Yankees baseball blog

Joba goes 3 in win for Yanks

Joba Chamberalin had thrown only 35 pitches after the third inning Sunday and Joe Girardi liked Chamberlain's aggressiveness and how the pitcher worked quickly. In any other corner of the baseball world, this would've been perhaps the midpoint of a developing pitcher's afternoon.

But in Yankeeland, the Joba Rules, well, rule.

As part of the Yanks' plan to protect the precious Chamberlain, the righthander was finished, replaced by Alfredo Aceves for the fourth inning. Thanks to their bullpen and slugging, the Yankees found a way to win a game at the same time they hewed to their grand, secretive plan. Continue

Mitre super sharp in Yanks 10-0 win

Sergio Mitre pitched a masterpiece. He just couldn't finish it.

Mitre was dazzling in The Bronx yesterday against the White Sox, fashioning a magnificent outing in which he flirted with perfection, opened a bunch of eyes and delivered his best performance in more than two years.

The right-hander fired 61/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball, including 41/3 perfect innings to start, in the Yankees' 10-0 annihilation.

Mitre only had to leave when he was blasted by A.J Pierzynski's line drive with one out in the seventh. He suffered a contusion on his right forearm, though X-rays were negative. Continue

Cano does it... walk off home run in 10th

Robinson Cano knew what was coming and happily took it.

With two on and two out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Cano had driven lefthander Randy Williams' 2-and-2 pitch into the home bullpen for a three-run homer, giving the Yankees a 5-2 walk-off win over the White Sox Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Then, as Cano waited to be interviewed on television, Yankees pie man A.J. Burnett flew past and delivered a whipped cream shot to the second baseman's face. Cano shot his arms skyward in exultant triumph, happy to end a rainy night in the Bronx with his first career walk-off home run and the Yankees' 12th walk-off hit of the season.

"Oh, man," Cano said. "It's exciting running around the bases, seeing the fans clap and your teammates at the plate. It's great." Continue

A.J. solid, bats hollow in Yanks loss

The day started with thoughts of perfection for A.J. Burnett, but things were far from perfect for the Yankees by the time they walked off the field.

A 7-2 loss to the Rangers at the Stadium handed the Bombers their first home series loss in more than two months, snapping their streak of seven consecutive series wins in the Bronx and six consecutive overall.

A.J. Burnett seemed to have recovered from Saturday's Fenway Park disaster with six innings of three-run ball, but a three-batter stretch in the fourth during which he issued two walks before serving up the first of Ian Kinsler's two homers was enough to hand him his eighth loss of the season. Continue

Andy wins 3rd straight start

What a difference a year has made for Andy Pettitte.

Last August, Pettitte pitched through pain in his left shoulder, doing his best to grind it out every five days while taking one beating after another.

A year later, the veteran southpaw is healthy as he's ever been, pitching as well as anybody not named CC Sabathia. Pettitte won his third straight decision Wednesday night, tossing seven solid innings in a 9-2 win over the Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

"I battled with my elbow so much early in my career, dealt with that for so many years, it's really weird for me to feel healthy," said Pettitte, who came up with three well-timed double plays against Texas. Continue

Joba roughed up, Yanks falls short 10-9

In a season already highlighted by one comeback victory after another, this would have been the most improbable and the most dramatic.

Down five runs entering the ninth inning, the Yankees erupted for four and nearly wiped out another shaky performance by Joba Chamberlain. But Melky Cabrera lined into an unassisted double play and the Yanks' latest last-gasp effort fell short in a wild 10-9 loss to Texas Tuesday night at the Stadium.

"It's deflating," said pinch-runner Jerry Hairston, who was doubled up on a close play at second for the final out. "It was just too much to overcome." Continue

CC and Matsui shut up Red Sox

The Yankees came to Fenway Park without a win on Boston's home turf this season. They left Red Sox Nation with a bigger lead than they had when they arrived.

The Bombers homered five times off Josh Beckett, handing CC Sabathia plenty of run support in an 8-4 win over the Red Sox Sunday night, the Yanks' second straight series win over their archrivals.

The Yankees picked up a game over the weekend to move 71/2 in front of the Red Sox in the AL East, their 7-3 road trip giving them a baseball-best 78-46 record. Continue

No pie for A.J. in 14-1 Yankee beating

When the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $82.5 million contract, they expected the pitcher to dominate the Red Sox the same way he had his entire career.

What they've gotten is a hurler who has been roughed up in three of his four starts against Boston this year, including all three of his outings at Fenway Park.

Burnett left a foul stench in the air again Saturday with one of the worst games he's ever pitched, serving up a career-high nine runs in Boston's 14-1 beating of the Yankees. The righthander entered the season with a 5-0 mark and a 2.56ERA in eight career starts against the Red Sox, but he's 0-2 with an 8.85 ERA in four games this year against Boston, including a dreadful 0-2 record and 14.21 ERA in three outings at Fenway Park. Continue

Yankees hit parade, crush Red Sox 20-11

When the Red Sox's AL East epitaph is written, it will be in ink dripping from the Yankees' biceps.

Last night at Fenway Park the Yankees flexed their muscles early and often on their way to a 20-11 drubbing of their blood rivals in front of 37,869.

"We are having fun right now," said Mark Teixeira, whose 3-for-5, three RBI night took a backseat to what Hideki Matsui, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez accomplished in the Yankees' third straight win overall and fifth consecutive against the Red Sox -- after losing eight straight to Boston to start the season. "We are getting contributions from everybody."

When Nick Swisher singled in the sixth, every spot in the order had at least one hit. Continue

Yanks looking to bury Sox

We have seen what these Yankees are capable of over the last several weeks, playing the type of baseball that wins titles. Now let's see if they have a killer instinct, an ingredient that will be crucial in any championship recipe.

The Red Sox have regrouped a bit since being swept out of Yankee Stadium a couple of weeks ago, when they were barely able to put a run on the scoreboard.

David Ortiz has gotten hot to lead a surge that was highlighted by the pounding of Roy Halladay Wednesday night. But the Sox are still very much on the ropes as far as the AL East race goes, and the Yankees have a chance to finish them off this weekend. Continue