It's decision day for David Robertson

It's been almost an entire week since the Yankees decided to official extend a qualifying offer to closer David Robertson, and now the Yankees' 9th inning man has until 5 p.m. today to either accept ot decline the offer.

Robertson is expected to reject the $15.3 million offer, which would make him the highest paid closer ever, and instead become a free-agent to negotiate with everyone. No players has ever accepted a qualifying offer from their club, and Robertson certainly doesn't look like he'll be the first.

Even with the likelihood that he'll have a 2015 Draft pick attached to him this winter, Robertson has been drawing a ton of interest around the league already. Finding a solid 9th inning guy that you can count on for an entire season is not easy to find, and Robertson has been more than dependable throughout his Yankees career, first setting up for Mariano Rivera, then taking over the closer role this season, racking up a career-high 39 saves in 63 games this season, while posting a 3.08 ERA and a incredible 13.4 strikeouts-per-9 rate.

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A goodbye to the Captain, from Adam Al

It’s hard to believe that Derek Jeter’s career is coming to an end. It is even harder to deny Jeter’s place in baseball history.  Regardless of what others say I consider Derek Jeter the greatest Yankee of all time. 

The Yankee’s Captain will end his career with roughly 750 more hits than any other Yankee in history; he will also end his career 6th on the all-time hits list while all 5 players above him have played 2-4 more seasons. Not to mention the fact that he owns the all-time post season records for games played, at bats, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, total bases, singles, doubles and triples. Regardless of all of that Derek Jeter means much more to the game of baseball than any record or accomplishment.

He was not only the Captain of the New York Yankees but the greatest ambassador the game has ever known. In an era rampant with superstars who have fallen to PED use, Derek Jeter has been able to maintain his integrity in arguably the toughest sports market in the entire world. Think about that for a second, Derek Jeter has played for the New York Yankees for parts of 20 seasons and has never had any rumor or accusation tarnish his name or reputation. 

In today’s world of sports that is far more impressive than any record could ever be. He has served as the ultimate role model for not only children of the New York area but the entire country. 

With PEDs, domestic violence, drug use along with a blatant disregard for the law it’s a damn shame that Jeter’s way of conducting himself is such a rarity amongst athletes. You can’t help but feel that if more children had role models like Derek Jeter to emulate this world may be a better place.

I have had the pleasure of watching Derek Jeter play his entire career in pinstripes. When Derek came up in 1996 as a rookie I was a little kid who was completely infatuated with the New York Yankees. Now in 2014 as I watch Jeter close out his career I can’t help but feel a little torn up inside about it. 

On one hand I am so grateful that I got to watch him play for so many years on the other hand I feel as if a part of my childhood is coming to an end. I am now a man in my mid-twenties with a career, bills to pay and quotas to reach. Regardless of all that when I watch Derek Jeter take the field it brings me back to my childhood. 

Watching him play makes me feel like a kid from North Jersey with an undying love for the game of baseball again. On September 28th, 2014 that all ends and I can’t help but feel that the game of baseball will never be the same.

Thanks Captain.

Your biggest fan,
Adam Al

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Game 143: It's almost over

Though the Yankees are not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention just yet, their hopes of making the postseason one last time in the Derek Jeter era seem all but lost.

The Bombers dropped another game on Tuesday night, losing the the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium this week.

The Rays jumped all over Hiroki Kuroda early in the game, chasing him before the end of the 4th inning, as they would go on to win their 27th game at the new Yankee Stadium, compared to the 26 they won at the old stadium 1998-2008.

Tonight's lineup against Tampa Bay:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
C Brian McCann
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Stephen Drew
LF Chris Young

Pitching matchup preview: Chris Capuano vs Jake Odorizzi

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Game 141: Derek Jeter Day

It's the day we've all been wishing would stay away for several more years -- Derek Jeter Day. The Yankees will be holding a big pre-game ceremony for Jeter, very similar to the one held for Mariano Rivera last season -- minus Metallica, of course.

The ceremony is expected to start sometime around 12:30 p.m., according to the Yankees, so whether you're at the game or watching from home, you'll want to make sure you don't miss it because it's going to be big, emotional, and a little fun.

Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Gerald Williams, Tim Raines, and probably many more will be at The Stadium today for Jeter.

As for the game, which will start around 1:35 p.m. ET, the Yankees and Royals split the first two games of the series after the Yankees took last night's game, 6-1, on the strength of another good outing from Brandon McCarthy.

Today's lineup against Kansas City:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
2B Martin Prado
RF Carlos Beltran
C Brian McCann
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Stephen Drew
3B Chase Headley
LF Ichiro Suzuki

Pitching Matchup: Shane Greene vs Yordano Ventura

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Yankees 5, Red Sox 4: Chase Headley's walkoff homerun completes Yanks comeback victory

Staring a loss right in the face, the Yankees came from behind to beat the Red Sox on a walk-off homerun by Chase Headley, minutes after a solo homerun by Mark Teixeira tied the game against Koji Uehara in the 9th inning, as the Bombers would beat Boston, 5-4, in the series finale on Thursday night in the Bronx.

David Ortiz had a big night for the Red Sox, blasting a pair of homeruns early in the game that helped the Sox jump out to a 3-0 lead. But in the end, it wasn't enough for his last place Sox to take home the victory.

Chris Capuano suffered possibly his worst start since joining the Yankees, as he failed to go at least five innings for the first time in eight starts, giving up four runs on six hits in just 4.1 innings.

Ortiz put the Yankees on the board in the top of the first inning, crushing a fastball over plate from Capuano into the right field seats, making it a 1-0 game. Ortiz made it a 3-0 game two innings later with another homerun, this time a two-run shot on a hanging breaking ball.

The Yankees came back to tie the game in the bottom half of the 3rd inning. Derek Jeter hit a two-run double into right-center field to pull the Yankees to within a run. The two batters later, Carlos Beltran singled into center field to score Jeter from second base, tying the game at 3-3.

Those were the only three runs that the Yankees were able to grab against Red Sox right-hander Brandon Workman, who was just recently called-up from Triple-A to start the game, Workman gave up just the three runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out five in six innings of work.

Boston took a 4-3 lead on a solo homerun by Brock Holt to open the top of the 5th inning. Capuano would leave the game a batter later, giving the ball off to the Yankees' bullpen, which was able to shut down the Red Sox for the remainder of the game.

Adam Warren was able to get out of trouble in the 9th inning after putting on the first two batters of the inning, retiring the next three he faced to set up the Yankees' win in the 9th.

Teixeira led off the inning with his first homerun in his last 56 at-bats, tying the game at 4-4. Then two batters later, Headley blasted a no-doubt homerun into the right field seats for his second walk-off hit since joining the Yankees.

With this Boston series now wrapped up, the Yankees will welcome the Kansas City Royals to town for a three-game series that starts on Friday night with Michael Pineda and James Shields facing off at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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Game 138: Series finale with Boston

The Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak last night with a 5-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. The win puts the Yankees in a position to take the series against Boston this evening at Yankee Stadium after both sides split the first two games.

Brian McCann was the start of the show last night, collecting four hits, including a two-run homerun in the 2nd, and three RBIs to back up a strong seven-inning outing from Hiroki Kuroda, who picked up his 10th win of the season.

It's not question that 2014 was been a down year for McCann, who signed a five-year contract with the Yankees this past offseason. But there is always hope that he'll be able to turn things around at some point. While McCann certainly brings a lot to the Yankees' pitching staff, his big contract was mainly because of what he can do at the plate.

Tonight's lineup against Boston:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
LF Brett Gardner
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
2B Stephen Drew
RF Ichiro Suzuki

Pitching matchup preview:

Left-hander Chris Capuano gets the ball for the Yankees tonight in the series finale with the Red Sox. Capuano earned his first with New York in his last start after giving up three runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend.

Capuano has been a very produce mid-season pickup for the Yankees since he was acquired in July, going at least five innings in each of his first seven starts.

Brandon Workman will take the mound for the visitors in this matchup, making his first start since being recalled by the Red Sox just a few days ago. In his most recent big league start, on August 23 against the Seattle Mariners, Workman was shelled for seven runs in 10 hits.

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Yankees planning to offer Brian Cashman a new contract this winter

Despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the Yankees are planning to offer general manager Brian Cashman a new contract that would bring him back for next season, and several more years after that, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman.

According to Heyman, higher-ups in the Yankees' front office like the mid-season pickups that Cashman has made this season -- like Brandon McCarthy, Martin Prado, and Chase Headley -- and are not putting any of the blame on him for the struggles of prized free-agents, like Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.

Cashman's current three-year contract runs out at the end of the season, and reports earlier in the year suggested that the Yankees would be looking to bring back their long-time general manager.

The Yankees have averaged more than 96 wins a year and won four World series championships in his previous 16 seasons at the helm, so even with the arguments that the team isn't focused enough on younger, more in-their-prime players, Cashman's strategies have made him a very successful GM for  over a decade.

The Yankees have a policy of waiting until after the season to talk about renewing contracts for any upcoming free-agents, and Cashman won't be anything different.

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Yankees 5, Red Sox 1: Brian McCann's big night at the plate leads Yankees to win over Boston

The Yankees bounced back from a sluggish series opener on Tuesday night to defeat the Boston Red Sox, 5-1, on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Brian McCann had a big night at the plate that helped the Yankees snap a three-game losing streak, with four hits, including a two-run homerun in the bottom of the 2nd inning that put the Yankees up 2-0, and three RBIs on the night to lead the Bombers to victory.

On the mound, Hiroki Kuroda was dealing for the Yankees. He went seven strong innings, giving up just one run -- a Brock Holt double in the 6th inning that scored Jemile Weeks, who was hit by a pitch a batter earlier, to put the Red Sox on the board, making it a 3-1 game -- on four hits, while striking out eight and walking none in seven innings of work.

The Yankees added to their 2-0 against Boston's rookie starter Anthony Ranaudo in the 5th inning on a bases loaded sac-fly by Jacoby Ellsbury that scored Chase Headley from third base.

Ranaudo suffered his first loss at the big league level, giving up three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out just one batter.

Brett Gardner made it a 4-1 game in the bottom of the 7th inning with an RBI single off of Sox reliever Alex Wilson, scoring Ellsbury. Three batters later, McCann extended the lead to 5-1 with an RBI single of his own -- it was his fourth hit of the night, as well.

Both Dellin Betances and David Robertson struck out a pair of hitters in scoreless innings to close out the ballgame.

The Yankees and Red Sox close out this three-game series on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. ET. Chris Capuano and Brandon Workman will be the starting pitchers in that one.

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Game 137: Martin Prado out with "mild, mild hamstring strain"

With their playoff hopes quickly fading away, the Yankees will continue their three-game series with the Boston Red Sox this evening at Yankee Stadium. Boston took the series opener last night, 9-4, on the back of three homeruns against Yankees pitching.

With just a few weeks left to play, the Yankees are 9 1/2 games out of the AL East race, and five games back of the second wild card spot. Time is running out -- and fast.

Tonight's lineup against Boston:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
LF Brett Gardner
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
2B Stephen Drew
RF Ichiro Suzuki

* Martin Prado is sitting out with a "mild, mild hamstring strain," according to Joe Girardi. It's possible that he could play tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it.

Pitching matchup: Hiroki Kuroda vs Anthony Ranaudo

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Yankees make seven September call-ups, other roster moves

The Yankees on Tuesday afternoon announced a flurry of roster moves prior to tonight's series opener against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

September call-ups:

C John Ryan Murphy
OF Chris Young
OF Antoan Richardson
RHP Preston Claiborne
RHP Bryan Mitchell
RHP Chase Whitley
LHP Chaz Roe
RHP Rich Hill

Not really the biggest moves they could have made, and nothing in there that'll make this club good enough to reach the post season. Whatever, I guess.

In other roster moves:

Outfielder Zoilo Almonte was designated for assignment; right-hander Matt Daley was released; outfield prospect Slade Heathcott was recalled from Double-A Trenton and then placed on the 60-day DL; and Masahiro Tanaka was transferred over to the 60-day DL, which means he's done for the season.

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Joe Girardi needs to consider changing around the Yankees' lineup

Sometimes the easiest, most obvious answer is the one right in front you. Despite all the Yankees' troubles this season, they still have a shot at the playoffs. The starting rotation has been decimated, the offense has been lackluster for much of the season, and yet there is still a chance.

Getting the offense going is and has always been the key to this year's Yankees, and a simple lineup change could do wonders. For much of the year, Jacoby Ellsbury has been masquerading as a No. 3 hitter, it's safe to assume that's not what Brian Cashman had in mind when he signed the former Red Sox outfielder to a seven-year, $142 million contract this past offseason.

Brett Gardner -- who is having a career year -- has hit first all season. Followed by Gardner has been Derek Jeter, who in his final season, has been underwhelming at the plate, and that's putting it lightly. This was supposed to be a year-long farewell to Jeter, but his power has been nonexistent.

In August, as the Yankees were trying to catch Seattle and Detroit for the second Wild Card spot, Jeter hit .207 with four extra base hits, while Ellsbury was absolutely on fire. For the month, Ellsbury hit .324/.366/.539 with five home runs, 16 RBIs with five doubles, one triple and 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.  

Martin Prado and his .466 slugging percentage have fit in nicely at the No. 3 spot followed by Brian McCann, Mark Texiera and Carlos Beltran have made the Yankees offense good enough at this time. Jeter batting second with his inability to hit the ball in the air has just a .312 slugging percentage is unacceptable at this time.

I wanted Jeter's final year to be a great last hurrah as much as the next guy, but he hasn't been the same since he broke his ankle in the first game of the 2012 ALCS. Given Girardi's relationship with the aging star, it's not surprising that he's sticking with No. 2, but that has to stop now.

For 20 years Jeter has professed to not care about personal statistics, if that is the case and there is no reason to doubt his team-first stance, then he should have no problem dropping down to the No. 7 spot in the lineup. This isn't A-Rod dropping to No. 7 by Joe Torre in the 2006 ALCS by any means.

The Yankees need for Jeter to move down in the lineup for the sake of the team. Masahiro Tanaka is on pace to return to the mound later this month to join Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda and surprise additions' Shane Greene and Brandon McCarthy.

Sure, they trail Detroit/Kansas City by four games for the second Wild Card, and they would have to win a game just to get to the Division Series, but the playoffs aren't out of reach.

It's time for Girardi to stop looking at his shortstop like the future first-ballot Hall of Famer that he is, but a 40-year-old with no power, who is no longer fit to hit second for a contending team. It's a cold truth to swallow, but Father Time is undefeated in matters such as these.

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Yankees 3, Blue Jays 4: Toronto powers their way past New York with three homeruns

The Yankees got their hits today, but it wasn't enough for them to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, who used three homeruns to power their way past New York, 4-3, in the finale of this three-game series on Sunday afternoon at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Brett Gardner put the Yankees up 1-0 just two pitches into the game with a solo homerun to right field off of Blue Jays starter JA Happ to lead off the ballgame.

The Yankees doubled their lead in the top of the 4th inning to make it a 2-0 game. Martin Prado singled to open the frame; after a couple of outs, Chase Headley and Francisco Cervelli hit back-to-back singles, the later scoring Prado for the game's second run.

Gardner continued his great day at the plate the very next inning, slapping a triple into the left-center field gap. Jose Reyes' relay throw to third base sailed into the Jays' dugout, giving Gardner homeplate free of charge, extending the Yankees' lead to 3-0.

Gardner would go on to double in his next at-bat, needing just a single to reach the cycle. He wouldn't get it though, grounding out to second base in his final at-bat of the game, in the 9th inning.

Yankees starter Brandon McCarthy was cruising along through the first five innings, giving up just two hits -- he even struck out the side in the 5th. His stuff was looking good and his was putting together another great start, but that was until Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista hit back-to-back solo homeruns to quickly make it a one run game, at 3-2.

Then to open the bottom half of the 7th, Edwin Encarnacion tied the game with a solo blast to left field off of McCarthy, who walked the next batter before Joe Girardi ended his day and brought in Dellin Betances to get out of the inning. Betances got out of the inning, but not before Steve Tolleson, who pinch-ran for Dioner Navarro then stole second base, scored on a single to right field by Munenori Kawasaki, just barley making it into the plate before the tag could be applied by Cervelli.

McCarthy was charged with all four runs on five hits. He walked a pair and stuck out three on 90 pitches in six-plus innings.

After working out of the 7th, Betances came back out for the 8th inning and worked around a two-out single by Adam Lind to toss a scoreless inning. In all, he tossed 29 pitches.

Starting the game on the bench with a slightly injured ankle, Jacoby Ellsbury pinch-hit for Zelous Wheeler with one out in the top of the 9th inning, and doubled into shallow right field to put a runner on second base. Ichiro Suzuki pinch-ran for Ellsbury, and moved to third on the Gardner groundout. And then batting for the final time in Toronto, Derek Jeter lined out to second base to end the game.

After finishing up this seven-game road trip in which they went 3-4, the Yankees head back home to the Bronx, where they will open up a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Shane Greene will face off against Joe Kelley in that Tuesday night matchup at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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Game 134: More than one hit today, please

One step forward, two steps back. That seems to be the way to describe the Yankees' struggling offense this past week. After scoring eight run against the Royals on Monday, they were limited to just two runs the next day in Detroit. They put up eight more runs, all in the 3rd inning against David Price, on Wednesday, then scored just two on Thursday.

And then they came into Toronto, where a five-run 7th inning on Friday night gave them a series opening win over the Blue Jays, only to collect one hit the very next day in a 2-0 loss.

Today, with Jacoby Ellsbury still out due to an ankle sprain, as Joe Girardi called it yesterday, the Yankees will look to take the rubber match of this three-game series in Toronto, as the Bombers wrap up their seven-game road trip this afternoon at 1:07 p.m. ET.

Today's lineup against Toronto:

CF Brett Gardner
DH Derek Jeter
2B Martin Prado
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Carlos Beltran
3B Chase Headley
C Francisco Cervelli
SS Stephen Drew
LF Zelous Wheeler

Pitching matchup preview:

The Yankees' ace of the past month and a half, Brandon McCarthy, take gets the ball for Joe Girardi's club this afternoon, as the right-hander is looking to bounce back from his worst start since joining the Bombers, when five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Tigers.

"I've thrown well enough to get through outings where I haven't been as sharp, and today, that's the disappointment," McCarthy said after the Detroit outing. "I'd like to be able to fight back. You know days like this you're going to give up some runs, especially against a good team like that. You'd like to be able to limit it a little bit more."

McCarthy, who has posted a 1.90 ERA (11 earned runs in 52 innings) since joining the Yankees, is 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA in seven career appearances (four starts) against the Blue Jays.

He'll be going up against Blue Jays left-hander JA Happ, who is still looking for his first win since July 22, when he beat the Boston Red Sox. Happ has not been pitching well lately, having given up 11 runs in his last 15 1/3 innings.

This'll be Happ's second start this season against the Yankees, who hit him for three runs (two earned) on four hits, including a pair of homeruns, in 5 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium back in July.

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Yankees 0, Blue Jays 2: Yankees get one-hit for the first time since 2009

The Yankees have beaten Drew Hucthinson three times this season, but on Saturday afternoon, the Bombers were only able to collect one hit in seven innings against the Blue Jays' right-hander in a 2-0 loss at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

A two-run homerun in the 1st inning by Jose Bautista off of Yankees starter Michael Pineda turned out to be the difference-maker in this one, as the Jays rebounded from last night's loss to take the middle game of this three-game series.

After an offensive outbreak last night, and a couple of times in Detroit this past week, the Yankees' offense showed more of what we have been seeing all season long.

The Yankees didn't get their first baserunner of the game against Hutchinson until Carlos Beltran was hit by a pitch with two outs in the 4th inning. Their first hit came a batter later when Mark Teixeira doubled to deep right-center field, putting runners on second and third. Hutchinson then hit Brian McCann to load the bases, but the Yankees wouldn't get anything out of it when Martin Prado flew out to end the inning.

Teixeira's double was the only hit of the game. They only had two more bases runners after the 4th inning, on walks by Beltran and Stephen Drew.

Hutchinson struck out nine and walked just two in his seven one-hit innings. In all, the Bombers struck out 12 times, as they were one-hit for the first time since former Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay did it to them on September 4, 2009.

Pitching-wise, the Yankees had a good game. They got six innings of two-run ball from Pineda, who gave up seven hits and struck out three. Shawn Kelley and David Huff both tossed scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the 7th and 8th.

The Yankees and Blue Jays conclude this series tomorrow afternoon at 1:07 p.m. ET. Brandon McCarthy gets the ball for New York, going up against lefty JA Happ.

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Game 133: Just 30 games left

The Yankees are at that point in the season in which they can't afford to lose very many ballgames anymore. They took home a big win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night, scoring five runs in the 7th inning to take a 5-1 lead, as they would go on to win 6-3.

The Yankees now stand seven games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East, and three games back of the Detroit Tigers for the second wild card spot with just 30 games left to play this season.

Today's lineup against Toronto:

CF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
LF Martin Prado
2B Stephen Drew
3B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki

* Jacoby Ellsbury gets the day off after hurting his ankle in last night's win. He was seen hobbling around by reporters with his ankle taped. I'm guessing he'll be out for a couple more day.

Pitching matchup: Michael Pineda vs Drew Hutchinson

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Minor League Recap - 8/29/14: John Ryan Murphy goes yard in Scranton's loss

Triple-A Scranton: 6-5 loss vs Lehigh Valley IronPigs

SS Jose Pirela: 0-for-2, K
RF Chris Young: 1-for-4, K
2B Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-4, K
1B Kyle Roller: 1-for-4, R, K
CF Adonis Garcia: 2-for-4, R, 2 2B, RBI
C John Ryan Murphy: 2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, K -- 6th homerun of the season

Manny Banuelos: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Tyler Webb: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Preston Claiborne: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A Trenton: 3-0 loss vs Reading Fighin' Phils

LF Jake Cave: 0-for-5, 2 K
DH Ben Gamel: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Greg Bird: 1-for-4, K
C Francisco Arcia: 2-for-4, 2B
CF Mason Williams: 0-for-3, BB, K

Luis Severino: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Mark Montgomery: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

High-A Tampa: 8-4 loss vs Daytona Cubs

CF Mark Payton: 0-for-4, BB, K
SS Cito Culver: 1-for-5, R, K
3B Eric Judge: 1-for-4, R
RF Aaron Judge: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
DH Mike Ford: 1-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB

Miguel Sulbaran: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR

Low-A Charleston: 6-1 win vs Augusta GreenJackets

SS Tyler Wade: 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 K
DH Michael O’Neill: 3-for-4, R, RBI, K
3B Miguel Andujar: 1-for-5
2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-4, BB, 4 K

Rookie Davis: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

Short Season Staten Island: 8-7 win (F/10) vs Vermont Lake Monsters

CF Collin Slaybaugh: 1-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K -- walk-off double
DH Connor Spencer: 2-for-5, R, RBI
1B Chris Breen: 3-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB -- second homer in his last five games
RF Austin Aune: 0-for-5, 3 K
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K

Jordan Montgomery: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Jordan Foley: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Rony Bautista: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

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Yankees 8, Tigers 4: Shane Greene dominates after Yankees chase David Price early

Baseball is a very weird game sometimes, you guys.

Facing former Cy Young winner David Price one night after getting just two runs over eight innings against Rick Porcello, the Yankees knocked Price out of the game with nobody out in the 3rd inning after collecting nine straight hits, as they would go on to beat the Tigers, 8-4, on Wednesday night in Detroit.

Price gave up three singles in the first two innings, but the Yankees weren't able to put any runs on the board. At least until the 3rd inning came around, when the Yankees collected nine straight base hits to open the inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled to lead off then stole second base before Derek Jeter doubled down the right field lineup, putting the Yankees up 1-0. Martin Prado singled, Mark Teixeira doubled home Jeter, moving Prado to third. Carlos Beltran singled home Prado, then Brian McCann singled home Teixeira. Chase Headley singled to load the bases, then Brett Gardner reached on an infield single to score Beltran, then Francisco Cervelli drove in McCann on a single to left field, making a 6-0 game.

Price left with nobody out and the bases loaded in the 3rd inning. None of the secondary pitches were working for him, and the Yankees were taking full advantage of it. He gave up eight runs on 12 hits in two-plus innings.

Detroit was forced to go to it's bullpen far earlier than expected, but the Yankees still added to the score, scoring two more runs on back-to-back sac-fly's by Ellsbury and Jeter, extending the lead to 8-0.

That gave Yankees starter Shane Greene more than enough room to work with, as if he really even needed it.

Greene didn't give up a hit until Torii Hunter singled to open the 4th inning. Miguel Cabrera doubled a batter later to drive him home, putting the Tigers on the board to close to gap -- just a little bit -- to 8-1. A couple innings later, Victor Martinez, crushed his 26th homerun of the year to make it an 8-2 game.

That was all the Tigers were able to get against Greene, who was dealing. The young right-hander went seven strong innings, giving up just the two runs on five hits, striking out eight and walking just one on 101 pitches.

Adam Warren gave up a run in the 8th inning after issuing a one-out walk to Martinez, then giving up an RBI triple to Nick Castellanos. Dellin Betances finished off the 9th inning, giving up a run on a couple of two-out hits, to close out the Yankees' sixth win in their last seven games.

The Yankees and Tigers will finish up this three-game series on Thursday afternoon at 1:08 p.m. ET. Hiroki Kuroda will be on the mound for the Bombers, facing off with Kyle Lobstein.

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Game 131: Brett Gardner returns

The Yankees and Tigers continue their three-game series tonight at Comerica Park. Detroit took the opener last night on the strength of eight innings of two-run ball from starter Rick Porcello, who was giving the Yankees fits all night.

The only high note in the game for New York was the two solo homeruns hit by Jacoby Ellsbury, who has hit three dingers in his last two games.

Tonight's lineup against Detroit:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
2B Martin Prado
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Carlos Beltran
DH Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
LF Brett Gardner
C Francisco Cervelli

Pitching matchup:

Shane Greene gets the ball for the Bombers tonight, as the Tigers will trot out David Price to face the Yankees for the since time since being traded to Detroit on July 31.

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Yankees ink outfielder Chris Young to a minor league deal

The Yankees have signed former Mets outfielder Chris Young to a minor league deal, as first reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Young will spend a few days in Triple-A Scranton, and is almost certain to be added to the Yankees' 40-man roster and brought up to the big leagues as a September call-up on September 1.

Young was released by the Mets on August 16 after batting .205 with just eight homeruns. He was in his first season with the Mets after signing a one-year, $7.25-million  contract over the winter.

A right-handed bat, Young can give the Yankees another option off of the bench in September, and will be able to give the 40-year-old Ichiro Suzuki some more time off here and there.

The Yankees aren't losing anything with this signing, so I don't see any problem with it.

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Game 130: Going for six straight

The Yankees continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers that starts tonight at Comerica Park. New York enters on a five-game winning streak, their highest of the season, after taking down one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Kansas City Royals, 8-1 last night, bringing them to within 2.5 games of the second wild card spot.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the Yankees and Tigers. The two teams met about three weeks ago at Yankee Stadium, when the Yankees took three of the four games.

Detroit just split a four game series with the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, and are currently 1.5 games back of the first place Royals in the AL Central.

Tonight's lineup against Detroit:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
DH Derek Jeter
C Brian McCann
1B Mark Teixeira
RF Carlos Beltran
2B Martin Prado
SS Stephen Drew
3B Chase Headley
LF Ichiro Suzuki

Pitching matchup: Brandon McCarthy vs Rick Porcello

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Yankees are in the playoff race because of their starting rotation

It's truly amazing what the Yankees have been able to accomplish so far in 2014 given the circumstances they have been playing under.

Coming into the season having spent near half a billion dollars in free-agency, the Yankees quickly fell victim to the the infectious injury bug, losing four of their five Opening Day starters before the All-Star break, coupling with an offense that never got going.

Starting pitcher Ivan Nova went down for the entire season in April because of Tommy John surgery. CC Sabathia got hurt in May, and was never seen again after eventually deciding on knee surgery. Michael Pineda missed nearly four months because of back issues. And Masahiro Tanaka has been out since July because of a partial tear of the UCL ligament -- he's on the comeback trail, and hopes to return in mid-September. Even David Phelps is out for a few more weeks because of an arm injury.

But somehow, with the Yankees' offense putting up some of it's worth offensive numbers in years -- showing just as lame as last year's offense -- it's been that same fill-in pitching staff that has kept this team just 2.5 games out of a wild card spot with nearly five weeks left to go in the regular season.

As the Yankees go into Detroit tonight to open up a three-game series with the Tigers, who the Yankees took three of four games from in the bronx three weeks ago, they boast a 3.81 starters' ERA, good enough for 6th in the American League -- thats even better than the Tigers, who hold the last three AL Cy Young award winners in their rotation; the only teams with a better starters' ERA than the Yankees are all current playoff spot holders.

And like I mentioned, most of the work has been put in by fill-in starts. Guys like Brandon McCarthy, who has posted a 1.90 ERA with just seven walks in 52 innings in eight starts since joining the team in early July (probably the best of the trades that Brian Cashman has made this season). And Shane Greene, who looked good in his eight starts, going 3-1 with a 3.19 ERA. Chase Whitley had his moments at the beginning before falling apart, for the most part. Chris Capuano, too, and even Vidal Nuno had one decent start -- you'll have to do some research to find it, though.

The Yankees enter tonight's game on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season. In those five games, their starter has not given up more than three runs in at least five innings of work. That streak, in all, goes to six games, and seven of their last eight.

It's one of those things that I'll never understand, really: how could the Yankees still be in the position to hunt for a playoff spot when their offense ranks 19th in Major League Baseball in run scored, and the pitching staff has seen 12 different players start a game for them this season?

I don't care how they're doing it, honestly, just as long as this trend continues.

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