Yankees baseball blog

Joba Chamberlain gives up three-run homer in 8th, Yankees lose to Indians

There has been plenty of talk about the growing pains Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have encountered, but when it comes to Joba Chamberlain, that subject is rarely broached. Let the talk commence.

Chamberlain blew a late-inning lead for just the second time in his career - the first time since facing the Indians in last year's division series - serving up a pinch-hit, three-run homer to ex-Yankee David Dellucci in the eighth. That shot lifted the Indians to a 5-3 victory, dealing the Yankees their first loss of the season in a game they led after seven innings. Continue

Yanks' postseason ends in Game 4

A season of hope and promise came crashing to an ugly finish on Saturday, as the Yankees were ousted from the postseason by the Tigers. New York dropped an 8-3 decision to Detroit, as Jeremy Bonderman dominated the Yankees' lineup, following the lead of fellow starters Justin Verlander and Kenny Rogers.

This marks the second consecutive season and third time in five years that the Yankees have been eliminated in the American League Division Series. New York, which hasn't won a World Series title since 2000, now faces another offseason of uncertainty. Continue

Yankees bats go cold against Rogers

It was hard to believe that the Yankees' fearsome lineup would struggle against Kenny Rogers, who had compiled an 0-3 record and 8.85 ERA in nine career postseason games, including five starts. After all, Rogers had never pitched more than 5 1/3 innings in the playoffs, had lost seven consecutive decisions to the Yankees dating back more than a decade and posted a 6.45 career ERA against the Bombers. But Rogers pitched the game of his life, putting the Tigers one win from the American League Championship Series and the Yankees one loss from another early October exit. Continue

Damon's blast not enough in Game 2

Wednesday night's rainout didn't have much of an impact on Thursday's Game 2 of the American League Division Series between the Yankees and Tigers. Detroit's young pitching, on the other hand, played a major role.

Justin Verlander held the Tigers in the game long enough to take a lead, while Joel Zumaya lit up the radar gun with a memorable relief effort. It all added up to a 4-3 Detroit win, sending the series back to Motown all knotted up at one game apiece. Continue

Abreu, Jeter lead way in Game 1 win

Bobby Abreu is relatively new to this whole postseason thing. Derek Jeter is not. Both players made a huge impact for the Yankees on Tuesday night, sparking New York to an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

Abreu, playing in his fourth career playoff game and first since 1997, drove in four runs for the Yankees to kick off his first pinstriped postseason. Jeter, playing in the 116th game of his postseason career, collected his first five-hit night, homering and scoring three runs. The homer was the 17th of Jeter's postseason career, while he extended his own record for hits in the playoffs to 147. Continue

Two-run homer dooms Yanks in finale

There was a lot of scoreboard watching going on in the Yankees' dugout and clubhouse Sunday at the Stadium. So much so, that their 7-5 loss to Toronto in the regular-season finale was, at most, an afterthought. The focus was mostly on Derek Jeter's run for the American League batting title, a quest that started well but petered out quickly, as Jeter finished several points behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer.

"I've been in this position before and it would have been nice, but it doesn't take anything away from the season that we had here," Jeter said. "[Mauer has] pretty much been leading it the whole season, so he deserves it." Continue

Yankees let three-run lead slip away

The division was clinched 10 days ago, home-field advantage was wrapped up on Friday night and everyone looks as healthy as they're going to get going into the playoffs. What the Yankees are looking for now is to get Derek Jeter a batting title.

Jeter rapped out three hits to thrust himself back into the American League batting race, pulling within a point of Minnesota's Joe Mauer, but the Yankees still fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5, on Saturday afternoon at the Stadium. With Jeter stuck at 96 RBIs, Joe Torre batted the shortstop third instead of in his usual leadoff spot, hoping for some production. Jeter went 3-for-3 with three singles, a walk and two runs scored. Continue

Win secures home-field edge for Yanks

The Yankees won their 50th home game of 2006 on Friday night, and if their performance against the Blue Jays is any indication of things to come, they could be giving the home fans a lot to cheer about in October.

New York's 7-2 victory, combined with losses by both Detroit and Minnesota, wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs for the Yankees. The AL's All-Star Game win secured home field for the league in the World Series, so the Bombers know that as long as they're playing in October, they will own the home-field edge the whole way. Continue

Yanks manage only one hit

After 16 runs and 18 hits the night before, the Yankees had to be prepared for just a little bit of a letdown Thursday night. Only they weren't expecting this. Baltimore's Daniel Cabrera held New York hitless for 8 1/3 innings, facing just three batters over the minimum as he finished with a one-hitter as the Yankees fell to the Orioles, 7-1, at Yankee Stadium.

Robinson Cano ended the no-hit bid with a single into left field with one out in the ninth, but it didn't help much as Bobby Abreu followed by hitting into a game-ending double play. Continue

New-look Yanks blast past O's

All season long, the Yankees have waited to put their best lineup out there. When they did, the Bronx Bombers showed just how devastating this new version of Murderer's Row can be. The new-look Yankees -- finally able to bat the likes of Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu at the same time -- pounded out 18 hits, including a season-high five home runs, en route to a long, but easy 16-5 win over the Orioles on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Just how good was this lineup? The No. 8 hitter, Jorge Posada, came in with 20 home runs and 85 RBIs, and No. 9 hitter Robinson Cano was hitting .343 and battling for the American League batting title. Continue