Yankee Stadium, so I don’t exactly disagree with what Millar is saying.  However, hearing it from him doesn’t exactly make me look better.

Aceves saves Joba and Ransom

Joba Chamberlain and Cody Ransom did their best to turn a 4-0 lead into an 8-4 deficit.  Ransom’s fielding error in the third inning opened the floodgates, as Chamberlain gave up five unearned runs and was out of the game after only retiring 11 batters.

However, Jonathan Albaladejo and Alfredo Aceves saved the Yankees on the pitching side, while Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui provided the offense.  Jeter hit the go-ahead home run in the fifth inning after Matsui drew the Yankees closer with a three-run shot in the fourth inning.  Posada added four hits and three RBI.

But the real story was Aceves, who pitched four innings of one-hit ball for his first career save.

The Yankees are now 15 games over .500 at 48-33, their highest amount of games above .500 this season.  They have also won 10 of their 11 games.  Andy Pettitte will look to lead the Yankees to a sweep over the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon at 1:05.

Jeter, Teixeira named All-Star starters; Rivera also named to team

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira were named American League All-Star starters at their respective positions.  Teixeira was in a hotly-contested race with Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Mariano Rivera was the only Yankee named to the pitching staff of the American League.  No Yankees were chosen as reserves.

The complete roster can be found here.

Game 81: Blue Jays at Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays (42-40)	New York Yankees (47-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Jorge Posada C
Lyle Overbay 1B	Hideki Matsui DH
Vernon Wells CF	Nick Swisher RF
Alex Rios RF	Robinson Cano 2B
David Dellucci DH	Melky Cabrera CF
Raul Chavez C	Cody Ransom 3B

Brett Cecil LHP (2-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. Joba Chamberlain RHP (4-2, 3.89 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Chamberlain

• Scutaro: 0-6
• Hill: 0-3
• Lind: 2-5, 2B
• Rolen: 2-5, RBI
• Overbay: 2-5, RBI
• Wells: 1-4
• Rios: 2-6, RBI
• Dellucci: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI

Yankees vs. Cecil

• No Yankees have any experience against Cecil

Note: Chien-Ming Wang was placed on the 15-day disabled list.  Jonathan Albaladejo was called up.

Wang likely head to DL, won’t be replaced by Aceves or Hughes

Chien-Ming Wang is most likely headed to the disabled list with a strained right shoulder with bursitis.

According to this report, Joe Girardi has already ruled out using Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes as spot starters.

The name being thrown around is Sergio Mitre, who is currently pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  In 30 1/3 innings, he has struck out 23 and walked only three, compiling a 3.26 ERA.

Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

Jorge Posada won the game for the Yankees on a walk-off single in the 12th innings this afternoon.  The Yankees defeated Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5.  Read all about it on YanksBlog.com.

Game 80: Blue Jays at Yankees (Happy birthday, USA and George Steinbrenner)

Toronto Blue Jays (42-39)	New York Yankees (46-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells CF	Jorge Posada C
Alex Rios RF	Hideki Matsui DH
David Dellucci LF	Melky Cabrera RF
Rob Barajas C	Brett Gardner CF

Roy Halladay RHP (10-2, 2.56 ERA) vs.  Chien-Ming Wang RHP (1-6, 10.06 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Wang

• Scutaro: 1-6, RBI
• Hill: 10-17, 4 2B, 3B, 3 RBI
• Lind: 1-3
• Rolen: 0-1
• Overbay: 6-14, 2 2B, 5 RBI
• Wells: 6-19, 2 2B, 3 RBI
• Rios: 4-20, 2B, RBI
• Dellucci: 2-5, RBI
• Barajas: 0-1

Yankees vs. Halladay

• Jeter: 19-79, 4 2B, 4 RBI
• Damon: 29-84, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI
• Teixeira: 4-22, HR, 3 RBI
• Rodriguez: 18-63, 5 2B, HR, 12 RBI
• Cano: 7-34, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI
• Posada: 12-42, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI
• Matsui: 11-47, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI
• Cabrera: 7-29, HR, RBI
• Gardner: 3-11, 2B

Burnett rolls over former team

7 IP, 2 ER, 7 K for A.J. Burnett.  Over his last nine starts, he is 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 55 2/3 innings.  He has also struck out 63 while walking 30 over that span.

Meanwhile, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera shut down the Jays after Burnett left, sealing the Yankees eighth win in their last night games to reach 12 games over .500 again.

Robinson Cano added his 13th home run of the season and Alex Rodriguez’s 14th home run gave the Yankees a little more breathing room.

Chien-Ming Wang faces Roy Halladay tomorrow afternoon.  Yikes.

Game 79: Blue Jays at Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays (42-38)	New York Yankees (45-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells CF	Nick Swisher RF
Alex Rios RF	Hideki Matsui DH
David Dellucci LF	Francisco Cervelli C
Raul Chavez C	Brett Gardner CF

Brian Tallet LHP (5-5, 4.47 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett RHP (6-4, 3.93 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Burnett

• Scutaro: 3-12
• Hill: 2-4, HR, RBI
• Lind: 0-2
• Rolen: 3-22, 2B, 3 RBI
• Overbay: 0-12
• Wells: 0-3
• Rios: 1-3, 2B
• Dellucci: 6-18, 2B, 2 RBI

Yankees vs. Tallet

• Jeter: 3-11, 2B
• Damon: 5-16, 2 2B
• Teixeira: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI
• Rodriguez: 1-12, HR, RBI
• Cano: 4-15, 2 2B, RBI
• Swisher: 2-5, RBI
• Matsui: 6-11, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI
• Cervelli: 1-3
• Gardner: 1-3

Game 78: Mariners at Yankees

Seattle Mariners (39-38)	New York Yankees (45-32)
Ichiro Suzuki RF	Derek Jeter SS
Russell Branyan 1B	Johnny Damon LF
Jose Lopez 2B	Mark Teixeira 1B
Mike Sweeney DH	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Franklin Gutierrez CF	Robinson Cano 2B
Kenji Johjima C	Nick Swisher RF
Ryan Langerhans LF	Hideki Matsui DH
Chris Woodward 3B	Melky Cabrera CF
Ronny Cedeno SS	Francisco Cervelli C

Jason Vargas LHP (3-3, 3.79 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia LHP (7-4, 3.55 ERA)

Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Mariners vs. Sabathia

• Suzuki: 15-38, 2 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBI
• Lopez: 2-8, RBI
• Sweeney: 20-69, 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI
• Johjima: 3-5, 2B
• Langerhans: BB
• Woodward: 2-9, 2 RBI
• Cedeno: 1-11, RBI

Yankees vs. Vargas

• No Yankees in tonight’s lineup have experience against Vargas.

Pettitte, with help from long ball, leads Yankees to victory over M's

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

The first two times the Yankees took the lead Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, Andy Pettitte gave it right back.  Once the Yankees took the lead for the third time, Pettitte was able to hold it, and the Yankees were on their way to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners to extend their winning streak to seven.

Pettitte pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs or six hits while striking out five.

The Yankees took the lead in the third inning on Johnny Damon's 15th home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.  He has now homered 11 times at new Yankee Stadium.

The lead was short-lived, as Pettitte gave it right back in the top of the fourth.  Jose Lopez led off with a double and advanced to third on a fly out.  After a walk put runners on first and third with one out, Wladimir Balentien hit a grounder to first that Mark Teixeira bobbled.  Though he was able to get the out at second, the bobble cost the Yankees a shot at the double play.  As a result, the tying run scored.

It stayed a 1-1 game until the bottom of the fifth when Melky Cabrera snuck a ball just fair for another solo home run.  In fact, the play was so close that the umpires had to review it.  Ultimately, the call was upheld and the Yankees had a 2-1 lead.

But just like the last time they took the lead, Pettitte gave it right back in the next half-inning.  Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo home run to right to tie the game at 2.

The Yankees didn't wait long to retake the lead.  Teixeira led off the bottom of the sixth with a single.  He was then followed by Alex Rodriguez, who hit a long two-run home run to center, his second in as many days, to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  The bullpen pitched two perfect innings after Pettitte left in the seventh, including Mariano Rivera's 20th save of the season.

The Yankees haven't trailed since Joe Girardi was ejected in the sixth inning Atlanta last Wednesday.  They are now 13 games over .500, which is their highest mark this season.

CC Sabathia takes the mound tomorrow night as the Yankees look for a sweep.

Game 77: Mariners at Yankees

Seattle Mariners (39-37)	New York Yankees (44-32)
Ichiro Suzuki RF	Derek Jeter SS
Russell Branyan 1B	Johnny Damon LF
Jose Lopez 2B	Mark Teixeira 1B
Ken Griffey Jr. DH	Alex Rodriguez DH
Franklin Gutierrez CF	Jorge Posada C
Wladimir Balentien LF	Robinson Cano 2B
Chris Woodward 3B	Nick Swisher RF
Rob Johnson C	Melky Cabrera CF
Ronny Cedeno SS	Cody Ransom 3B

Jarrod Washburn LHP (4-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte LHP (7-3, 4.38 ERA)

Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 175

Mariners vs. Pettitte

• Suzuki: 12-30, 2B, 5 RBI
• Lopez: 1-7, RBI
• Griffey Jr.: 18-53, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI
• Gutierrez: 2-8, HR, RBI
• Balentien: 3-6
• Woodward: 4-13, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI
• Cedeno: 1-6

Yankees vs. Washburn

• Jeter: 12-37, 4 2B, 4 RBI
• Damon: 9-37, 2B, HR, 4 RBI
• Teixeira: 14-49, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI
• Rodriguez: 15-47, 6 HR, 10 RBI
• Posada: 6-22, 2B
• Cano: 2-14, 2B
• Swisher: 5-24, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI
• Cabrera: 0-13