Yankees baseball blog

Yankees drop second straight, trounced by Tigers at home

Maybe, Phil Hughes said, the time off will be enough to get his body healthy and also clear his mind of "all the negative stuff" that has sprouted from his poor start. Whatever the case, in what has rapidly become a theme for this Yankee season, Hughes is headed to the disabled list, which temporarily answers the question of whether he has pitched well enough to stay in the rotation.

But on the same night that Hughes' status was settled - for now, anyway - the Yanks' rotation stalwart failed them. Andy Pettitte gave up homers to ex-Yankee Marcus Thames and Placido Polanco and blew a two-run lead in the Yankees' 6-2 loss to Detroit in front of 49,513 at the Stadium. Polanco later added a second homer off Kyle Farnsworth, prompting boos from the fans who stuck around. Continue

Game 4 loss ends Yankees' season

The Yankees machine was assembled eight months ago with this stage and opportunity in mind, from the very minute Legends Field welcomed its first guest of the spring. More than ever, with a title drought running up against seven seasons, the Yankees gathered intent on playing deep into October, stumbling out of the gate but developing into baseball's best team leading into the playoffs.

Yet, against a hungry Indians club, the Yankees finally ran out of steam, outplayed in a four-game American League Division Series that will surely bring edits to the mission plan. The Yankees' season concluded on Monday with a 6-4 loss in ALDS Game 4. Continue

Yanks lose 6-4, division series 3-1

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Damon helps Yankees force Game 4

Backs against the wall and a manager under the gun, Johnny Damon and the Yankees came out swinging in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Sunday night, not ready to call it a season just yet.

Damon connected for a game-changing three-run homer and rookies Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain bailed out an injured Roger Clemens on Sunday, forcing Monday's ALDS Game 4 with an 8-4 victory over the Indians. "We know we have to come out and play well," Damon said. "There's a lot on the line. We're playing for our manager that we love. We're playing for fans that we love. So we'd like to prolong the season as long as we can." Continue

Yanks lose in 11, in 0-2 ALDS hole

Travis Hafner's bases-loaded single off Luis Vizcaino lifted the Indians to a 2-1 victory over the Yankees in 11 innings on Friday, giving Cleveland a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

The winning hit came after Mariano Rivera weaved through two innings, hoping to stall the Tribe. Instead, the Yankees can do little but prepare for Game 3 on Sunday in New York, their backs against the wall in a 2-0 hole and looking to Roger Clemens for a bail out of what would be their third consecutive ALDS exit.

As if facing Fausto Carmona in the middle of an electric nine-inning performance wasn't enough, the Yankees followed starter Andy Pettitte's gritty effort with an undoing that began with the help of -- of all things -- swarms of gnats. Continue

Wang falters as Yanks drop Game 1

Fighting from behind has been a familiar situation for the Yankees this year. If they want to keep their postseason alive, they'll need to get right back in that mode. Chien-Ming Wang had little to work with, and the brightest stars of the Yankees lineup went dark as New York slogged through an underwhelming 12-3 defeat to the Indians, dropping Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday.

Managing just four hits in all -- and none off the bats of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada or Hideki Matsui -- the Yankees lost for the first time to Cleveland this season, adding unwanted emphasis to every inning ahead in the best-of-five ALDS. Continue

Yankees close season with win

On the 162nd day, there was rest. After an emotionally draining season, the Yankees took a more relaxed approach Sunday as the team's stars took their final bow in a 10-4 victory against the Orioles. "The guys have played a lot of innings -- a lot of stressful innings -- in the second half of the year," third baseman Alex Rodriguez said. "It's good to get your mind and body rested."

It was the team's final game before Thursday's playoff opener against Cleveland. Rodriguez received the loudest ovation from the Yankees fans in Baltimore when he was removed from the game in the fourth inning, but inside the dugout the biggest cheers went to Bobby Abreu, who picked up his 100th RBI of the season in the fourth inning. Continue

Big inning propels Yanks to win

The Yankees didn't play a baseball game on Saturday night so much as they put on a show. The team put on a display of offensive fireworks for the near-sellout crowd as it defeated the Orioles, 11-10, in a game that had no playoff implications.

Winning took a backseat to offense, and though it was a close game, the team never felt the pressure to put it away. "Late in the game, you sit there and realize it's a two-run game out of nowhere, but it was missing that feel," first baseman Shelley Duncan said. "But it made it a little easier for everybody. It was good for us." Continue

Yanks knocked out of East running

The Yankees have plenty of decisions to make as their first-round pairing with the Indians approaches next week. Fortunately for them, Mariano Rivera's place on the postseason roster is not one of the concerns.

The Yankees barely flinched when Rivera blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Friday, surrendering a bases-clearing triple to Jay Payton to tie the game before the Orioles pulled out a 10-9 victory in 10 innings at Camden Yards. The loss, combined with a Red Sox victory, ensured that the Yankees will settle for the American League Wild Card, snapping their string of nine consecutive division titles. Continue

Yanks take Rays set, close gap in East

For all the hoopla of the night before, Thursday's series finale at Tropicana Field was a bit anticlimactic. Neither Derek Jeter nor Alex Rodriguez were in the lineup. Bobby Abreu, Jorge Posada, Doug Mientkiewicz and Melky Cabrera were likewise absent. The message from this was clear: With a division title possible but no longer likely, New York was going to rest its big names for what it hopes will be a long postseason journey.

"It's kind of a testament to the type of team we are," said starter Phil Hughes. "I think when you go up against a guy who's had a really good year and he's a good pitcher, just the fact that we didn't roll over [was a positive], because it would've been really easy to do the night after we clinched a playoff spot." Continue

Yanks clinch 13th straight playoff berth

Celebrate! The Yankees popped the corks and sprayed some bubbly on Wednesday, clinching their 13th consecutive postseason appearance with a 12-4 victory over the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field. The blowout win finalized a memorable climb out of the depths of desperation. New York sat a season-low eight games under .500 on May 29 but morphed into the best team in the Major Leagues after that point, leading all clubs in wins and winning percentage to rally back into contention.

Yankees manager Joe Torre could not contain his emotion in addressing the players on his roster, who credited him for helping the team escape its early malaise. Probable American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez said that Torre was the reason the Yankees were dousing each other with expensive green bottles, and captain Derek Jeter wondered if 2007 will ultimately prove to be Torre's finest season at the helm. Continue

Lost lead delays Yanks' celebration

The Yankees' charge back to relevance has been filled with unexpected battles. It somehow seemed appropriate that they'd fight one more before tasting sweet celebration. Dioner Navarro hit a game-winning home run off Jeff Karstens in the bottom of the 10th inning on Tuesday at Tropicana Field, lifting the Devil Rays to a 7-6 victory over the Yankees and postponing the potential clinching of New York's 13th consecutive postseason appearance.

"Everybody wants to get it over with; everybody wants to move on to the next season," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But we still have a little work to do. It became a little tougher to do, because we let one get away from us." Continue

Yankees lose ground in home finale

The Yankees' final home game of the regular season was not printed on any of the original pocket schedules, thrown in as a makeup of an April 25 rainout. The last-minute spirit of the matchup showed.

Though it was the Blue Jays who had their starting pitcher scratched on Monday, the Yankees were the ones unable to get going. Andy Pettitte's offense couldn't bail him out of a rough second inning, as the Yankees put home game No. 81 into the books with a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

"You could definitely tell it was a makeup game, let's put it that way," Pettitte said. "We just weren't able to get much going. Their guy threw the ball well, and unfortunately, I gave up those three runs early. That was really the ballgame." Continue

Mussina tops Jays for third straight win

Every victory moves the Yankees closer to wrapping up yet another postseason berth. Over his last three starts, Mike Mussina has put forth a convincing case to be part of it. Making his third start since returning to the starting rotation, Mussina moved closer to locking up a potential playoff start, helping the Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the Blue Jays on Sunday. Mussina held Toronto scoreless in six of the seven innings he pitched, with the exception of a three-run blip in the second.

Mussina scattered seven hits and struck out five to pick up his 11th victory, winning his third consecutive start. The right-hander walked one and struck out five as the Yankees once again closed to within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox -- who lost, 5-4, to the Devil Rays -- in the AL East pennant race. Continue

Yanks outlast Jays in 10 innings

Just after the Yankees and Blue Jays finished swapping 23 runs, 35 hits and untold amounts of energy and frustration on Saturday afternoon, a common fatigue settled over the home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium. It was a satisfying kind of tired -- after all, the Yankees had erased three deficits, slapped together a how-to guide on resiliency, and ultimately prevailed. That takes a lot out of you.

That is, unless you've already had time to recharge. "I've been in here for like four hours," said a wired Phil Hughes, fully iced, dressed and showered long before the game's end. "I'll have a little more energy for tomorrow. Continue

Yankees lose ground with loss in 14th

The Yankees were pleased to scoreboard-watch from afar as the Blue Jays lent a helping hand toward securing the American League East this week, beating up on the visiting Red Sox north of the border.

But as they found out on Friday, the Blue Jays seem to be relishing their spoiler role, no matter who they play. Gregg Zaun's 14th-inning home run off Brian Bruney tipped the scales in the Yankees' longest game of the season, lifting Toronto to a 5-4 victory at New York. "They've been tough on us all year -- Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay," said Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon. "Why? We don't know. They play us so much that they don't fear the Yankees. They have a pretty good scouting report on us." Continue

Pettitte gets 200, Yanks close in on Sox

Andy Pettitte stayed strong into the eighth inning to log his 200th career win and help the Yankees get a series sweep of the Orioles on Wednesday, securing a 2-1 victory and gaining important ground on October.

Pettitte scattered seven hits and fanned four in a 104-pitch performance, becoming just the 27th left-hander in big league history to reach the 200-victory plateau. He jogged off the field and tipped his cap to the standing crowd of 53,847 after recording the second out of the eighth inning. The effort kept the Yankees' spirits rolling on the way to their 12th win in 14 games. Closing in on a playoff spot, New York moved 5 1/2 up over Detroit in the American League Wild Card race. Continue

Mussina stars as Yanks inch closer

In the darkest moments of Mike Mussina's rotation exile, he pondered his baseball mortality, admitting that he had only a finite amount of time remaining in clubhouses. Yet as bad as Mussina's worst three starts were, he was convinced that he still had it in him to be better. For the second straight start, Mussina proved it on Tuesday, shutting the Orioles out for seven innings in a 12-0 Yankees victory that carried important playoff implications.

"I wasn't ready to be the pitcher that I was there for a while," Mussina said. "I wasn't ready to do that yet. I had to figure out what was going on. Fortunately, we got things going in the right direction." Continue

Hughes helps Yankees gain on Sox

Phil Hughes strives to undress every situation to its most basic core. When he's on the mound, he sees a batter trying to crush his every pitch into dust. All of them have the same goal, so he treats them all the same.

Say it's Spring Training and he's facing an unknown Minor Leaguer. All Hughes sees is a batter trying to belt whatever pitch he throws. Or picture some lazy day in July, just another random moment in a never-ending season. The broad canvas has changed, but in that moment, all any batter wants to do is drill a Hughes pitch as far as he can. Continue

Jeter's homer lifts Yankees at Fenway

Was there a better way for the Yankees and Red Sox to complete their season series? How much more of a tease could you ask for? And wouldn't you like to see these two teams play just one more time? In the end, the Yankees' final regular-season game at Fenway Park on Sunday night came down to one Mariano Rivera pitch. With the bases loaded and two outs, the high pop off of David Ortiz's dangerous bat came to rest safely in Derek Jeter's glove, securing a 4-3 New York victory.

Jeter pumped his left fist emphatically, his go-ahead eighth-inning home run secure as the margin of victory. Boston cursed. New York exhaled. Nothing's ever easy for the Yankees in New England. Continue

Wang outdone by Beckett in Boston

On an afternoon when Josh Beckett freely gassed batters with swing-and-miss stuff, the more soft-spoken Chien-Ming Wang was unable to make much of a statement. While Beckett three-hit the Yankees over seven innings, Wang -- also a front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award -- had his troubles with the Red Sox, taking the loss in a 10-1 Yankees defeat on Saturday afternoon.

"You know, it wasn't one of his great days," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "What can I say? Beckett was great. He came at us and kept coming at us, and we couldn't mount any kind of offense." Continue

Yanks stun Red Sox with six-run eighth

Joe Torre's refrain has been that no game can be considered over in Fenway Park -- not with its intimate dimensions, angular quirks and a propensity to lend itself to magical comebacks. For seven innings, the Yankees were as done as a team can possibly be on Yawkey Way. But in the span of seven batters, New York rallied for six runs, taking an 8-7 advantage for a stunning come-from-behind victory against the cream of Boston's bullpen.

"I think it's the biggest win of the year, certainly," said Alex Rodriguez, who delivered the go-ahead hit off closer Jonathan Papelbon. "It's definitely a character builder. It gives us a lot of confidence, coming into a place like this and being down five runs late in the game with their bullpen. It's good character." Continue

Kennedy stars, but Yanks' streak ends

At this stage of Ian Kennedy's young career, every start is an opportunity to try out new approaches, test his limits and see what outcomes he might have to deal with. No one was expecting Kennedy to throw seven innings of one-hit ball. Once he did, few would have predicted it would end up in a Yankees loss.

Frank Thomas' ninth-inning single off reliever Chris Britton scored Alex Rios with the winning run as the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees on Thursday, 2-1, snapping New York's seven-game winning streak and spoiling Kennedy's terrific third Major League start. Continue

Mussina lifts Yanks to seventh straight

The Yankees have not committed to churning out a six-man rotation down the stretch of their playoff push. Yet Mike Mussina may have given them an option to think about. Rebounding from a horrid skid that saw the veteran right-hander grudgingly take up residence in the bullpen, Mussina took the path to redemption on Wednesday, pitching 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in the Yankees' 4-1 victory over the Blue Jays. With the win, New York kept a four-game lead over Detroit in the American League Wild Card race.

"I think I just reminded them that I'm still here and I think I can still pitch," Mussina said. "Hopefully, the guys making those decisions will give me a chance to get back out there a couple of more times." Continue

Hughes keeps Yanks streaking

Manager Joe Torre sat within a cramped, concrete office at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, allowing himself a smile of temporary content. Finally, his long-held personal goal of 20 games over .500 had been achieved. That significant marker of October premonitions, voiced for months by Torre in dugouts across America under far bleaker circumstances, finally came to light.

Jason Giambi hit a grand slam, Jorge Posada also homered and Phil Hughes turned in six strong innings as the Yankees won their sixth straight, downing the Blue Jays, 9-2. Continue

A-Rod's 52nd helps Wang win 18th

Often overshadowed by his own teammates and several other high-profile starting pitchers, Chien-Ming Wang sometimes hasn't received due credit for his results. But Yankees manager Joe Torre said he considers Wang "one of the big guys," someone who is a true ace. "But there is always somebody else that is going to get more attention than him," Torre said.

That may still be true after Sunday's performance, but Wang's results are necessitating as much publicity and discussion regarding the Cy Young Award as several of the American League's elite pitchers, including Johan Santana, Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia. Wang tossed seven innings of three-run ball on Sunday and earned the win in the Yankees' 6-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Continue

A-Rod's two homers carry Yankees

Alex Rodriguez believes that the Yankees won't reach first place if key rookies and veterans don't produce impressive results. But Rodriguez believes it's the rookies' and veterans' attitudes that also figure prominently into the Yankees' American League Wild Card lead.

The attitude and results came together in an 11-5 win over the Royals on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium. Performances by Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte, both veterans, stood out in the victory. But it was the continued production of several young players, including Wilson Betemit and Melky Cabrera, that helped the Yankees score seven runs in the sixth inning. Continue

A-Rod hits 49th as Yanks top Royals

The Yankees offense pounded out nine hits and yielded 13 baserunners. Alex Rodriguez hit another homer. Ian Kennedy worked five solid innings. Joba Chamberlain recorded six outs. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth. It was a complete effort from many key players, an effort that had to produce a victory.

It did, as New York beat Kansas City, 3-2, on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. "We went to the bank a lot today," manager Joe Torre said. "Unless you win this game, it hurts. These are games you need to win if you expect to play next month." Continue

A-Rod smacks two homers in Yanks' win

Alex Rodriguez insisted that he could play, even as his sprained and bruised right ankle had him limping through the Yankee Stadium clubhouse corridors. It was a good thing the Yankees listened.

Rodriguez found an easier route around the bases twice, connecting for a pair of home runs in the Yankees' eight-run seventh inning on Wednesday. A-Rod's Major League-leading 47th and 48th blasts of the campaign comfortably helped lift the Yankees to a 10-2 victory over the Mariners. Continue

Wang's 17th extends Wild Card lead

There's no denying how much the Yankees need strong pitching performances every night, and there's no cheapening how valuable an ace like Chien-Ming Wang can be. But when the offense is clicking, it's hard to imagine that any of that might matter.

Wang allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings against the Mariners, guiding the Yankees to a 12-3 win and pushing their American League Wild Card edge back to two games on Tuesday. And while the Yankees needed that dominance early, they weren't quite as dependent on it later, after the offense awoke for three runs in the sixth inning and seven more in the seventh to blast open the game. Continue

Clemens can't keep Mariners away

Just like in the 2003 American League Championship Series, Mike Mussina came out of the bullpen and followed an ineffective start by Roger Clemens. But the outcome was different in Monday's relief reprise, as the Mariners kept their advantage to post a 7-1 victory over the Yankees.

After Clemens was lifted due to right elbow discomfort, an injury that the Yankees believe will force the 45-year-old right-hander to miss at least his next start, Mussina seized the afternoon's opportunity to make his pitch for a fill-in role. Continue

Yanks drop finale against Rays

Working out of a bases-loaded jam with only one run scoring in the sixth inning deposited a flash of fire in Andy Pettitte's eyes, his firm glare telling the Yankees' bench to stand clear. Unfortunately for Pettitte, Carlos Pena didn't obey. The first baseman slugged a game-changing three-run homer and the Devil Rays blasted out an 8-2 victory over the Yankees, snapping Pettitte's six-start winning streak.

For Pettitte, the Pena home run came on his 119th and final pitch of the afternoon. Though Yankees manager Joe Torre later admitted that the team had tried to grind toward a better outcome by having Pettitte start the new inning with 103 pitches, the left-hander had no regrets for taking on the seventh inning. Continue

Hughes, offense struggle in loss to Rays

With the good vibes of a Red Sox sweep still floating over Yankee Stadium on Friday night, there wasn't much that the Yankees -- the proud owners of a shiny new American League Wild Card lead -- could have done to spoil the mood. Other than lose, that is.

And lose they did, 9-1, at the hands of the Devil Rays -- the last-place Devil Rays, who have managed to salvage almost half the games they've played against their AL East superiors this season. Tampa Bay won this game as much as New York lost it, which isn't much consolation. Continue

Wang twirls gem to sink Sox

Chien-Ming Wang took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Robinson Cano homered twice, leading the Yankees past the Red Sox on Thursday, 5-0, completing a series sweep at Yankee Stadium. One day after Roger Clemens took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Wang did one better, bringing the game into the seventh inning with the suddenly-dormant Boston offense still holding a zero in the hit column, but not off the bases.

The right-hander, in command of his sinker and slider, walked four batters but was able to escape the big hit, including garnering a little defensive help from an unlikely source -- first baseman Jason Giambi, who dove to his right to stab a Dustin Pedroia shot to end the third inning. Mike Lowell broke up the no-no bid with a single to right, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Continue

Clemens stifles Sox; Yanks pull closer

Strange as it may seem, the upper-deck home run that David Ortiz slugged to break up Roger Clemens' no-hit bid in the sixth inning on Wednesday may have been a relief. With the Rocket's stylish reintroduction to the Red Sox requiring a hearty pitch count, Ortiz's delivered souvenir actually wound up saving the Yankees a difficult decision in the later innings of New York's 4-3 win over Boston.

Instead of having to ask Clemens to push in search of his first career no-hitter -- one of the few achievements the 45-year-old right-hander still has yet to experience -- the Yankees settled for six innings of one-run ball. Alex Rodriguez homered, and Mariano Rivera's four-out save capped the effort to secure New York's second win of the homestand. Continue

Damon's late homer burns Red Sox

The freshness Johnny Damon feels in his legs has carried him across the outfield for weeks, showing the sort of renewed life that has the Yankees convinced that he can and should be a regular outfielder.

Sure, Damon's vertical leap might still need a little work. But it wouldn't matter later, as Damon got just enough of a pitch to put the Yankees back on top. One half-inning after Damon couldn't corral a home run ball in left field, the outfielder slugged a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh, helping lift the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday night. Continue

Early homers cost Yankees in Detroit

Phil Hughes inched off the mound, his curveball not particularly well struck and searching for a left-field landfall. As a final lunge of desperation sent Hideki Matsui's cap floating to the grass, Hughes could do little but try to keep moving.

Curtis Granderson's inside-the-park home run started the afternoon poorly, but it was a pair of deeper blasts by Carlos Guillen and Marcus Thames that really spoiled Hughes' day at Comerica Park. The homers helped the Tigers edge the Yankees on Sunday, 5-4. "I knew right from the start that it was going to be a day I needed to battle," Hughes said. Continue

Timely hitting gives Wang win No. 15

As a rainy marathon inched past midnight and into the early-morning hours, the Yankees literally had to shoo Chien-Ming Wang from the dugout bench at Comerica Park, urging him to flag down a hotel-bound cab and rest.

Begrudgingly, Wang left his teammates and had to later be filled in on the sour details of an extra-inning loss to the Tigers. But the Yankees were glad that he had, especially as Wang pitched eight strong innings and put a win on the board on Saturday night. Wang allowed two runs (one earned) in a performance that showcased the best of his arsenal, Johnny Damon flashed new life with a home run and Melky Cabrera legged out a three-run triple as the Yankees defeated the Tigers, 7-2. Continue

Yankees left empty-handed in Detroit

Carlos Guillen's three-run homer off reliever Sean Henn in the 11th inning lifted the Tigers to a 9-6 victory over the Yankees in a soggy Friday evening affair that spilled deep into Saturday morning. Henn, the seventh New York pitcher of the evening, opened the 11th by striking out Curtis Granderson but issued a full-count walk to Placido Polanco.

Polanco was picked off by catcher Jose Molina, but Sean Casey singled to center and Magglio Ordonez dropped a single into shallow right. Guillen followed by blasting a 1-2 slider over the left-field wall for his 18th home run. "I thought it was a decent pitch when it left my hand," Henn said. "He must have, too."  Continue

Pettitte thumbs aside Angels

Andy Pettitte was the stopper once more for the Yankees' Southern California troubles, logging his fifth consecutive victory by posting an 8-2 victory over the Angels on Wednesday.

Behind Pettitte's seven innings of one-run ball, the Yankees salvaged the finale of a three-game series at Angel Stadium, moving back within five games of the Red Sox in the AL East and 1 1/2 games behind the Mariners in the AL Wild Card race. "Andy knows when it's important for us to win, but every time he goes to the mound it's important for him to win," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This game was enormously important." Continue

Mussina sets tone in humbling loss

Mike Mussina led a parade of Yankees pitchers into the path of Garret Anderson's career night. Some three hours later, it ended with a deflating 18-9 Yankees loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

Anderson hit a grand slam and a three-run homer as part of a four-hit, 10-RBI night, serving as the Angels' most damaging offensive performer. The home team called it a historic night, scoring its highest total of runs in a game against the Yankees, while Mussina simply called it "awful." "It's tough to take," Mussina said. "I think that was in the top-five worst games of my career, right there. When you can't throw strikes, it really hurts. When I was throwing strikes, they were hitting them." Continue

Bullpen spoils Yanks' clutch homers

The Angels have been a thorn in the Yankees' collective side, and there isn't much of a secret left to explain why. For years, Mike Scioscia's club has nipped away with aggressive play and persistence.

That familiar formula worked once more at Angel Stadium on Monday, as little-known backstop Ryan Budde connected for a game-winning hit off Sean Henn in the bottom of the 10th inning. The decisive blow led the Angels past the Yankees in dramatic fashion, 7-6. "They play one way, with a great deal of passion," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We do, too. Today's a day when you flip a coin." Continue

Win leaves Yankees feeling youthful

Three lockers separated the cubbyholes that belong to Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez. The two relievers stood upright, the lines on their faces shifting as they listened, spoke and grinned. Packs of reporters, print and broadcast, encircled the pair of pitchers. They had just dazzled a Sunday crowd of 55,071 at Yankee Stadium, combining to help seal a 9-3 win over the Tigers.

Chamberlain stood with a massive sling of ice wrapped over his arm and around his stomach, coloring his skin a shade of red where it touched him and adding to the already thoroughbred look branded from head to toe on his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame. Continue

Four-run sixth gives Rocket the win

It was hatched on the back fields of a sunny complex in Tampa, Fla., some four years ago, a reaction play designed to catch opposing baserunners off guard. Even the Yankees wound up being caught by surprise. Roger Clemens pitched six strong innings and flashed some trickery in pulling off a spiffy infield double play. Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada also homered as the Yankees defeated the Tigers on Saturday, 5-2. "It changed the whole game," Posada said. "It's just one of those things where you try to catch somebody off guard. We did."  Continue

Giambi, Pettitte take Yanks past Tigers

Spending two months out of the Yankees' lineup could have jogged Jason Giambi's perspective a little bit. Then again, it was nothing he hadn't seen before.

On a night when Giambi slugged two home runs, including one of his trademark upper-deck variety, Andy Pettitte reassumed his position as the stalwart of the Yankees rotation. The left-hander pitched eight strong innings to lead New York past the Tigers on Friday, 6-1, keeping the Yankees a half-game behind Seattle in the American League Wild Card race and five games behind Boston in the AL East. Continue

Mussina struggles as Yanks tripped

The Yankees' previous encounter with the Tigers resulted in the season's premature ending. The rematch may be a warning against the same. Facing Detroit for the first time since last year's American League Division Series, the Yankees were down and out early. Carlos Guillen hit a first-inning grand slam and Mike Mussina never recovered, suffering an 8-5 defeat in the opener of a four-game series Thursday.

The Yankees, baseball's winningest team in the second half, lost for the third consecutive game and slipped a half-game behind the idle Seattle Mariners in the AL Wild Card race. Continue

Duncan's late homer can't save Yanks

The Yankees can grow accustomed to Shelley Duncan coming through in key spots. They'll never get used to Mariano Rivera floundering in them. Duncan crushed a game-tying three-run homer off Jamie Walker with two outs in the ninth inning, but Rivera gave up three runs in the top of the 10th as the Yankees fell to the Orioles on Wednesday, 6-3.

"It hurts," said Rivera, who suffered his fourth loss. "The team is giving me the opportunity to pitch. They need me to be able to hold them and come back and score. I wasn't able to do that. It's bad." Rivera blew a save in the series opener on Monday, but Baltimore's hits were more of the bloop and bleeder variety. Not so on Wednesday, as Rivera was hit hard. Continue

Yankees routed by Orioles

The first five innings were the preview, like a trailer for a movie. The snapshots were enticing. Aubrey Huff smacks a grand slam; Daniel Cabrera dominates New York's powerhouse offense. But this game may have revealed itself in the fullest in the sixth inning, a script that started with Robinson Cano botching a throw for an error. From there, it just got uglier.

The box score shows that a Nick Markakis double came next, but the 52,567 at Yankee Stadium saw that left fielder Hideki Matsui misjudged Markakis' line drive, running a few steps in before retreating to the wall to retrieve the ball. Continue

Yanks walk-off with fourth straight

The Yankees did without a quality effort from their ace starter, and were surprised to see their Hall of Fame closer once again turn mortal. By the end, it still didn't matter.

Melky Cabrera scored the winning run on Derek Jeter's ninth-inning dribbler Monday as the Yankees edged the Orioles, 7-6, bailing out ineffective performances from both Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees, baseball's best team since the All-Star break, haven't yet found a hurdle that can keep them down in the second half. New York's latest victory, opening a seven-game homestand, was its fourth straight. Continue

Pettitte sharp as Yanks finish off Tribe

Jason Giambi picked up where his teammates' bats left off, Andy Pettitte sustained the rotation's recent dominance and the Bombers continued to roll in a 5-3 victory over the Indians on Sunday. Giambi, making his second start since returning from the disabled list, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer that keyed an 11-hit attack. And Pettitte tossed 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball in winning for the fifth time in seven starts.

It all added up to a decisive sweep of Cleveland in front of a third straight sellout crowd at Jacobs Field, pushed the Yankees to 15 games over .500 (66-51) for the first time this season and kept New York tied atop the American League Wild Card race. Continue

Yanks continue to dominate Tribe

Pick your location: the Bronx or on the shores of Lake Erie. It doesn't matter. Show Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees the threads of Cleveland, and domination has ensued. So perhaps it came as no surprise that Rodriguez laced a pair of two-run homers and the Bombers shoved aside the American League Central's first-place Indians, 11-2, in front of 41,977 at Jacobs Field on Saturday night. The Yankees are now 5-0 against Cleveland this year, and A-Rod has left the park in all five games. Continue

A-Rod, Yanks back sharp Hughes

It's a strange prospect for the Yankees. A team that has relied on experience and big-money stars for much of the past decade have entrusted their playoff fortunes in the hands of two of the game's four-youngest pitchers. No pressure, kids.

Yet Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain are no ordinary 21-year-olds. And in the tension-filled atmosphere of a soldout Jacobs Field on Friday night, the pair showed just why they may be better stretch run options than any quick-fix trade deadline move could have offered in the Yankees' 6-1 dusting of first-place Cleveland. Continue

Wang knocked out early in loss to Jays

By the time the Yankees' three-game series against the Blue Jays came to an end, New York couldn't wait to get out of town, and that includes injured third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez sat out the Yankees' 15-4 loss to the Jays because of a sore right calf muscle. The injury occurred when he was hit on the right leg by a fastball from Toronto's Josh Towers on Tuesday night.

The Yankees slugger was approached by a group of reporters after Wednesday's game for an update on his injury. "Sore," Rodriguez abruptly said as he exited through the clubhouse doors. Continue

Tensions fuel Yanks' win over Jays

The Yankees came to Toronto thinking their feud with the Blue Jays was ancient history. Turns out, they were wrong. If revenge was on Toronto's mind, the Yankees certainly used it to their advantage.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was plunked in the back of the leg during the third inning causing two bench-clearing incidents and more than a 10-minute delay, but that's when things were just getting started for New York. Jorge Posada came to bat after things had finally calmed down and promptly hit a two-run double to left that helped set the tone for New York's 9-2 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night at Rogers Centre. Continue

Yankees movin' on up in AL Wild Card

A four-run sixth inning propelled the Yankees to a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

New York (62-50) sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth that helped turn the game around in the Yankees' favor. Jays starter Jesse Litsch had been cruising, allowing just one run through the first five frames, until he was chased from the game after allowing the first two Yankee batters he faced in the sixth to reach base. With the win, the Yankees are now in a virtual tie with the Tigers for first place atop the American League Wild Card standings. Continue

Surging Yankees complete sweep

First things first, right? Since the All-Star break, the Yankees rank first in batting average, first in home runs, first in runs scored, first in RBIs, first in on-base percentage and first in slugging percentage. And with their 8-5 win on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, the Bombers are 18-7 since the break.

In other words, first in wins. The Yankees sit a half-game behind the Tigers and Mariners for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race, and the AL East has tightened considerably since the Midsummer Classic. Continue

Matsui hits 100th homer in Yankees' win

Hideki Matsui hit his 100th Major League home run and Mike Mussina turned in a quality start as the Yankees beat the Royals, 8-5, on Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The three-game sweep of Kansas City improved New York's second-half record to 18-7, which ranks first in the Major Leagues. Melky Cabrera hit his seventh home run of the season, and he now has 11 hits in his last 31 at-bats. Bobby Abreu also continued his recent hitting tear, going 3-for-4 to raise his average to .286 on the season. Continue

Yanks hammer Royals on historic day

Alex Rodriguez's big swing may have blasted down the doors to the exclusive 500-home run club, but it also opened the Yankees' scoring on an afternoon when there was plenty to go around. Bobby Abreu homered and scored four runs on Saturday, while six different Yankees collected three or more hits for the first time in 64 years, framing Rodriguez's historic achievement around a 16-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

"On this club, we always have a lot of guys who certainly would be stars in their own right," said manager Joe Torre, whose Yankees have won five of six to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season. Continue

Wang wins 13th as A-Rod stays put

The urgency of Alex Rodriguez's chase for a home run has worn off. The Yankees are too busy putting runs on the scoreboard, with or without A-Rod. Robinson Cano homered for the third time in four games and Melky Cabrera contributed an unusual two-run infield ground-rule double, backing Chien-Ming Wang and helping the Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Royals on Friday.

The victory was the Yankees' fourth in five games against cellar-dwelling Kansas City, helping New York improve its record since the All-Star break to a Major League-best 16-7. Continue

Yankees rally, but fall to White Sox

It was a strange day in the Bronx, to be sure. A sweltering 94-degree Yankee Stadium housed a nearly four-hour game on Thursday afternoon, complete with a 16-run second inning, in which the Yankees didn't look quite like the team they've become recently.

Unlike their last two games against the White Sox, the Yankees couldn't pull ahead no matter how hard they tried. Though New York won the series, handing Chicago two blowout losses on Tuesday and Wednesday, the finale ended in an odd 13-9 defeat for the Bombers. Continue

Power surge ignites Yankees

Alex Rodriguez's home run pursuit may be stalled at 499, but the rest of his teammates have had little trouble pumping balls out of the park. One night after the Yankees tied a franchise record with eight home runs, Jorge Posada homered twice and led a five-homer New York charge, blasting through an 8-1 rout of the White Sox.

"Guys are picking me up," said Rodriguez, who is hitless in 21 at-bats since his last homer. "They're swinging the bats incredibly well, and you kind of just want to join the parade a little bit. The most important thing here is to win." Continue

Yanks make homer history in opener

Armed with a career .400 batting average against White Sox starter Jose Contreras, Alex Rodriguez seemed primed to join the 500-homer club on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. But instead, seven of his teammates went deep and tied a franchise record with eight home runs, equaling a feat set by the 1939 Bronx Bombers.

The accomplishment, which several White Sox players bantered about in the stadium tunnel after the game -- "We tied their record? Set in 19' what?" -- matched a club mark set in the first game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics on June 28, 1939. Continue

Wang strong enough to earn 12th win

The Yankees found themselves in yet another close game against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon, but this time, they found their collective stride at the plate late in the game to march to a 10-6 win. New York batted around in the eighth inning and awoke for five runs to avoid being swept for the first time in more than a month, while ending Baltimore's win streak at six games.

Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang worked six solid innings, holding the Orioles to three runs and inducing eight groundouts. Shortstop Luis Hernandez's two-run single in the third inning did most of the damage done against Wang, who improved to 12-5 on the season and won his ninth game in his last 12 tries. Continue

Ninth-inning rally not enough for Yanks

It wasn't Johnny Damon's night. With runners on first and second and no outs in the top of the ninth, Damon stepped to the plate with the Yankees in the middle of a furious comeback. Trailing by six entering the frame, New York had put together a three-run rally, highlighted by a two-run homer by catcher Jorge Posada, and Damon had a chance to tie the game.

But instead, the Yanks' designated hitter bounced into a double play, his second of the night and of the entire season, and all but sealed the team's third straight defeat, a 7-5 loss at Camden Yards on Saturday. Damon, one of two players in the Majors who hadn't hit into a double play this year, went 0-for-4 with a walk and, along with the struggling bullpen, fell victim to the Orioles for the sixth time in eight games this season. Continue

Yanks can't get big hit against Guthrie

The chances were there, but the hits weren't. Despite putting 10 runners on base and advancing five of them to third base, New York couldn't come up with a timely hit Friday and lost the series-opening game, 4-2, to the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Center fielder Melky Cabrera drove in a run in the second inning with his fifth triple of the season, and second baseman Robinson Cano singled in a run in the sixth. But after Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie exited the game after six innings of work, the Yankees notched only one hit against four Orioles relievers and lost their second straight game. Continue

Rivera works around trouble in win

After waiting for almost a month, the Yankees could finally say they won. New York put the finishing touches on a game that was suspended due to rain June 28 by playing the final two innings at Camden Yards on Friday and completing an 8-7 victory.

Left-handed reliever Mike Myers faced two batters, walking one, in the eighth inning, and then closer Mariano Rivera took over to earn his 16th save of the season. Rivera allowed three hits and a run in the ninth inning, but was able to narrowly escape with a one-run win. Continue

Igawa's struggles continue in loss

The Yankees' plan to continue using their fifth starter, which means that Kei Igawa could have one more chance to impress. He didn't take advantage Thursday. With top prospect Phil Hughes gaining steam in his rehab and nearing a projected return, Igawa struggled yet again, allowing five runs to the Kansas City Royals as the Yankees fell Thursday at Kauffman Stadium, 7-0, ending a six-game winning streak.

"I haven't been able to make gains, and that's very frustrating," Igawa said. "I have to look at this and move forward." Alex Rodriguez went homereless, remaining at No. 499 for his career. Continue