Happy Saturday afternoon, Yankee fans!

Here are some stories for you to read about the boys in Pinstripes:

• George King of the New York Post writes about Eduardo Nunez‘s new arm motion. It seems the Yankees realized something needed to change – um, duh? – and that it wasn’t Nunez’s range, it was his throwing arm. Well, yes.
• Nunez tweeted this message late last night: “God bless me on this new season so I can show people that talk bad about me that they are wrong!” In other words, “Suck it, haters.”
• Phil Hughes may throw as soon as tomorrow – he’s been cleared to play catch – and may be back and pitching by March 14. Hooray!
• Dave D’Alessandro of the Star-Ledger writes about Robinson Cano‘s 2013 and the expectations Cano will be facing as he inches toward his new contract. I hope Cano has a typical, out of his mind type of contract year. That would be fun for us to watch.
• This piece by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News talks about how some Yankee fans are still not ready to accept Kevin Youkilis into their Yankee fan arms. Well, my advice to them is suck it up and get over it already. Youkilis is a Yankee, you can’t do anything about it so stop acting like petulant children.
• According to Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog, Melky Mesa has pulled out of the WBC.

And finally, today’s lineup against the Tigers:

Gardner CF
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Youkilis 3B
Hafner DH
Diaz LF
Nix SS
Stewart C

Nova RHP

The pitchers also scheduled to pitch in today’s game are: Rapada, Aardsma, Kelley, Montgomery, Daley and Rondon.

The game will be on the YES Network at 1:00 p.m.

Well, that was fun and scary.

First it was scary. Then it was fun. So let’s skip the scary stuff, shall we?

The game was tied 2-2 going into the ninth inning.

Close games are Baltimore’s ‘bread and butter’ so to speak – they were 29-9 in one-run games this season and if the Yankees were going to score, their fans would prefer for them to score more than once.

They didn’t let the fans down.

Russell Martin started things off with a solo home run on a 2-0 pitch from Jim Johnson.

Yes, the Orioles brought their closer into a tie game. It didn’t pay off for them.

Raul Ibanez, Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki all followed with singles. Ibanez was replaced by Eduardo Nunez when he made it to third and when Ichiro hit his infield single, Nunez scored easily, putting the Yankees up 4-2.

They weren’t done.

Alex Rodriguez struck out but Robinson Cano came up and after started the night 0-4, he belted a double into left field which scored Jeter and Ichiro. Cano reached third on a throwing error by JJ Hardy.

The Yankees were up 6-2.

Buck Showalter replaced Johnson with Tommy Hunter and Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Cano.

The score was 7-2, Yankee fans were thrilled and Oriole fans were filing out of Camden Yards.

Sabathia came out in the bottom of the ninth, trying to get a complete game. He started things off by inducing a ground ball out from Manny Machado, then striking out Chris Davis.

After getting two strikes on Lew Ford, Sabathia surrendered a double to Ford and was taken out of the game.

Joe Girardi brought David Robertson in and he – Robertson, not Girardi – got Ryan Flaherty to strike out on a foul pitch to end the game.

Yankees win and guarantee at least a split in Baltimore.

Sabathia only gave up two earned runs on eight hits, walked one batter and struck out seven on 120 pitches.

Some facts from @yestoresearch:

• Derek Jeter now with 55 multi-hit postseason games, adding to his MLB record.
• This is the 8th ALDS Game 1 in which the Yankees scored 7 runs or more. (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012)
• Yankees with 5-run 9th in postseason for first time since they put 6 on the Red Sox in Game 4 of 1999 ALCS.  It was tied 2-2 then too.

STOP DOING THIS TO ME

I think the Yankees may be trying to kill me or at least make me age at least 3-5 years every game they play this week.

This easily could have been one of those games, you know, the kind that makes you want to punch holes in your walls. And it actually was heading in that direction when the Jays took a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning. Phil Hughes was taken out of the game after surrendering all five runs on eight hits. He walked two batters, struck out four and gave up a home run. Yes, I know, shocker.

Derek Lowe came into the game to stop the bleeding and actually did what he was supposed to do. He pitched 1.2 innings of no-hit, no-run ball. Boone Logan also did his job by getting a left handed batter out and then even got a right handed batter out!

Amazing!

The Yankees scored one run in the sixth inning thanks to a Henderson Alvarez wild pitch which scored Nick Swisher from third. That pulled the Yankees to within three.

When the seventh inning started, two moves were made. Toronto replaced Alvarez with Brett Cecil and Joe Girardi pinch hit Eduardo Nunez in place of Eric Chavez.

The Yankees won that move when Nunez singled to start the inning.

Next, Toronto brought in Steve Delabar who promptly gave up a ground rule double to Derek Jeter to put runners on second and third with no outs. Ichiro Suzuki hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 5-3.

In one of the biggest at bats of the year, Alex Rodriguez, worked a walk against Delabar to put runners on first and second with one out.

Robinson Cano stepped in and hit his 46th double of the year which scored Jeter and pulled the Yankees to within one run, 5-4.

Toronto, once again made a pitching change, this time bringing in Aaron Loup who added his own wild pitch which scored Rodriguez from third to tie the game at 5-5.

Just as things were getting good for the Yankees, Nick Swisher lined into a bad luck double play to end the inning.

Still, the Yankees came all the way back to tie the game. Momentum seemed to be on their side.

After Lowe and Logan combined to pitch a scoreless bottom of the seventh the Yankees made things happen in the eighth. They scored two more runs thanks to a walk, a single, a sac bunt, a sac fly and a single. The run scoring sac fly was hit by Nunez and the single by Jeter.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth and the Yankees came up big again in the top of the ninth.

Rodriguez singled, Cano singled and Swisher walked to load the bases against Jason Frasor. Then Curtis Granderson hit a rocket down the right field line for a double which scored both Rodriguez and Cano. The Yankees went up 9-5.

Now, you didn’t think things would end all nice and tidy with a 1-2-3 inning by Rafael Soriano, did you? Come on, kids. You know better than that.

Soriano had to make it so scary that most Yankee fans were looking for brown paper bags to breathe into. He gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs.

Then by the grace of God or some other force of nature, Soriano got Yunel Escobar to ground into a double play. Yes, a run was given up but hey, I’d give up one run for two outs any day of the week. Especially with a four-run lead.

Thankfully, he got Adam Lind to ground out to second to end the game.

Untuck, Yankees win, all that jazz, breathe in, breathe out…

So the Yankees are still tied for a share of first place in the American League East because there was no way Baltimore was losing to Boston because Boston is absolutely horrible.

Anyway, hold onto your butts Yankee fans, these final three games are going to be frightening.

(Apologies for the late recap. I was actually at the game and then watched some football when I got home.)

I had a good feeling heading into the Bronx today. I was riding a two-game personal losing streak and I was sure Hiroki Kuroda would put a stop to it.

After he recorded six strike outs for his first six outs of the game, my good feeling remained.

Thanks to timely – and in Russell Martin’s case – explosive hitting, the Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 in the third inning against Rays starter Matt Moore.

When the Rays answered with one run of their own in the top of the fourth, thanks to a solo shot by Ben Zobrist – his 17th of the year, the Yankees came right back and scored another run. This time it was aided by an error by Moore who overthrew the first bag allowed Eduardo Nunez to reach. With Derek Jeter at the plate, Nunez stole both second and third. After Jeter worked a walk and Nick Swisher popped out, Rodriguez hit a ball to the right field wall. Sam Fuld made a nice grab but Nunez was able to score on the sac fly putting the Yankees up 6-1.

And it may have gotten a little dicey in the sixth when the Rays cut the lead to 6-4, thanks to two walks and two singles, I still felt like the Yankees were going to win. Kuroda was able to get out of the inning by striking out BJ Upton who ended up finishing the day with four strikeouts.

Kuroda pitched six full innings, gave up four runs on four hits, walked two and struck out 10. It was his 14th win of the year – a career high. It was also his third career 10+ strikeout game – two have been with the Yankees.

Boone Logan, David Phelps, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano combined for three innings of scoreless ball with Soriano recording his 40th save of the season. Soriano became the fourth Yankee closer to record 40 saves in a season. He joins Dave Righetti (1986), John Wetteland (1996) & Mariano Rivera – who has done it eight times.

The Yankees will enjoy a day off tomorrow before starting a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte will be returning to the hill. HOORAY!

Some stats (Thanks to @yestoresearch on Twitter):

• Alex Rodriguez is now three RBI from tying Stan Musial for 5th all-time.
• Robinson Cano’s fourth inning double tied Tony Lazzeri for 11th on the franchise doubles list (327).

Flickr Image by wstera8

Good news: Derek Jeter is still hitting well.

Bad news: He struck out to end the game.

Good news: The Yankees scored four runs – look, it’s better than the two they mustered last night.

Bad news: CC Sabathia also gave up four. His line tonight was 6.2 IP, six hits, four runs, two walks and three strike outs. From Jack Curry of YES: Sabathia’s 0-3 with a 4.67 ERA in last four starts.

Good news: Alex Rodriguez hit a home run to pull the Yankees within a run late in the game.

Bad news: Eduardo Nunez negated the run – and any good feelings people had about him – with his big error in the ninth.

Good news: The Yankees got a hit with a runner in scoring position

Bad news: That was the only one they got (they were 1-6).

Good news: Curtis Granderson hit his 38th home run of the season.

Bad news: B.J. Upton hit his 23rd home run of the season which put Tampa up 5-2 in the top of the eighth.

Good news: … I think I may be done with the good news

Bad news: The Yankees are now out of first place by a half a game and if the Orioles beat Oakland tonight, they’ll be back a full game.

Some facts about tonight’s game:

• With his fifth inning single, Jeter passed Willie Mays and is now in sole possession of 10th on the All-Time hit list. He now has 3,285.
• From @YankeeSource: Yankees have just 3 hits with RISP in the last 4 games. 3 for 40 (0.075 BA).
• From @yestoresearch: The Yankees are now 1-7 in Price/Sabathia match ups.

(Syndicated from The Yankee Analysts)

Coming into tonight’s game, Phil Hughes had been terrible at Fenway Park. So terrible that most people were thinking that with his tendency to give up the long ball it could be a long and scary night for the Yankees.

SIKE!

I had a made a joke about wishing it would be opposite day and that Hughes would shock everyone. Well, he did. Hughes didn’t just keep the Red Sox off the board, he pitched into the eighth inning, he gave up only five hits, walked one batter and struck out seven. He earned his 15th victory of the season and helped the Yankees remain in a first place tie with Baltimore atop the AL East standings.

Of course, the offense’s problem with runners in scoring position reared its ugly head yet again – they finished 2-34 RISP for the series – but thankfully the two runs they scored were enough to win.

The first run was scored on an Andruw Jones sacrifice fly in the fourth inning off Red Sox starter Felix Doubront. The second run was scored when the overrated, slap singles hitter, Derek Jeter hit a bloop single to center in the seventh. It was the 3,283th hit of Jeter’s career, tying him with Willie Mays on the all-time list.

Both Alex Rodriguez and Eduardo Nunez who finished with two hits apiece. Oh and Nunez didn’t commit an error. Like I said, it was opposite day.

The only thing that wasn’t adhering to the opposite day rules was Curtis Granderson’s rough night at the dish. Poor Curt – that’s what Rodriguez called him in last night’s postgame interview – finished 0-4 with three strikeouts and left five men on base all by himself.

Oof.

Rafael Soriano untucked his jersey and earned his 38th save of the season. Soriano combined with Boone Logan and David Robertson to pitch 1.2 scoreless innings in relief of Hughes and Hughes’s season ERA is now sitting at 3.96.

Good times.

Scariest fact of the night: Yankees have won two straight games for the 1st time since Aug 14-15. IT’S BEEN A MONTH.

AW YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

I really don’t like saying that a game on September 1 is huge but today’s game was. The difference between a one-game lead and a three-game lead is tremendous. Especially considering the Yankees are heading down to Tampa following this series and they’re also still involved in this three-way race to the finish line.

So the heroes of today’s game were: Jayson Nix, Steve Pearce and Eduardo Nunez who all contributed greatly to the Yankees’s seventh inning game-winning rally.

And let’s not forget Derek Jeter and his bases loaded walk to tie the game and Nick Swisher’s hard hit ball that caused J.J. Hardy to commit an error, allowing all of the base runners to be safe and allowing Nunez to score as the game-winning run.

There was some negative news, of course, because can there ever a day that goes by this season without something bad happening? Curtis Granderson left with an injury. They’re saying it’s tendonitis.

ANYTHING ELSE??

Anyway, I’m glad my last game recap for the foreseeable future was for a win. I am taking a break from the internet and will be back in a week or so. The site will be left in capable hands, I promise.

Go Yankees!

Most people are relieved that the Yankees decided to send Eduardo Nunez down to the minors today. And so am I, in a way. Now that he’s not with the big club I don’t have to be subjected to the onslaught of tweets bitching and moaning after every single move he makes. Even after positive ones!

It was getting too much for me. Yes we get it, Eduardo Nunez is terrible in the field. Enough already.

Thankfully, we all get a reprieve. Nunez gets to go down to the Minors, play everyday and maybe somehow will miraculously become a better player defensively. And I get to tweet in peace.

Hallelujah!

Oh wait, what am I talking about? Jesus Montero makes his return to the Stadium tonight. He’s catching and batting clean up.

I used to dread A.J. Burnett starts for many reasons last season, one of them being the ridiculousness on Twitter. I have a feeling that tonight’s game will be much of the same. Especially if Jesus Montero goes 3-4 with a home run and four RBI.

Eric Chavez is back – he was activated in conjunction with Nunez’s demotion – and is batting eighth and DHing tonight against Felix Hernandez.

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Cano 2B
Rodriguez 3B
Teixeira 1B
Swisher RF
Ibanez LF
Chavez DH
Martin C

According to about 1,036,754 tweets I saw earlier, Felix Hernandez is 3-0 and has an ERA of 0.38 in three games at the New Yankee Stadium. People are predicting he’s going to throw a no-no. I predicted the Yankees would win tonight’s game. I hope I’m right.

While I was sitting here thinking of something to write, I realized that I am going to be seeing Andy Pettitte pitching on Sunday. If someone had asked me in February if I thought I’d be seeing Pettitte starting a game for the Yankees in May I would have laughed and told them that they were crazy. I just hope he pitches well enough to win. I’m 2-0 so far this season and I don’t want a blemish on my perfect record – yes, I do realize it’s a small sample size. I also don’t want to hear the big mouths saying “I told you so!!!” if Pettitte doesn’t have a good outing.

Yankee fans have had enough issues to deal with so far this season in regards to the pitching staff. Some good news will be nice for everyone.

After suffering through a roller coaster of emotions in the past 24 hours or so, Yankees fans have something to celebrate because the boys snapped a three game losing streak behind strong pitching by CC Sabathia and a four run seventh inning by the offense.

Hallelujah!

And yes, it took them awhile to get something substantial going against Bruce Chen but the saying is better late than never, right?

What a seventh inning it was with Eduardo Nunez hitting an RBI triple to score Robinson Cano, Chris Stewart following up with an RBI single and old man Derek Jeter hitting a two run home run.

Jeter now has five home runs this season – he had two total and is batting .404.

Mark Teixeira put the Yankees on the board in the first with a two run home run off Chen but the Yankees were stymied by Chen until that seventh inning.

CC Sabathia won his fourth game of the season with eight strong innings of work. He gave up the two runs on seven hits, he struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. David Robertson came in to pitch the ninth and struck out the side. In fact, Robertson threw 15 pitches, 11 for strikes.

• Andy Pettitte is expected to testify in the government’s trial against Roger Clemens. He arrived at the federal courthouse a little while ago.
• The Yankees/Red Sox rainout from the series at Fenway will be made up on July 7 as part of a day/night doubleheader. The first game is 12:35 and the second is 7:15. Should be fun and very long and exhausting.
• Nick Swisher is glad he left Sunday’s game when he did. He thinks he stopped his hamstring injury from being much, much worse. He will be resting for the next few days.
• In case you missed it last night, Eduardo Nunez had an error free night in the outfield. See? Miracles do happen.