Sweep time lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Austin Romine C

SP: LHP CC Sabathia vs. RHP Erik Johnson

Biggest Inning of the Yankees Season

Chris Sale was looking as dominant as he has ever looked against the Yankees until the eighth inning. Through seven innings he allowed two infield hits and a double that went off the third base bag and into left field. Sale's only run allowed to that point came on a steal of home by Vernon Wells in the second inning on a double steal by Nunez and Wells. Then the floodgates opened in the eighth inning and hit after hit, the Yankees worked their way into winning the game by scoring five times. The rally started innocently enough on a base hit with one out by Derek Jeter. Cano's at bat would prove to be vital as he looked fooled on a couple of Sale offerings but rocketed the 1-2 pitch into a double off the left field wall to put runners on second and third with one man out in the inning. Again, Soriano who has been clutch ever since joining the Yankees singled up the middle to provide the Yankees with their second and third runs of the game. Still down by one run, Alex Rodriguez followed with another single up the middle that put runners at first and third, still with only one out in the inning. Curtis Granderson pinch-hit for Wells who has been killing rallies all season long. Granderson also singled up the middle to tie the game for the Yankees and set it up for Eduardo Nunez to give the Yankees a lead which they would hold on to by lining an inside pitch down the left field line to score two more runs, giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead which would turn out to be one of their biggest games of the season. Granted, the game was won against the White Sox but a loss to Chicago would have put a damper on the Yankees season considering each game is so precious as there are only 24 games left for the Yankees to earn a postseason spot.

Hiroki Kuroda struggled, no doubt about it but he could have easily given up more than four runs in the game to put the Yankees too far behind to mount a comeback of the caliber they were able to stumble across in the eighth inning. Kuroda threw over 20 pitches in the first inning and had the bases loaded with one out, one run already across. Kuroda was able to strike out the side and the Yankees tied the game in the second. Alexei Ramirez would triple and drive in two runs in the fifth inning which, with Sale on the mound, looked like enough for the Yankees to pack it in for the night. The nail on the coffin would seemingly come in the seventh when De Aza homered off Kuroda to give the White Sox a three run lead. Kuroda was removed from the game following the home run and the bullpen wouldn't allow anymore damage which gave way to the Yankees rally in the eighth inning.

This game was perhaps the most important game of the season for the Yankees because combined with their victory, the Orioles lost to Cleveland and the Yankees have jumped in front of the Orioles once again in the standings and are now only 2 games back for the second wildcard position. With a Tampa Bay loss tonight, the Yankees would be 1.5 games back, which would put them in good position coming into tomorrow for a sweep. If the Yankees sweep this series which they desperately need to do, they may end up being 1 or 1.5 games out of the wildcard race, putting the Boston series this weekend at a premium. Joe Girardi has already decided to skip Hughes on Sunday and to pitch David Huff in his place. Huff has earned a start with his recent dominance when called upon out of the bullpen. I don't have much faith in Sabathia to turn his bad pitching around this season, but if the Yankees can put up another big inning in tomorrow's game they have a great chance to sweep with Chicago putting a rookie on the mound at Yankee Stadium.

The lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Vernon Wells RF
Mark Reynolds 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

SP: RHP Hiroki Kuroda vs. LHP Chris Sale

Offensive Explosion Helps Yankees in Win

The Yankees completely routed the Chicago White Sox today in their 9-1 victory. What fueled the victory came in the fourth inning when the Yankees took advantage of the White Sox poor bullpen and even more lousy defense which made two errors in the inning. Jose Quintana was the starter for Chicago but a rain delay of almost two hours caused Robin Ventura to go into his bullpen to select failed starter Dylan Axelrod. The eight run fourth inning was the most the Yankees have scored in an inning all season long. That goes to show how poorly the White Sox are in their pitching and defense, alike. Each Yankee starter except Curtis Granderson recorded a hit however Granderson walked and scored a run in the Yankees fourth inning outburst. Brett Gardner had two more doubles in the game to bring his season total to 31 doubles which is good for first on the Yankees this year. Robinson Cano has 28 doubles which is low for the slugger, considering he usually hits over 40 two-baggers every season.

Phil Hughes was able to record four outs before the prolonged rain delay but David Huff stepped into his place to deliver 5.2 innings of solid pitching, giving up only one run on a Paul Konerko solo home run in the seventh. Huff continues to impress the Yankees. He is pitching lights-out in his last four appearances and the Yankees are looking at him to replace Phil Hughes in the rotation for the remainder of the season. Hughes would be better suited in the bullpen where he thrived in 2009. Hughes uses too many pitches to start and a stint in the bullpen before he hits free agency may boost his value to interested teams.

A couple of Yankees made their Major League debuts today. Cesar Cabral pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out two batters and showing something to Joe Girardi in the process. JR Murphy, a switch-hitting catcher who has done well in the Yankees system pinch hit for Cano in the eighth and hit a hard ground ball to third that couldn't be handled for his first Major League hit. Murphy will remember this day for the rest of his life. With those two players making appearances for the Yankees, the team has set a franchise record for players used with 52, surpassing their previous record in 2008 and 2005 with 51 players used.

The Yankees are in good position to at least take the series from Chicago after today's blowout win. Chris Sale and Hiroki Kuroda will face off in tomorrow night's game as Kuroda looks to stop his personal three game losing streak. Sale has a 2.99 ERA with only a 10-12 record for the losing White Sox. With the Yankees recent additions from the right side of the plate in Soriano and Alex Rodriguez, Sale will have his work cut out for him.

Labor Day lineup

Brett Gardner CF

Derek Jeter SS

Robinson Cano 2B

Alfonso Soriano LF

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Vernon Wells DH

Curtis Granderson RF

Mark Reynolds 1B

Austin Romine C

SP: RHP Phil Hughes vs. LHP Jose Quintana

Bullpen Blows Chance at Sweep

After Ivan Nova gave the bullpen the entire game off yesterday they come back today in relief of Andy Pettitte and surrendered a three run lead, giving up seven runs in one inning in the process. Andy Pettitte was masterful for six innings but consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning made Girardi go to his reliable pen which had the best ERA in the majors for the month of August. The train wreck started with Shawn Kelley who did not record an out and immediately gave up two of Pettitte's runs and two of his own on an RBI single by a struggling Matt Wieters followed by a go-ahead three run home run by JJ Hardy that just barely cleared the right field wall. Joe Girardi then chose to go with Boone Logan who also could not get an out. He allowed a hit and a walk which was enough for Girardi to once again dip into his pen. Joba Chamberlain came in with the Yankees trailing 4-3 and promptly served up a three run home run to Adam Jones to straightaway center field to give the Orioles a commanding 7-3 lead which is the score they would go on to win by. Pettitte was sailing through six innings and after only throwing 86 pitches in his previous start, Girardi may have made a mistake by taking him out so quickly with 93 pitches thrown. Granted, it's easy to say what could have happened had Girardi left Pettitte in the game but his bullpen has been so strong for the entire season that it's difficult to second guess the manager in that situation.

The Yankee offense got to Chen early in the first inning, loading the bases for Vernon Wells who struck out looking at a pitch on the outside corner. It always seems that Wells comes up in the big situations and fails whenever the Yankees lose a game. The Yankees would go up 3-0 momentarily in the game but could not mount a comeback in the latter innings following the Orioles' seven run seventh. Cano had a horrific game, going 0-5 with three strikeouts. It's rare to see Cano with two K's in one game and today he had three. Brett Gardner was the only bright spot in the lineup, going 2-4 with two doubles, a bases loaded walk and an RBI. Gardner is quietly putting together a solid season, with 29 doubles on the year and a respectable .271 batting average.

The Yankees squandered a golden opportunity to go up another game on the Orioles but instead fall back in the standings behind the Orioles. As the games dwindle to a precious few, the Yankees find themselves losing critical games. They were able to pull off a series win against the Birds but when all is said and done, still failed to achieve their goal going into the final game of the series. Next are the White Sox who have been losing a lot lately. This is the Yankees chance to redeem themselves before a tough stretch against the Red Sox and once again, the Baltimore Orioles in Maryland.

Going for the sweep lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Vernon Wells RF
Mark Reynolds 1B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

SP: LHP Andy Pettitte vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen