The circus lineup

Brett Gardner CF

Alfonso Soriano DH

Robinson Cano 2B

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Vernon Wells 1B

Curtis Granderson LF

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Eduardo Nunez SS

Chris Stewart C

SP: LHP Andy Pettitte vs. LHP Jose Quintana

Hughes Struggles in Loss

Once again, Phil Hughes gave the Yankees an underwhelming performance by failing to make it through three innings against a Padres offense that couldn't hit their way out of a cardboard box on most days. I went into the day looking forward to Phil Hughes possibly auditioning for his future team, the San Diego Padres. However, Hughes showed the Yankees and Padres alike, that he was not ready to pitch well under pressure, even in San Diego where they haven't seen quality baseball in years. Hughes is such an enigma for the Yankees, an enigma that resembles AJ Burnett circa 2010 and 2011. It's time the Yankees get rid of Hughes. Since they didn't deal him at the trade deadline it is likely that they will tender him a qualifying offer at seasons end to which he will probably say no to. In the slim chance that Hughes accepts, it will be good for his career in the long run if he can rattle off a great season with the Yankees in 2014. If he accepts, the Yankees get another year of questions surrounding Hughes but at the same time will be thrilled to have one spot in the rotation figured out.

The offense scored as many runs as they did last night but since Hughes allowed five runs in 2.2 innings, the Yankees had trouble catching up to the Padres who ended up scoring six runs total. Curtis Granderson delivered again with an RBI single in the sixth inning followed by an RBI single by Lyle Overbay. The Yankees capped their scoring for the day with Austin Romine's first big league homer! The young catcher has finally gotten another monkey off his back and has filled another important column in his career statistics. Romine has been hitting well in limited starts for the Yankees since the start of July. He added to those numbers today with two more hits, one of which was his first Major League home run. 

The Yankees will enter Chicago tomorrow night for a three game set against the White Sox. The bigger story will be Alex Rodriguez whose suspension is rumored to be announced tomorrow afternoon by Major League Baseball. If Selig rules that this is a straight PED suspension, A-Rod can appeal and play until his appeal is heard and ruled upon. 

Gardner gets a day off

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Robinson Cano 2B

Alfonso Soriano LF

Curtis Granderson CF

Lyle Overbay 1B

Eduardo Nunez SS

Jayson Nix 3B

Austin Romine C

Phil Hughes RHP

Granderson, Nova Ride Yankees to Victory

There weren't many note-worthy things to mention in tonight's game where only three runs were scored between the two teams. Luckily for the Yankees they scored all three of the runs in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres. Curtis Granderson was the offense tonight. Fresh off his second DL stint, Granderson wasted no time in coming back with a bang. He smashed a no doubter into the right field seats to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning. Granderson had two of the Yankees five hits tonight, and he was involved in all two scoring plays for the Yankees. In addition to two RBI, Granderson scored the final run of the game on a Jayson Nix RBI single in the ninth inning. Without Granderson the Yankees offense went 3-28. The Yankees were 1-6 with runners in scoring position with Jayson Nix getting the lone hit with a runner in scoring position.

Two runs were plenty for Ivan Nova who went seven outstanding innings. Nova did not allow any runs and gave up only four hits and one walk in seven innings while striking out eight batters. His ERA drops to 3.08 and he is beginning to look more and more like the pitcher the Yankees thought they had during the 2011 season. I now feel confident when Nova takes the mound which is something I couldn't say at all during the 2012 season when he was a mess. Behind Kuroda, Ivan Nova is the Yankees second strongest starting pitcher. Nova's success tonight came with two pitches: a fastball and a curve. He didn't throw any changeups or sliders to the Padres hitters and it really worked for the young right hander. Also, since Nova's return from the disabled list on June 23rd, he owns a 2.15 ERA.

David Robertson and Mariano Rivera came in after Nova exited the game and nailed it down easily. Mariano Rivera retired the Padres on nine pitches as he earned one of his easier saves of the season. As Mariano's time winds down I cherish more and more, each save opportunity and chance I have to see Mariano pitch.

In tomorrow's rubber game the Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the mound who has found himself pitching very well in big ballparks. Hopefully Petco Field will gobble up any would-be home runs in other parks for Hughes. Newly acquired Ian Kennedy will pitch against the Yankees as he looks to turn his season around pitching for a new club.

CC, Yankees Fall to Lowly Padres

Coming into tonight's game I sincerely believed that CC Sabathia would be able to turn his bad pitching around in a big ballpark against a weak-hitting team. However, Sabathia's ineffectiveness continues as he allowed five earned runs in 5.2 innings of work. It's strange whenever you see Girardi pull Sabathia in the middle of an inning and tonight he did just that. Sabathia's ace title may be flaking before our very eyes and Joe Girardi certainly made it known that CC wasn't his ace tonight by pulling him before Sabathia allowed any more damage in the sixth inning. I am very scared at the thought of our once ace becoming a back of the rotation starter before my very eyes. I am so used to Sabathia being the rock of the Yankees rotation but he has proved in 2013 that he isn't that anymore.. or for at least the moment. Sabathia's ERA continues to take a turn upward as it now stands at 4.78. That means that CC is pitching worse than Phil Hughes has this year. Luckily for the Yankees, they have another ace in their rotation who goes by the name of Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda has been priceless for the Yankees this year as he continues to prove that he is the only starter capable of getting the job done every five days. The remaining four starters in the rotation have been inconsistent, injured or just plain bad.

The offense, much like CC Sabathia, was incapable of scoring runs necessary to win a Major League game. The only two runs scored on an Eduardo Nunez double and ironically enough, on a CC Sabathia ground out. The Yankees managed only seven hits against the Padres and Curtis Granderson went 0-4 with two strikeouts in his return from his second injury. Granderson will be a vital part to this Yankees lineup going forward, especially knowing that A-Rod's days are numbered. The Yankees are trying to keep Rodriguez off the field and are looking for contributions in other areas. Granderson will have to show that he can still be the Yankees home run guy when they need it. Also Granderson needs to cut down on the strikeouts but even he would be able to tell you that.

In tomorrow's game Ivan Nova who has been experiencing terrible run support will pitch against the Padres. Nova has been great since coming back last month but has a 4-4 record because of his offense's lack of runs. Pitching against the Yankees will be right handed pitcher Tyson Ross. Ross has pitched to a nice ERA but has not gotten run support, much like his counterpart.

Granderson is Back!

Brett Gardner CF

Derek Jeter SS 

Robinson Cano 2B

Lyle Overbay 1B

Curtis Granderson LF

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Eduardo Nunez 3B

Chris Stewart C

CC Sabathia LHP 

Yankees Outlast Dodgers Bullpen

The starting pitching duel was reason enough to tune into the classic matchup between the Yankees and the Dodgers. Neither team could get anything off the opposing starting pitcher until the Yankees got to the Dodgers bullpen in the ninth inning. Lyle Overbay delivered the big hit of the night, a game winning RBI single off lefty reliever Paco Rodriguez. Overbay had both Yankee RBI's last night and came up big off the bench tonight to deliver the Yankees a crucial win against the Dodgers. The Yankees would tack on two more runs on an error on the second baseman. Ichiro and Overbay both scored after the Dodgers intentionally walked Ichiro to face Jayson Nix. Nix popped up to second base but the ball came out of the fielder's glove, allowing both runners to score. Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to collect his 34th save of the year and the 642nd of his brilliant career. Rivera's mind-boggling numbers just put into perspective how amazing he is at his job.

Kuroda and Kershaw both threw up blanks. Kuroda pitched seven solid innings and allowed no runs. He struck out eight in the process and allowed only five hits and walked one batter. His seasonal ERA now stands at a minicule 2.38. Boone Logan came on in the eighth inning but escaped a jam with the potential winning run on second base. Rivera, as mentioned before, came into the game for the ninth with a three run lead and struck out two batters in the save.

Clayton Kershaw pitched even better than Kuroda, if that was even possible. Kershaw tossed eight scoreless frames, striking out five and walking none. Mattingly could have easily let Kershaw start the ninth because he was only at 97 pitches but instead he put the game in the hands of his bullpen who blew the game to the Yankees.

The Yankees will have a day off tomorrow before coming into Petco Field for three games against the Padres. Curtis Granderson is expected to be activated on Friday to give the Yankees even more depth in the outfield. With Granderson in the lineup, the Yankees bench could be a force to be reckoned with. The struggling Sabathia will pitch for the Yankees and Andrew Cashner will go for San Diego.