Game 18 Recap

1. Scott Kazmir started off the second inning by throwing a fastball high and inside to Robinson Cano. It looked like it might have gotten away from him but Kazmir then plunked Cano square in the backside with an 89mph "heater" and walked right towards home plate after the pitch and it didn't look like he was delivering an apology. Jorge Posada made him pay for his aggression as he took the first pitch from Kazmir - a belt-high fastball right down the pike - into the forest of arborvitaes in centerfield to put the Yankees up 2-0.

Marcus Thames followed that with a double to left center. With Curtis Granderson at the plate, Francisco Cervelli on deck and still no one out, Joe Girardi called for a sacrifice bunt. Curtis laid down a very nice one up the first base line that Kazmir scooped to first and beat him out by a split second. Fransisco Cervelli drew a walk and brought up Derek Jeter who grounded into what was very nearly a double play but ended up as an RBI force out to extend the Yanks lead to 3-0.

2. Javier Vazquez struck out the side in the third inning but in between the second and third K's, he allowed bomb to his noted foe Bobby Abreu. Javy has now allowed 10 home runs to Abreu, four more than he's allowed to any other player.

3. The bottom of the fourth brought more offense for the Angels. Vazquez allowed a single to Kendry Morales and caught a piece of Juan Rivera's elbow guard to put runners on first and second with one out. Howie Kendrick poked a single through the left side, scoring Morales and cutting the Yanks lead to 3-2.

Next up, Brandon Wood hit a sharp line drive to left field that Marcus Thames got a terrible read on and allowed to drop. Two runs scored in the process and Wood was awarded a highly questionable double (it should been at worst a single given where it was hit). Macier Izturus then grounded out to second, driving in another run and giving the Angels a 5-3 lead. With Bobby Abreu due up, Girardi called for Boone Logan and Vazquez was done for the day. Abreu lined out sharply to Jeter to end the inning.

4. Robinson Cano got his own revenge for Kazmir's HBP by smashing a 1-1 slider for a home run deep to right field, bringing the score to 5-4.

5. Alfredo Aceves replaced Boone Logan with two outs in the fifth inning and came out to begin the 7th. After getting Izturus to line out to second, Girardi went to the bullpen for Damaso Marte to face Babe Ruth Bobby Abreu. Marte promptly walked Abreu and hit Torii Hunter with a pitch, bringing up Kendry Morales. For whatever reason, Marte and Cervelli begun the process of intentionally walking Morales despite the fact that right hander Juan Rivera was on deck. After some confusion and a mound visit by Cervelli, they resumed the at bat with Frankie squatting behind the plate, having given Morales a free ball for no good reason.

Also for no good reason, when the count was 1-0, Torii Hunter took off for third with two outs and would have ended with inning if Cervelli had made a better throw. Instead, he slid in under the tag and the at bat continued. That pitch was a ball and Marte threw another fastball low and outside to make the count 3-0. The YES cameras showed the Yankee dugout and Tony Pena and Girardi were signaling to Cervelli that Morales is prone to swing on 3-0, instructing him to convey the message to the pitcher. Despite the warning, Marte spotted a fastball down and away but Morales yanked it over the left field wall for a three run homer.

IFs, ANDs, & BUTs

• The decision to bunt in the second inning worked out fine, but you've gotta wonder what Girardi was thinking there. Granted, Granderson is not a great hitter against lefties, but having him bunt to get to Cervelli? I know he's a "hot" hitter, but is passing the buck to him to drive in that run really worth giving up an out for?
  
  
• Abreu has owned Vazquez throughout their careers but it's been even worse this year as Bobby is 4-5 off of Javy this year with a homer and a double.
  
  
• This is the second time Thames has screwed over Vazquez with his shitty defense. In his first start against the Rays, he let a double by Jason Bartlett fall in for what was probably the biggest hit of the game. Again, the "double" by Wood was a huge swing in momentum as it took the Angels from one down to one ahead.
  
  
• To be fair, Vazquez was his own worst enemy today and couldn't seem to get it right no matter what he did. When he got ahead in the count, he struggled to put hitters away and part of his undoing in the 4th inning was the fact that he was pitching from behind. He walked three, and aside from the third inning, didn't strike out anyone.
  
  
• The 8th inning was a complete clusterfuck. The decision to yank Aceves was questionable at best considering the right handed Hunter was behind Abreu and there was only one out so Marte was going to have face him anyway. The choice was between a right hander facing a batter from each side or a lefty doing the same and considering that Aceves had already got 5 outs without giving up a baserunner, it probably made more sense to stick with him.
  
  
• Maybe the false start on the intentional walk was the result of miscommunication but it's still absolutely inexcusable. Give a batter a free ball in a dangerous situation when the game is slipping away and you deserve what comes of the at bat.
  
  
• Probably because Marte made Girardi's decision look bad, he left him in to face Juan Rivera after the home run to Morales. David Robertson had already warmed up in the bullpen and was ready to go, but all of a sudden Girardi doesn't want to make a mid-inning pitching change?
  

This loss was pretty tough to stomach and there will be no shortage of negative pieces about Vazquez and the 8th inning tomorrow, especially because the Yankees aren't playing until Tuesday night in Baltimore. Hang in there. The Yanks still went 3-3 on this swing and the Red Sox lost in the 10th inning at home.

Game 16 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

1. Despite allowing the first three batters he faced to reach base, A.J. Burnett was poised to escape the first inning without any damage. Eric Aybar's walk was erased when he was picked off stealing and a double by Torii Hunter followed by a Bobby Abreu single put runners on the corners with one out. Hideki Matsui lined out to short before Kendry Morales chopped a sky high ball of the plate that netted him an infield single and an RBI. Angels 1-0.

2. The Yankees got it going in the third as back to back doubles by Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter tied the game at one. After Nick Johnson struck out looking and Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch, A-Rod drove Jeter in with a single to left. Robinson Cano came to the plate next with two outs and men on first and second and pulled a single into shallow right field.

Aiming to put the Yanks up by two tuns, Teixeira came barreling around third base and just as the ball was bouncing over Angels' catcher Bobby Wilson, Teix plowed into him like a freight train, sending Wilson and his equipment flying backwards as he got up to make sure he touched the plate. Teix was fine, but Wilson had to be taken out of the game immediately and carried down the dugout steps back into the locker room. 3-1 Yankees.

3. The Yankees only lead of the game didn't last long. Abreu and Hunter led off the bottom of the 3rd with a double and a single. Matsui grounded into a double play that scored a run and again Burnett was close to escaping an inning but ultimately did not. He hit Kendry Morales with a pitch and gave up back to back doubles to Juan Rivera and Macier Izturus that put the Angels ahead 4-3.

4. Nick Swisher tied the game at 4 with a solo shot off of Santana in the 4th.

5. The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 8th when Joba Chamberlain gave up a long single to Hideki Matusi to lead off the inning, bringing up his nemesis, Kendry Morales. At that point, Morales was 4-6 off Joba and he improved that ratio when he smacked a go-ahead two run home deep over the right field fence. The Angels took the lead 6-4 and Brain Fuentes sat the Yanks down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Game over, as the Bombers dropped their second in a row.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• The Angels had just lost catcher Jeff Mathis with a broken wrist and Bobby Wilson was making his first Major League start. He sustained a concussion and an ankle injury but nothing too serious. It was unfortunate that Teixeira collided with him so squarely but everyone involved agreed that it was a clean play and there doesn't seem to be any lingering anger over the incident.
  
  
• The Yankees stubbed their toe badly in the sixth inning. After Curtis Granderson walked and Nick Swisher was hit by a pitch, Brett Gardner squared to bunt and ended up popping and eye-high fastball right back to Ervin Santana. Next, Jeter lined one back up the middle that almost took Santana's head off, but got slowed down by his grasping try enough for Howie Kedrick to get the out at second base. There were runners on the corners for Nick Johnson but he grounded out to second to end the inning.
  
  
• Santana and Burnett had very similar nights, both going just about six innings (6.1 for A.J.), giving up 8 and 9 hits, 4 runs (all earned), each hit 2 batters and struck out 3. They threw 103 and 104 pitches, respectively (about 60%) for strikes and neither factored into the decision.
  
  
• Burnett made an awesome stab on a ball up the middle to end the 4th inning.
  
  
• The pitch that Morales homered on was a hanging slider. That was obviously the death knell for the Yanks but the inability to capitalize in the 6th, particularly Gardner's failed bunt attempted was a huge missed opportunity.

The Yanks look to shake it off and get back at it this afternoon, as the game is on FOX at 4.

Yanks Desecrate Angels

It's tempting to say that CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez won last night's game on their own. Sure there were many guys who made contributions to the win, but A-Rod drove in more runs than CC allowed in 8 innings and although the game was much closer than the final score indicates, the Angels never led in this game and were never particularly close. The ALCS MVP award race is certainly heating up.

Sabathia had an absolutely beastly pitching performance. He was efficient, needing only 101 pitches to plow through 8 innings and only one of them - a homer to Kendry Morales - would he have wanted back. The big man pitched to weak contact all night, striking out 5 Angels and the Morales home run was the only hit for extra bases. He did it all three days rest in a game that Yankees didn't want to lean to heavily on their bullpen - a huge and timely contribution.

A-Rod smacked a single and stole a base in the 4th inning, scoring from third on a close, hard collision at the plate after an infield bouncer by Robinson Cano. Mike Napoli's foot knocked him pretty squarely in the chest but he slid in under the tag and popped right up, scoring the Yankees first run. Alex then cranked a two run homer in his next at bat in the 5th, putting the Yanks up 5-0. Adding on to an already massive night, he doubled in the 9th inning, tagged up and took off for third, putting the pressure on Bobby Abreu. The throw was close to being there on time, but it bounced away from Chone Figgins into the stands, allowing A-Rod to score. For those scoring at home, A-Rod either drove in or scored 4 of the Yankees' runs and played a big role in the ones he scored. He forced the action all night and took over the game offensively, as much as you could expect one player in a 9 man line up to.

Both were one-man wrecking crews who, along with Melky Cabrera in particular, combined to smash the Angels apart in a 10-1 victory. Melky broke out of a postseason slide with a move out of Derek Jeter's playbook, a well-placed push bunt single towards first base. It worked like a charm, busting the slump with a real hit his next time up. He came to the plate with the bases loaded in the 4th inning and knocked in two big runs with a broken bat single. Melky later drew a walk against Ervin Santana before being driven home on a Johnny Damon homer and knocked in two more runs with a double in the 9th inning.

Melky silenced his doubters, namely the one moron who said he should never put on a Yankee uniform again and the other one who told him to go to hell, in a big way last night just like CC and A-Rod continued to do.

There's a sort of beautiful symmetry that the two guys on the Yankees who were perceived as the biggest choke artists coming into this postseason have not only made people think twice about their individual mettle but also the concept of clutch in general. Hey, maybe it's not indicative of a flaw in someone's mental make up if they have some bad postseason performances, you know? Guys can play well or not during October for extended stretches and it's not an indication of some asset or defect in their make up.

Aside from A-Rod and CC, people are sure to talk about the curious calls that once again plagued this game. Third base umpire Tim McClelland was the one at the center of the controversy this time. (Conspicuously) soon after Nick Swisher should have been picked off second base, McClelland said that he left third too early on a sacrifice fly by Johnny Damon. When the Angels checked, Swish was out, completing an inning-ending double play. The replay showed that Swish didn't leave early, but it was of the split screen variety so it was at the whim of whoever put it together to line the two clips up perfectly.

More egregiously, McClelland missed a double play that the Angels should have had in the fifth inning. Jorge Posada was caught in a run down between third and home while Cano was advancing from second. Both were off the bag when Mike Napoli tagged them, but only Posada was called out. If Cano was being forced to the base (which he wasn't) it would have been the right call. If Cano had put his foot on the bag, it would have been the right call.

Alas, it was not, and McClelland as the crew cheif addressed the media after the game to explain his mistakes. He admitted he was wrong on the Posada-Cano call but understandably didn't trust the replay on Swisher's tag-up. Neither of the errors led to any Yankee runs.

Predictably, the grounded rationalists over at Halos Heaven are taking this well. Just kidding, they've uncovered a vast conspiracy between FOX, the MLB and the umpires to get the Yankees into the World Series because they draw bigger ratings.

Speaking of the MLB and FOX being in cahoots, we've got a non-travel off day to sit through because the league has to milk the TV ratings for as much as they are worth and can't have too many weekday games starting at 4:00. As such, we'll have to wait until Thursday to find out when the next game at Yankee Stadium will be played.

Yanks Win Thriller, Clinch Playoff Spot

Like they did on Monday night, the Yankees began the night by stranding multiple runners on base. This time they had loaded the bags, but Jorge Posada flew out to deep left to end the threat. As noted on the broadcast, the Yankees have left at least two runners on base in the first inning 27 times this season, which is the most in the Majors. Robinson Cano doubled to lead off the second, but the Yanks stranded him too.

Ervin Santana recorded four strikeouts (all swinging) in those first two innings, and in those at bats, 12 of the 18 pitches he threw were sliders. The breaking ball was a little wild though, as catcher Jeff Mathis repeatedly had to block balls in the dirt, including the one Jeter struck out on.

Santana got away from the slider in the third inning, giving up a single on a change up to Mark Teixeira and then a prodigious blast into the face rocks in straightaway center to A-Rod on a 3-0 fastball he left right in the middle of the plate. Hideki Matsui then reached on a catcher's interference, advanced to second on a wild pitch and watched from there as Jorge Posada was the first Yankee to finally conquer Santana's slider, lofting it sky-high, just over the tall wall in right field.

After striking out two times in his first two at bats Derek Jeter flared his 200th hit of the season into shallow right field to lead of the 4th inning. In the top of the 5th, Hideki Matsui got in on the tater party as well, launching a shot into the bleachers in right-center.

Meanwhile, Chad Gaudin worked his way through four scoreless innings against the Angels. A five run margin seemed comfortable at the time, but it started slipping away. In the bottom of the fifth, Chone Figgins jacked a solo homer to right. Then Vlad Guerrero singled in Macier Izturis with two outs.

An inning later, after Alfredo Aceves had replaced Gaudin and stopped the bleeding, the wound was re-opened. Five men reached base in the 6th via four singles and a bases loaded walk. Two men scored, but it could have been much worse were it not for A-Rod's diving stab and throw to get Vlad Guerrero for the third out.

Joe Girardi let Aceves face Torii Hunter in the 7th inning, brought in lefty Damaso Marte to get the switch hitting Kendry Morales around to his weaker side. When Marte served up a double, Joe promptly went back to the well for Phil Hughes, who induced two grounders and got out of the inning.

Hughes did not escape the 8th similarly unscathed, although by little fault of his own. Cano failed to field a hot shot from Howie Kendrick, and the play was scored an error. Then, Kendrick took off for second, Jorge Posada's throw escaped into centerfield and Kendrick was a third with no one out. Hughes got Figgins to pop out, but Izturis singled home the tying run in the next at bat. Bobby Abreu worked a work, but Hughes buckled down and struck out the heart of the Angels order, Hunter and Guerrero to keep the game tied.

Things were looking pretty grim for the Yanks, but the bats got off on the right foot in the 9th inning. Brett Gardner singled and stole second (although replays indicated he was out), Derek Jeter walked and all of a sudden they were back in business. Johnny Damon moved the runners over with a successful sac bunt and Darren Oliver walked Mark Teixeria, bringing A-Rod to the plate.

At this point, it was tough to feel too confident. A double play or a strikeout would have felt like a severe blow to the Yanks' chances, but A-Rod came through, ripping a line drive to centerfield that Brett Gardner just barely scored on. Had it been another runner on third, there's a good chance they would have been out.

The game was turned over to Mariano Rivera for the first time since his blown save in Seattle. Kendry Morales led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Reggie Willits. Juan Rivera came to the plate, and in between three pick off attempts, the intensity was built throughout the at bat. Maraino scattered cutters around but not in the strike zone and Juan fouled a couple of the closer ones off. It ended with a beautiful strike 'em, throw 'em out double play, changing the momentum entirely. Next up, Eric Aybar grounded out to end the game and the Yanks finally came away with one in the Big A.

They also clinched their playoff berth, although technically that had already happened when the Rangers lost to the A's earlier in the night. The Red Sox were shutdown by Zack Greinke, who allowed two hits and walked three over six scoreless innings at Fenway, lowering his ERA to an incredible 2.08. The magic number is now at 6, opening the possibility of clinching against the Red Sox this weekend.

For the moment, we can put aside the questions and soak this one up. Feels pretty good, doesn't it?

Tell Me Something Good

Good morning, Fackers. Let me give you two scenarios and tell me which one you would prefer:

#1: Andy Pettitte pitches poorly, lasting just 4 innings and gets tagged for six runs. The Yankees bats pick him up though, scoring eight of their own and walking away with the victory.

#2: Pettitte stumbles out of the gate, but at one point retires 11 consecutive batters, giving up three runs over six innings. The offense finally has a bad night against Joe Saunders and the Yanks come up short.

Okay, by now you probably already know what happened in the game and this exercise is pretty transparent. But the point is that Andy Pettitte finding his form without any soreness was more important than winning last night, although both would have been nice.

Pettitte actually had two outs and the bases empty after Chone Figgins got caught stealing in the first inning but he gave up a single to Bobby Abreu and then back to back doubles to Vlad Guererro and Torii Hunter to approximately the same spot in the gap in right-center. That string of hits drive in two runs and put the Yanks in the hole 2-0.

During the string of 11 straight batters the retired, Pettitte also made a nice reflex-type play on a liner back up the middle by Eric Aybar. Andy poked his glove out, stopping the ball and then dove to his knees and fired to first to get the speedy Aybar (who leads the league in bunt singles), just in time.

Pettitte's only other run came in the 5th inning when he walked Rob Quinlan on a 3-2 breaking ball that was just a little bit high. Quinlan ended up on third after a single by Jeff Mathis and a sac fly by Figgins and scored on a single by Aybar.

Pettitte was pulled after throwing 91 pitches and had this to say about his performance after the game, "Everything was good after the first inning. My cutters were hard, I felt like. I was getting balls back down in the zone, my two-seamer. Everything was running like I wanted it to."

In relief of Andy, Brain Bruney continued his quest to not make the postseason roster by serving up a solo homer to Kendry Morales in the 7th along with a single to Chone Figgins. Jon Albaladejo gave up another run in the 8th as well.

Joe Saunders had given up 18 runs in 20 1/3 innings against the Yankees coming into last night's game. He's a far better pitcher than that, and you might say that he was due for a better performance against the Bombers. The Yanks grounded into two double plays and only had three at bats with runners in scoring position, and came up empty on all of them.

The Yankees two runs came in the form of solo homers, one by A-Rod in the 7th inning as he continued to mash at the Big A. The next was the first pinch hit home run of Hideki Matsui's career in the 8th inning. It was yet another blast off a left hander by Matsui this year but it wasn't enough to bring the Yanks back in the game, even if the bullpen had done their job. Nick Swisher narrowly missed a HR in the bottom of the 9th, and Robby Cano came to the plate representing the tying tun, but the Yanks fell short, 5-2.

Aside from Pettitte looking steady in his return, there weren't too many positives to take away from this game for the Yanks. However, the Red Sox also lost, dropping the magic number to 8, and making the possibility of a late season charge by the Sox a little less probable. The Rangers won, though, so the playoff clinching non-celebration will have to wait.

The didn't do anything to deter the Angels from challenging for homefield advantage, so that will have to wait until tonight.

Odds And Ends

Hey there Fackers. We're in the homestretch heading towards the holiday weekend. Here's a few things to chew on before you punch that clock.

• Today's the 16th anniversary of Jim Abbott "single-handedly" no-hitting the Indians (terrible joke, I know). With the Yankees in Toronto this weekend, it may be worth reminding our friend eyebleaf that 1993 was a happier time for the Jays. Much like the 1985 season that we talked about with Mike Pagliarulo, the 1993 Yankees spent the summer chasing the Blue Jays. The Yanks spent a record nineteen days tied for first with the Jays without ever being able to take sole possession of the lead. The Yanks would move into a tie for the final time the day after Abbott's no-no, but that would be as close as they got, as they faded down the stretch and finished seven games back. The Blue Jays won their second consecutive title when Joe Carter hit a Game 7 walk-off against Mitch Williams, and became the first team since the 1977-78 Yankees to go back-to-back.
  
  Still, the team finished the year at 88-74, good for the third best record in the American League during the final season of the Wild Card-less two division format. Interestingly, the Abbott no hitter against the Indians featured two teams on the rise, as the Yanks and Tribe would be the dominant forces in the AL for the remainder of the 1990s.

• Speaking of the 1990s, Alfredo Aceves' win last night was his 10th of the year. All of them have come in relief. Alf's ten relief wins are the most by a Yankee since Lee Guetterman had 11 in 1990. How bad was that 1990 team that had the worst record in the AL and second worst in MLB? Guetterman, a set-up man, led the team in wins. The franchise record for wins by a reliever is 15, done by Luis Arroyo in 1961.

• CC Sabathia was named American League Pitcher of the Month for August after going 5-0 with 2.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in six starts.

• Derek Jeter on the other land, lost out to Kendry Morales as the American League Player of the Month, despite hitting .377/.403/.574 in August with 6 HR and 15 multi-hit games. This just serves as further evidence that Jeter is not the player he once was. (yet another bad pun).

• As you may recall, Josh Towers spent a day with the Big Club last month before heading back to Scranton. With the bullpen having to work 5.1 innings last night, Joba Chamberlain starting today, Sergio Mitre Sunday, and a doubleheader Monday, Towers may be on his way back. He was pulled from his start at AAA last night after just two innings, and Chad Jennings reports that it was not injury related.
  
  Towers was DFA'd when he was sent out last time, so he'd have to be added back to the 40 man roster first. Kevin Cash, Anthony Claggett, Juan Miranda, and even Shelley Duncan are the only guys I think the organization would consider DFA'ing to make room. What is interesting however is that if they add Towers for the next few days, they likely won't need him beyond that, in which case they could DFA him again, opening up a spot to add Austin Jackson to the 40 man and call him up.
  
  That said, I doubt any of that will happen. The bullpen already has four extra arms with Mark Melancon, Edwar Ramirez, Mike Dunn, and Jonathan Albaladejo, who was recalled yesterday. Even with the extra work last night and Mariano Rivera's sore groin, they should have enough pitching to make it through the next five games.

We'll be back in a bit.

Game 96: Nebraska

When the Yankees last saw Brett Anderson, he was a rookie with two Big League starts under his belt, and a record of 0-2. They touched him up for 5 runs over 5 1/3 in the game against Sabathia we mentioned in yesterday's preview and left him with a 5.89 ERA.

Since then, the 21 year old right hander has made 14 more starts, lowered his ERA to 4.25 and gone on a tear as of late. He hasn't allowed a run in his last three starts, starting with a complete game shutout in Boston on July 6th, and leaving off with 8 scoreless innings against the Angels last Sunday. I'm sure Brett's a nice kid, but it would be nice to bring him back to Earth.

Heading into the All-Star break Joba Chamberlain was coming off of three dreadful outings against the Mariners, Blue Jays and Angels. The one against the Halos was the most frustrating because he not only blew a seemingly comfortable four run run lead but did so by following up a fielding error by A-Rod by allowing a 3 run shot to Kendry Morales. However, he came out of the All-Star break strong with 6 2/3 innings of one run ball against the Tigers and earned himself his fifth victory on the season.

It's only one start, but Joe Girardi thinks the break might have helped Joba:

Girardi thought that the biggest difference in Chamberlain's return from his time in Nebraska -- when he said he spent most of the time chasing his 3-year-old son, Karter, around the family backyard -- was that he was able to repeat his delivery more consistently and get out of jams.

"I just got back to being myself," Chamberlain said. "It was fun to get away from baseball for four days. I think that was the best -- to get those four days to get my mind right and get back to having fun and the confidence and attitude I know I have."

We took a much-needed hiatus during the break, so I can kind of see where Joba is coming from. Hopefully he can carry that confidence into tonight's game and keep the Yanks rolling. In any event, look on the bright side, Joba. You're not in Nebraska anymore.

And Nebraska's so flat that I don't care,
I'll never use this map, have I made it clear,
I don't know jack, but I stay sincere,
Woah-oh my navigator's here.

And just because it's Friday (and it's in black & white), here is the Springsteen version, which Matt most likely would have chose had he wrote this post:

Pleading The Fifth

For the second day in a row, it looked like the Yankees were going to get the Rally Monkey off their backs. Instead the Angels staged another big comeback and continued their recent dominance against the Bombers, setting then two games back in the AL East.

It didn't take for the Yanks get things going. In the first, with two outs and Johnny Damon standing on first, Alex Rodriguez blasted a homer to left to make it 2-0. In the following inning Eric Hinske added his second roundtripper as a Yankee, a solo shot to center. A-Rod walked to lead of the fourth, advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt by Jered Weaver and scored on a Robinson Cano double, who has seemingly awoken from his RISP drought.

Andy Pettitte worked through his first three innings allowing two walks but no hits, but needed 46 pitches to do so. He no hit bid was broken up by an Eric Aybar double in the fourth. Bobby Abreu singled in Aybar, which in combination with some hard hit foul balls looked ominous for Pettitte. He settled down though, strikingout Mike Napoli, and then sitting down Kendry Morales and Gary Matthews in order to end the threat.

As was the case last night, the Angels did major damage in the fifth inning, again via the home run. Howie Kendrick singled to begin the frame and top prospect Brandon Wood took one out the opposite way to make it 4-3. Pettitte allowed a single but very nearly got Chone Figgins to ground into a double play, but the speedy Yankee killer barely beat the throw. It got much uglier. Consecutive base hits tied the game and sent Pettitte to the showers. Girardi called on David Robertson but he promptly gave up a two run double to Mike Napoli, which would ultimately cause Pettitte to take the loss.

Robertson struck out the side in the sixth inning, but Reggie Willits reached on a wild pitch and was tripled in by Eric Aybar. Brett Tomko got Bobby Abreu out to finish the inning, but allowed a run of his own in the 7th. The offense kept plugging away, adding two runs in the bottom half of 7th and the 8th on a two run shot by Eric Hinske and solo dingers courtesy of A-Rod and Hideki Matsui.

With the score 10-8 in favor of the Angels entering the bottom of the 8th, Phil Coke was summoned to keep the Yanks within striking distance. He did anything but that. The Angels plated four runs and put the game out of reach.

The 14-8 final score might not even be representative of how brutal this game was. Once again, the offense put up a significant early lead and the pitching staff squandered it away. It's especially frustrating considering the Yankees proximity to the Red Sox and their inepititude against the Angels. They'll try to salvage some dignity heading into the All-Star break this afternoon at 3:35. We'll be back later with the preview.