Astros pound Yanks in Opener.

They never said that it would be easy for the Yankees this season. They also forgot to mention that it wouldn't be easy to take care of business againt the Houston Astros even with Andy Pettitte on the mound.

That was the case Monday night as the Astros were able to jump on Pettitte early and often scoring 3 runs in the 1st inning, 2 in the 4th, and 5 in the 5th to to easily defeat the Yankees 9-1 in the Bronx.

It just wasn't Pettitte's night as he was able to get the first two hitters of the game out, but then ran into some trouble once the next 5 Astros hitter eached base, all with 2 outs.

Carlos Pena singled to right scoring Brandon Laird, then Carlos Corporan doubled to right plating 2 more runs to quickly push Houston's lead to 3-0.

Pettitte was able to settle down for the next 2 innings until in the 4th when Laird doubled over Vernon Wells in left to drive in 2 more runs increasing the Astros lead to 5-0.

After alloing two more hts to start the 5th inning, Girardi coulndn't handle it anymore as he pulled the 40-year old Pettitte to bring in the young righty Adam Warren.

Facing only one batter, arrn threw a wild pitch allowing a run to score form 3rd, then just a couple pitches later Corporan lined a 2-run homerun in to the right field stands pulling the Astros well ahead at 9-0.

Just an overall tough night for Pettitte as he allowed 7 runs over 4 1/ innings, surrendering a season high 10 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts. Warren wet 1 1/3 giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. And Vidal Nuno made his Major League debut tonight as he went 3 shutout inning while only allowing 4 hits.

The only Yankee run of the night was in the 6th when Vernon Wells blooped a ball into left field scoring Brett Gardner to put the Yankees on the board for the only time Monday night.

The Yankees had a tough time hitting the ball to night as it showed on the scoreboard ad just couldn't get anything going against Lucus Harrell as e tossed 6 1/3 inning, allowig only 1 run on 8 hits. Harrell as able to indu 10 groundball outs from the Yankees without 1 flyball.

Houston's bullpen was able to shutdown the Yankees offense for the other 2 2/3 innings, as it didn't allow a single hit.

Kevin Youkilis was once againout of the Yankees lineup after undergoing an MRI on Mondy that later cme back negaive, though he will get an epidual. The Yankees are still discussing whether or not t place Youk on the DL.

These two teams will be right back at it on Tuesday with Hiroki Kuroda and Philip Humber squaring off at 7:05 ET.

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Astros stop in the Bronx.

After sweeping their division foe Toronto Blue Jays in 4 games over the weekend, the Yankees now have a perfect chance to add to that win streak with the Houston Astros coming to town for a 3 game set starting Monday night.

The Yankees played the comeback card in all four games against the Jays over the weekend. After Travis Hafners game winning RBI triple in the 7th inning of Saturday's game, Lyle Overbay came thought with a 2-run homerun off R.A. Dickey in the 7th inning of Sundays game.

The Yankees lost 2 more players due to injury on Friday. Francisco Cervelli fractured for right hand after a foul ball drill him. Cervelli underwent surgery on Saturday and is expected to miss at least 6 weeks.

Ivan Nova left in the 3rd inning of Friday's game with what an MRI later revealed to be inflammation in his right elbow. Nova has been place on the DL and David Phelps is expected to start in his place on Wednesday.

The Astros are finishing their 7 game road trip in the Bronx. They are coming in after being swept by the Red Sox in 4 games in which they gave up at least 6 runs in all four games. For a team that strikes out a lot, the Yankees pitchers will have a dandy time facing such a low contact team.

Probable starters:

Mon: Harrell vs Pettitte
Tues: Humber vs Kuroda
Wed: Berdard vs Phelps

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Overbays late blast gives Yanks the win.

As they have so often this year, it seems that even when trailing late in the game, the Yankees find a way to win. That was the case again on Sunday as the Yankees were able to sweep the Blue Jays thanks to Lyle Overbay's 7th inning blast.

Phil Hughes was coming off an impressive start in Tampa and he continued to add to that momentum by striking out 9 Jays hitters over 6 innings, giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits, while only walking 1. Hughes had some of his best stuff early. His slider was working well and he was able to get the fastball by a lot of hitters.

Toronto scored their 1st run off Hughes in the 4th inning. After back to back two out singles, Adam Lind singled a soft chopper up the middle to score Melky Cabrera and tie the game at 1-1. The Jays were able to pull aead in the 6th inning after another 2-out hit. This time a double to right off the bat of Maicer Izuris, plating Jose Bautista.

The Yankees weren't able to get much offense going off R.A. Dickey, only a solo homerun by Brennan Boesch in the 2nd was able to happen until the 7th inning when trailing 2-1, after a Travis Hafner single, Lyle Overbay was able to take Dickey deep in to the Yankees bullpen to pull them head 3-2.

"We didn't have a lot [of success against him]," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the reigning Cy Young winner. "We had four hits and two of them were homers, that's what helped. It's tough, because you're used to seeing guys throwing in the 90s, and all the sudden, you're trying to hit a butterfly, so it becomes very difficult."

"It's tough to center a ball on him, and we were able to really only get three or four on him today, and fortunately, two of them were home runs."

Boone Logan, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera shutdown the Blue Jays in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings to seal the Yankees 3-2 victory and a 4 game sweep of their division foe. Rivera picked up his 9th save of the year, and the Yankees improved to 15-9.

All 3 Yankee runs were contibuted by some of the guys that the Yankees had aquired late in spring training.
"We knew what these guys could do, whether it's Hafner or Overbay or Wells," said Hughes. "Guys who have experience in this league and good hitters, that's the bottom line. So we felt like if we pitched well, we were going to get contributions from somebody and that's been the case early on."

Kevin Youkilis was once again not in the Yankees lineup after he felt the tightness in his back return. Girardi said that he'll see team doctors and they haven't yet ruled out havin some tests such as an MRI. If the Yankees were to put him on the DL they wouldn't be able to retro-active to return date due to being in the lineup on Saturday.

Brett Gardner as also not in the starting lineup. It wasn't known as to why he wasn't starting. But we can assure that it wasn't injury related as Gardner entered to game in the 8th inning as a defensive replacement for Brennan Boesch.

Now on a 4 game winning streak, the Yankeeswill greet the Houston Astros to the Bronx for a 3 game series starting on Monday. The starting pitches for game 1 will be Lucas Harrell and Andy Pettitte facing off at 7:05 ET.

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Hafner's big day backs Sabathia.

Looking to rebound from a sluggish start in his last outing against the Rays, CC Sabathia was able to battle for 8 strong innings, to be back by a resilient Yankees offense and earn his 4th victory of the year, Saturday at Yankee stadium.

Sabathia was far from having his best stuff on the mound as he surrendered a season high, 9 hits to a very tough Blue Jays lineup. Sabathia gave up 3 runs early after a 12 pitch 1st inning, allowed an RBI groundout by Rajai Davis in the 3rd inning. Then Toronto added anther run in the 4th when Jose Bautista took Sabathia deep for his 2nd homerun in as many days.

Ben Francisco is usually booked as the Yankees DH against lefty pitchers, but Girardi decided to play Travis Hafner today against Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ. Down 3-0 in the 4th, Hafner blasted a 3-run homerun into the Yankees bullpen. It was Hafner's 6th of the season and it tied he game at 3-3.

But Brett Lowrie took the lead right back for Toronto in the 6th inning when he connected for his 2nd homerun of the season off Sabathia.

The Yankees once again showed a late fight as they have so much this season. "They've been resilient," Girardi said. "There's no doubt about it. They've found ways to come back."

It all started when Vernon Wells singled home Robinson Cano after he doubled with 1-out in the 7th. A batter later, Hafner shot a triple off the wall in center fileld to drive in Wells, and give the Yankees a 5-4 lead.

"I don't really have a rhyme or reason for it," Girardi said for the re-emergence of Hafner and Wells. "I think that this is a great place to play. It's a great clubhouse to be in, it's a great atmosphere to come into every night, whether you're home or on the road, and there's an expectation here. I think a lot of guys feed off that."

That was just enough support for Sabathia to head back to the mound in the 8th and finish off his day strong after tossing 8th ininngs of allowing 4 runs (3 earned), on 9 hits, with 4 strikeouts, and not a single walk from Sabathia on 112 pitches.

Girardi wouldn't allow Mariano Rivera to pitch a 3rd straight day, so insted he sent out Joba to attempt his 1st save since 2010. Toronto was able to get a couple runners on, but Joba got Melky Cabrera to groundout to 3rd to end the game. Giving Sabathia his 4th April victory for the 1st time in his career.

"That's fun for me, seeing the energy of the crowd and my teammates, and knowing this is the last go at it," said Chamberlain, who recorded his first save since Sept. 21, 2010. "I love that. That's something that I play for, the energy. I can't help but smile, because that's why you play the game. I'm excited to get that opportunity."

Backed by Travis Hafner's 4 RBI game, the Yankees are now 14-9 in a season filled with injuries to so many of their key players. They will go for the sweep of the Blue Jays on Sunday, with two pitchers in need a of a win as R.A Dickey faces Phil Hughes at 1:07 ET.

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What's Cano worth?

In the midst of a Cano contract year, Robinson Cano has been put with the pressure to carry an injury riddled Yankees lineup. His numbers throught the first month of the season have only showed-off Cano as the player the Yankees wanted him to be. Putting together on of the best starts to season in his career, Cano is presenting a great case to the Yankees for them to pay him what he wants. So, how much should he get?

New agency:

Just a couple weeks ago Cano, who was originally represented by Scott Boris as his agent, made the switch to sign with Roc Nation. A company that was founded for would renouned rapper, part owner of the Brooklyn Nets, and of course a big time Yankees fan in Jay-Z. Thought the business side of things will be led by CAA Sports' Brodie Van Wagenen.

This news came as a big to surprise to just about everyone in the baseball world as Cano left Scott, who is regarded as the biggest and best agent in the game of baseball. Now with Jay-Z, it would seem much more likely that Cano will stay in New York for years to come. We all know that Jay-Z is huge Yankes fan and he certainly wouldn't want to see one of the teams best player leave New York. Of course you can assmue that he's going to do everything he can to make sure that Cano stays in New York, all while getting the most money for his all-star client.

Broken promise:

Throughtout the offseason the Yankees made the promise the they were focused of cutting the teams payroll to get under $189 million by the 2014 season. With the payroll lowering in mind, the Yankees were hoping that they could convince Cano to take a hometown pay-cut, in order to get a deal done. That was something that Cano said he wasn't going to do.

Now according to reports, that $189M payroll is not going to happen. As much as the Yankees wanted to hit the $189M mark, it seems that if these reports are true and New York is just going to for get the plan that had stuck to so tightly, it would seem that Cano after might just get the deal he wants. Even if the Yankees don't want to give it to him

What's the Price?

Cano is 30-years old. Any deal that the Yankees give him, likely won't exceed 8 years. If I had to make a guess, which I am. I would say the length of the potential contract will end up somewhere around the 6-8 year range. That's fair. The Yankees are seeing first hand, to what's happening with their aging stars and certainly hope they won't have to go through this with Cano.

The price is a whole different story. Like I said, Cano is currently have a great season and it will only get better. He's not showed any negative play in his career and many could argue that he's currently the best hitter in the game. Everything he does is done in a smooth, calm, and effortless way but it still makes him an all-star. Now as far as the price tag I would put on him, I can easily go as low as $25 million a year. A number around what guys like Albrt Pujols and Josh Hamilton are making.

But as far as I know, there haven't been many contract talks between him and the Yankees lately. there might not be anything seious until the season ends. So we might just have to wait until then. But when he does sign, with whom ever he signs with. I can only imagine that Robinson Cano will make himself one of the highest paid players in the game.

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Yankees lose big in win over Jays.

Regardless of what the scoreboard says, the Yankees lost in a big way on Friday night at Yankee Stadium as both catcher Fancisco Cervelli and starting pitcher Ivan Nova left the game due to injuries in the Yankees 6-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Cervelli left just 5 pitches into the game after a foul ball off the bat of Rajai Davis caught Cervelli on the knuckles of his right hand, forcing Girardi to pull him from the game. The Yankees later learned of the news that he had fractured his right hand. Cervelli will need surgry to repair, and he's expected to miss at least 6 weeks.

"Its disappointing. I know it's really disappointing for him because of all that he's been through to get to this point," Girardi said. "My heart goes out to him." He added. " It's going to make him stronger, and it's going to make him better. He's going to have to wait a little while to play, but we'll get him back."

With Chris Stewart as the new catcher, the game went on. It wen on until the 3rd inning when disaster struck again for the Yankees, after Nova had to leave the game throwing only 54 pitches. Nova left with so pain in his right throwing elbow and will undergo an MRI Friday night, as we await the results.

"He talked about it a little bit after the second inning and said he wanted to go back out there and try," Girardi said. "We saw the first two hitters in the third and just decided. We went out there and asked him, and he said he wasn't OK."

David Phelps came on in relief of Nova and after allowing a run, he settled in nicely to strikeout 9 Jays hitters over 4 four innings. If Nova has anything that will land him on the DL, then Phelps made a very good case for himself to replace Nova in the rotation as he was on his game tonight.

"My last two outings have both been on his day," Phelps said. "I was at [77] pitches today. It's not my decision, but if that's what they want me to do, I think I can do it."

With the score tied in the 4th inning, Lyle Overbay as ableto triple home Eduardo Nunez off of Brad Lincon to pull the Yankees ahead 3-2. Overay scored a batter later on a wild pitch to Travis Hafner.

The Yankees bullpen in all pitched great tonight, as the only bad marks to the box score were solo homeruns by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who had 2 long balls in tonights game.

Ahead only 5-4 in the 8th, Brett Gardner launched his 3rd homerun of the year into the seats in right field, to give Mariano Rivera a 2-run cushion heading into the 9th.

Pitching for the 2nd conscutive game, the Jays were able to load the bases with 3 hits, all being singles off Rivera. Before he was able to escape the dager unharmed, by strikingot Colby Rasmus swinging to end the game. Rivera picked his 8th save of the year and theYankees picked up their 13th win.

Game 3 of the series will take place Saturdy afternoon at Yankee Stadium, with CC Sabathia facing J.A. Happ at 4:05 ET.

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Cervelli and Nova leave with injuries.

Things went from bad to worse on Friday when 5 pitches into the game, catcher Francisco Cervelli was struck on his right (throwing arm) hand by a foul ball off the bat from Rajai Davis. Cervelli was forced to leave the game, with Girardi making the switch to bring in Chris Stewart.

Cervelli suffered a fracture in his right hand and will require surgery. He is expected to miss at least 6 weeks. It's a tough break for such a hard worker in Cervelli. He had missed the WBC in order the win a starting job with the Yankees. He had started off great for the Yankees early on, with the bat and certainly behind the plate.

Yankees Triple-A catcher Austin Romine is expected to be brought up as Cervellis replacement. He was pulled mid-inning in tonights game in Triple-A. Chris Stewart will presumably take over the role as the Yankees starting catcher.

Things got worse in the 3rd inning after Rajai Davis singled up the middle off Ivan Nova, causing Girardi and the Yankees trainer to come out to check on the young pitcher. After just a couple seconds of discussion Nova was pulled from the game after throwing only 54 pitches. David Phelps has entered the game as his relief.

It's been recently learned that Nova left the game with pain in his right elbow. He will undergo an MRI tonight as we can expect some final results soon. But the question will raise as to who would take his spot in the rotation should he need to be placed on the DL. It would seem most likely that David Phelps would take over, or maybe even Chen Ming-Wang who's currently down in Triple-A. But after only 2 starts it might be unlikely to see Wang just yet.

All these injuries coming at the worst time for the Yankees as they are suppose to make a decision on Saturday whether or not they should place Kevin Youkilis on the DL after missing the last 6 games with a back injury.

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What to do when Grandy returns.

We're only a few days way from May 1st as April starts to close. The excitment that Yankee are feeling is that when May rolls around, we're going to get some of our stars back. But what's going to happen when they do. Who's getting cut and who's moving to the bench?

Well first, let's just get this out of the way and say that when Teixeria returns, there's no doubt that he'll resume his duties as the starting first baseman, hitting 3rd or 4th in the lineup. Which in the end, will likey leave Lyle Overbay at the odd man out on the Yankees bench making it very possible that he won't stick around for long when Tex returns.

The biggest questions lie in the outfield. As it stands, the Yankees starting outfield lines up with Vernon Wells, Brett Gardner, and Ichiro Suzuki. So heres the big question, who get's the boot in the outfield? First, we can say it's likley wont be Gardner. The Yankees need his speed at the top of the lineup and considering the age of Wells and Ichrio, Gardner is a better defensive option.

Vernon Wells in my opinion like Gardner won't be benched. Wells is having a good season early on and the Yankees certainly would wouldn't want to take him out of the lineup. He's a gold glove left fielder and has also been showing to be useful in the outfield with his glove, after making several nice plays this season.

So that leaves us with Ichiro. Some people might be thinking, "No, not Ichiro!". Well it might have to happen. Off to a sluggish start, it wouldn't hurt at all to move to 40-year old Ichiro to the bench. He wouldn't missed in the lineup as much as Wells or Gardner, but he would leave his gold gloves on the field.

Yet in the end, non the these guys would even have to leave the starting lineup. The DH role is a likely spot for maybe a guy like Vernon Wells. Ben Francisco is currently the DH against righties and we all know theres no way he stays around once Granderson returns. You can move Gardner to left, Grandy in center, and Ichiro will stay in right. Wells will DH then play in the outfield in order to bench Ichiro against lefties.

But then what happens to Travis Hafner? I thought he was the DH against right handed pitchers, you might say. Well thats when Girardi makes the deciscion to go with the hot hand. Platoon them at DH and just play the hottest hitter. Simple.

We can agree to disagree. If you can agree mith my views, then share this story. If you don't agree, then tell me on twitter, @GavinEwbank2013. Until next time, Go Yankees!

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Rough start, good finish for Kuroda.

The trend of bad 1st innings from a Yankees starting pitcher continued on Thursday after a 2-out walk to Jose Bautista led to a Edwin Encarnacion HR to give the Blue Jays an early 2-0 lead.

Brett Lowrie added to that score in the 2nd with a solo homerun to the short porch in right, to pull ahead 3-0 for Mark Burehle.

Burehle was working well until the 2nd inning when Vernon Wells shot a deep flyball into monument park, putting the Yankees on the board, 3-1.

Next inning with two on base Robinson Cano blasted his 7th homer of the season, pulling the Yankees ahead 4-3. Francisco Cervelli added another solo homerun an inning later.

That run support was all the Hiroki Kuroda need after he rebounded from a shaky first couple of innings, the go 6 strong, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.

"This might just be his best performance of the season." Said Joe Girardi. Even without any of his pitches, Kuroda found away to shut down the Jays and make outs.

After surrendering 6 hits in the 1st two innings, the Blue Jays were unable to get a hit off Kuroda while he had retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced.

"Considering how it started," Kuroda said, "I think I was able to put together a decent outing."

Kuroda's counterpart Burehle went 5.1 innings, surrendering 5 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 3. He's now 0-2 against the Yankees this season.

The Yankees bullpen made easy work of the Blue Jays. With Joba, Robertson, and Mariano Rivera tossing 3 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 combined hit, sealing a 5-3 Yankees win.

The win makes the Yankees 3-1 against the struggling Blue Jays this season. Game 2 of this series will take place tomorrow night in the Bronx with Ivan Nova and Josh Johnson facing off at 7:05 ET.

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Jeter assures that he'll return.

Derek Jeter is back in New York for the Yankees ucoming homestand and today he spoke to the media for the 1st time since news that a new crack in his ankel would likely keep him out until the all-star break.

Jeter gave no doubts that he will return and when he does, be back to the best of his abilities as starting shortstop for the New York Yankees. The only problem is that Jeter never said when it is that he will return. "I'm not giving a timeline. Last timeline I set I didn't make."

He of course is talking about the opening day return date which he set and couldn't meet. Jeter said he's not sure about when or what cause the new crack, but if he had to guess he would say sometime around March 16 against the Phillies. Jeter said he felf discomfort around that time and it never went away.

"It's frustrating" he said. "It's been a difficult process, it's been a frustrating prcess." He said that he's spent so much time in the training room over the past few week going throught rehab and physical therapy that he was happy to be out for the 1st time in a while.

When asked about how he feels not being able to play he said, "I don't like to miss games, I like to play." As for the games that he doesn't play, he said he hasn't watched many games. Jeter said he doesn't have the MLB package at his house and he doesn't get any of the games on YES.

As captain and leader of the Yankees, he also said that doesn't like to be away from the team. He wants be to around with them. But as far as his ankel goes, he'll continue to recive treatment and he hasn't doubet one bit that he will return healthy and ready to go.

Jeter had a message to all the Yankees fans out there, saying, "I'll be back soon." That's certainly something you oul want to hear in such an diffiult andtime consuming situation.

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Back to the Bronx.

Returning home after a 6 game road trip, the Yankees will welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to the Bronx for their first visit of the season.

Andy Pettitte's 10 strikeouts weren't enough on Wednesday night, as Alex Cobb surrendered only 4 Yankee hits in the 3-0 Rays win. The lose put the Yankees at 3-3 on the road trip.

Hiroki Kuroda will be the man to greet the Blue Jays at the door when he takes the mound on Thursday in the 1st game of a 4 game set. Kuroda shut down the Jays in his last start in Toronto.

Offense was an issue in Tampa as the Yankees were only able to cross the plate 5 times in the series. Kevin Youkilis is expected to rejoin the lineup after missing 4 straight games due to back problems.

Also expected to be in New York, is Derek Jeter. Brian Cashman said that Jeter will be in the Bronx when the teamed returned. His is in a walking boot and will talk to the media later today.

Probable pitchers:

Thur: Kuroda vs Burehle
Fri: Nova vs Johnson
Sat: Sabathia vs Happ
Sun: Hughes vs Dickey

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Yankees eye series win.

Wednesday night in Tampa, the Yankees will attempt capture to series against Alex Cobb and the Rays. Should they win it would be their 5th consecutive series win, dating back to the Indians.

After losing game 1 of the series 5-1, the Yankees rallied back from an early 1-0 hole that was caused by a 32 pitch 1st inning from Phil Hughes.

Andy Pettitte will take the mound for the Yankees as he will try to break the streak of bad 1st innings from a Yankee starter. Both Sabathia and Hughes threw at least 30 pitches in the opening frame, surrendering a total of 5 runs.

Kevin Youkilis won't be in tonight's lineup for the 4th straight game as he continues to nurse his back after experiencing more tightness Monday during BP.

Girardi told reports Tuesday that Youkilis wouldn't play again until Thursday when the Yankees return back to the Bronx to open up a series against the Blue Jays.

Tonights pitching matchup:

Pettitte (3-0, 2.01) vs Cobb (2-1, 2.58)

Tonights lineup:

Gardner 8
Ichiro 7
Cano 4
Hafner DH
Cervelli 2
Overbay 3
Nunez 6
Boesch 9
Nix 5

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Sabathia delivers another shaky 1st.

In his first 28 innings this season CC Sabathia only surrendered 1 homerun. Monday night in Tampa the Rays managed to take Sabathia deep, 3 times in the first 3 innings. Two of which, came off the bat of Ryan Roberts.

Sabathia once against battled his 1st innings control and an unusually low velocity when the Rays were able to tally 4 first innings runs off the big Yankee left hander.

Tampa sent 7 hitters to the plate in the 20-pitch 1st. Ryan Roberts and Yunel Escobar each hit homers and Roberts added another solo shot later in the 3rd.

Sabathia settled down to allow only one run in the next 6 innings, finishing his night with a line of: 7 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 8 K. 104 pitches, 68 strikes.

Something that Yankees fans should be concerned about, Sabathia didn't look like his normal self. Watching him between innings, you could see him continuously clutching his left hand as if something was wrong. So well keep an eye on that.

His velocity again wasn't what he and the Yankees are hoping for. Mostly in the high 80's, CC was able to touch as high as 91 at several points throughout the night.

The Yankees weren't able to support Sabathia with any runs of their own while Matt Moore was absolutely dominant. Tossing 8 innings of one run ball, with 9 K, 2 H, and 3 BB. Moore's outstanding effort improved him to 4-0 on the year.

New York's only run came in the 4th, via the long ball by Robinson Cano. A no doubt shot for his team leading 6th homerun of the year.

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Youkilis scratched from the lineup.

After returning to the lineup from a rest day with back tightness Kevin Youkilis has been scratched from the staring lineup for Mondays game in Tampa.

Youkilis experienced more tightness in his lower back during batting practice today, forcing tonight 1st baseman out of tonights lineup. Lyle Overbay will now take the field in Youks place.

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Youkilis retruns to the lineup.

The Yankees are starting a 3-game series in Tampa tonight and Kevin Youkilis will be rejoining the lineup. Youkilis sat out Sundays game to rest his back, in whice he felt tightness in and was forced out, mid-way throught the game on Saturday.

Not in the lineup tonight is Ichiro and Travis Hafner. Insted Ben Francisco will DH and Brennan Boesch will man right field. Facing lefty Matt Moore, the Yankees are holding both lefty hitter outof the lineup with Ichrio struggling latley and Hafner dosen't play against south paw pithers to help keep him healthy.

Tonight's lineup:

Gardner 8
Francsco DH
Cano 4
Youkilis 5
Wells 7
Cervelli 2
Boesch 9
Nunez 6
Nix 5
Sabathia P

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From Toronto to Tampa.

Unable to capture the series sweep of the Blue Jays, the Yankees will now take the 4,000 mile trip from Toronto to Tampa for a 3 game series with the Rays (8-10).

Offense was not an issue north of the boarder as the Yankees (10-7) were able to tally 18 runs over three games. But insted it was the bullpen that showed to be a bit of a concern, giving up lead on Saturday and Sunday.

Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda both tossed impressive starts in the first two games of the series, with each pitcher going to the 8th inning. Ivan Nova on the other hand was once again all over the place, walking four in 5 innings on 101 pitches.

Kevin Youkilis is expected to return to the Yankees lineup after taking off Sunday to rest his lower back, after experiencing tightness on Sunday.

Girardi said that Youk would get an off day during this road trip anyway, with all the games being played on AstroTurf.

Probable pitchers:

Mon: Sabathia vs Moore
Tues: Hughes vs Price
Wed: Pettitte vs Cobb

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Wells and Hafner surprising many.

If you you would have told me back before spring training, that Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells were going to be two of the Yankees best three hitters, I would have guessed that the team was well under .500. That would have been a guess that was well off reality.

Infact, the Yankees are 10-6, 2nd in the American League East. A division where the 7-11 Blue Jays were suppose to win by a land slide. In the first few weeks it's been quite the opposite.

New York without some of their best players, were only hoping that guys like Wells and Hafner could help so much as hang around in the dog fight that is he AL East.

Insted these guys have turned around their careers and are starting have one of the best years that they've each had in a while.

Vernon Wells had fallen off the radar of the games top outfielders since singing his large contract with the Blue Jays a few years ago. He's been traded twice since then, and has landed in New York, feeling less pressure than ever before.

Wells admitted that he tried to hard to live up to the big contact by trying to hit homeruns in every at-bat. But in New York he feels like he can approach the game differently. "My goal was to just get back to the basics and just put the barrel on the ball as many times as I can, shorten my swing and use the ther field." Wells said.

"I forgot what right field was for a couple of year. You get caught up in hitting homeruns and seeing how far you can hit them, and your swing changes."

In 15 games this season, Wells in battng over .300, with 5 HR's and 8 RBI's. Wells returned to Toronto this weekend for the 1st time as a Yankee and he's went deep in each of th first 2 games of the series.

Travis Hafner spent 10 season as a member of the Cleveland Indians and over the last few years he's slowly declined as one of baseball's top power hitters. Bothered by injury last year, Hafner only played 66 games with a .228 average and 12 homeruns.

Hafner has averaged 86 games per season since 2008. He underwent meniscus surgery in May of last season and he also missed more than 40 games with a buldging disk in his back.

Now 35, Hafner lost weight over the offseason to help relieve pressure off his back and knees. The Yankees and Joe Girardi have also done their part in only playing Hafner part time, keeping him out of the lineup against lefties.

And so far this year, Hafner has looked like everything the Yankees could only hope for. With a team leading batting average of .349, Hafner has sent 5 longballs deep, driving in 10 runs.

In his first at-bat in his return to Cleveland, he made fans remember his name with a towering 3-run homerun to center field.

If he can just stay healthy, Hafner figures to be a huge part of the Yankees lineup while they wait for the reinforcements to return.

There's no Granderson, no Teixera, no Jeter, and no A-Rod. But there is a Cano, a Hafner, and a Wells. And right now there's no difference in the production. So just keep swimming Yankees, because if you thought these guys were producing wins, just wait until your big money hitters come back.

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Nova once again, not impressive.

Ivan Nova fired a not so impressive, but winning start in his last outing against the D-backs and would not get away with that on Sunday in Toronto.

Nova was once again all over the place giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, with 4 walks, throwing 56 strikes on 101 pitches over 5 innings.

The Blue Jays jumped on Nova early, scoring 2 runs in the first two innings. Nova once again didn't jump out of the gates hot in the 1st inning as he threw 32 pitches.

The Yankees were able to back up Nova on offense, scoring 4 unanswered runs off Jays pitcher Josh Johnson.

Those runs were given right back in the 6th after a leadoff walk to Adam Lind and JP Arencibia doubled, Nova was pulled from the game with runners on 2nd & 3rd, no outs.

Boone Logan and David Phelps couldn't hold the lead, with Toronto pulling ahead 6-4.

Toronto added two more runs in the 7th off Phelps on a 2-run homerun from Arencibia.

Nova's line finished at: 5IP, 7H, 4R, 4BB, 5K.

Just as it was against Arizona, Nova didn't have one clean inning without a base runner, and the Jays had a leadoff runner in 4 of 5 innings.

Lucky for Nova, his next start will likely be against this very same Blue Jays lineup, when the Yankees return to the Bronx later this week.

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Youkilis not in Sundays lineup.

After Kevin Youkilis was forced to leave Saturday's game with lower back tightness, the Yankees third baseman will take off Sundays game to rest.

Manager Joe Giradi wasn't at all concerned with the injury, saying, "His back locked up a little bit on the right side. I don't think its anything serious."

Youkilis was 1-for-3 in yesterday's game and singled home two runs in the 5th, on a line drive to left field.

Lyle Overbay entered the game in the 6th inning as Youkilis' replacement.

Jayson Nix will man the hot corner today as the Yankees look to sweep the Blue Jays.

Todays lineup:

Gardner CF
Cano 2B
Wells LF
Hafner DH
Overbay 1B
Nunez SS
Suzuki RF
Nix 3B
Stewart C
Nova P

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Kuroda pitched well, didn't get the win

Hiroki Kuroda followed up his complete game gem last Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles, with another good outing on Saturday in Toronto.

Kuroda was "effectively wild" as some would say. Throwing 64 strikes on 108 pitches over 7.1 innings. Surrendering only 3 hits, Kuroda left in the 8th after Colby Rasmus singled.

David Robertson came on in relief and a couple batters later, Rasmus scored on a Rajai Davis single up the middle. The run was charged to Kuroda, ending his 20 2/3 innings scoreless streak.

Kuroda's line ended as: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

He was all over the zone, yet had all of his pitches working as it looks like Kuroda has found his stride lately, striking out seven Jays hitters.
The dominating performance is just another reason why the Yankees have been successful, going 9-2 over their last 11 games.

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Hughes rebounds in series finale.

Phil Hughes by far, pitched better than he had in starts number one and two.

Thursday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hughes went 7 strong innings, which basically doubled his season innings total. While striking out 6, and surrendering 2 runs on 6 hits.

Two of those hits were solo homeruns by Didi Gregorious and Martin Prado. Both homeruns were the only mistakes that Hughes had made all night.

Showing impressive velocity at 93-94 mph, Hughes also showed the command to go with. By not walking a single batter over the 7 innings.

Though even with the solid performance, he was only given one run in support, when Robinson Camp went deep in the 6th off the D-Backs young lefty, Patrick Corbin.

Regardless of getting the win or loss, Hughes gave the Yankees some encouragement after firing two ineffective starts to begin the season.

His next test in battle will be in Tampa next week, to face an always challenging Rays lineup.

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Jeter has small crack in his ankle.

Derek Jeter flew to Charlotte on Thursday for unscheduled appoint to see the same doctor that performed his ankle surgery back in October.

CT scans showed that Jeter had a small crack in that very left ankle, and according to Brian Cashman Jeter won't be back until at least after the all-star break.

"This is obviously a setback." Cashman said. "We're looking at sometime after the all-star break."

Cashman also said that its unknown whether or not Jeter's push to return April 1st caused this small crack.

Doctors told Cashman that 95% of people come back from this just fine. Jeter will not require any new surgery. He just needs more rest.

This is obviously coming as a big disappointment to the Yankees as they were originally hoping he could return by Opening Day, then it turned into an early May return.

Now seeing as he won't be back until sometime after the all-break, Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix will get even more time to man the position we've seen number 2 at, for so long.

"I'm happy with Nixy and I'm happy with Nuney, but I would be happier with Derek." Said of his main two shortstops.

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Recap: 4/17 NYY vs ARI.

CC Sabathia recovered from a 31 pitch 1st inning, which included a to 2-run homerun from Paul Goldschmidt. To throw 77 pitches over the next 7 innings to help the Yankees defeat the Diamondbacks, Wednesday night in the Bronx.

Sabathia had a lot of trouble getting out and throwing strikes in the 1st inning. The velocity wasn't quite there, like it hasn't been all season. CC averaged his fastball around the 88 to 90mph range.

After retiring 11 of 12 batters from the 1st through 4th inning, the D-Backs added another run the 5th on A.J. Pollock sac-fly, pushing Arizona's lead to 3-0.

Through the first 6 innings D-Backs lefty Wade Miley have been lights out against the Yankees, holding them to only 2 hits until the 7th.

New York picked up a couple hits and Eduardo Nunez walked to load the bases and Miley walked Jason Nix, to put the Yankees on the board, 3-1.

Miley was pulled. Brett Gardner facing Tony Sipp, singled to left, scoring two runs, to tie game at 3-3.

Then in the 8th, pinch hitting for Ben Francisco, Travis Hafner took the first pitch he saw, deep to right field to pull the Yankees ahead, 4-3.

Mariana Rivera recorded a 1-2-3, 9th inning, for his second save the series. The Yankees won 4-3.

Some notables in the game include CC Sabathia's 8 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, with 6 strikeouts. Wade Miley went 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. And Brett Gardner went 2-for-4, with 2 RBI's.

This series wraps up on Thursday at Yankee Stadium with Phil Hughes facing Patrick Corbin at 7:05 ET.

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Nova struggles, still gets the win.

Pitching for the first time since starting in Detroit 11 days ago, Ivan Nova took to the mount to face a gritty Diamondbacks lineup, Tuesday night in the Bronx.

It wasn't his best night but got the job done, as Nova went 5 innings, allowing only 2 runs, on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts over 94 pitches.

After throwing 22 pitches in the first inning Nova looked to have settled down, striking out 2 of the next 4 hitters he faced. His pitches were looking a little sharper and his curveball continued to stay nasty.

The 3rd inning is where Nova started to kind of lose it. Arizona scored both the runs in that inning. Sending 7 hitters to the plate, leaving Nova at 71 pitches thought only 3 innings.

Then once again Nova was able to find a groove, retiring 6 of the next 8 hitters he faced in innings four and five.

Like I said it wasn't pretty as Nova didn't have one clean inning in which a batter didn't reach base. But it got the job done.

Still, getting through five innings, Nova was able to qualify for the victory, which he got thanks to Robinson Cano and his 3-run blast in the 4th inning.

The next challenge Ivan Nova will likely face, will be on Sunday against a dangerous Toronto Blue Jays lineup.

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Series preview: Yankees vs D-backs.

After winning 5 of their last 6 games, the Yankees come into this series on winning note. Taking 2 of 3 games in the set against the Baltimore Orioles, including Sunday nights 3-0 win in which Hiroki Kuroda went the distance, tossing all 9 innings in the shutout performance.

The Diamondbacks lost 2 of the 3 games they played against the Dodgers, and are 3-3 overall in their last six contests.

Probable starters:
Tue: Nova vs McCarthy
Wed: Sabathia vs Miley
Thur: Hughes vs Corbin

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Kuroda powers past the Orioles.

Hiroki Kuroda's 1st two starts weren't exacted highlight moments. Having to leave in the 2nd inning against the Redsox due to a line drive off his right middle finger. Then only lasting 5 1/3 innings against the Indians.

Kuroda gave Yankee fans a reason to believe on Sunday, by tossing all 9 shutout innings, in the 3-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Throwing 113 pitches, Kuroda was around the strike zone all night. As 79 of his pitches went for strikes, and not a single batter was given a free pass to 1st base. In all, 5 Baltimore hitters went down on strikes.

With all of his pitches working, Kuroda was able to induce 18, yes, eight-teen, groundballs that kept to Yankee infielders busy all night.

Allowing only 5 hits, Kuroda surrendered hits to only 2 of the last 23 batters he faced.

Being no stranger to such complete game performances, Kuroda went all 9 innings three times last season. Including two of which, were shutouts.

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Pettitte won't start until Friday.

After back spasms forced Andy Pettitte to miss his scheduled start on Saturday, the Yankees were hoping that Pettitte would return to pitch on either Tuesday or Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

That's not case, as the Yankees will now have the 40-year old Pettitte come back on Friday in Toronto, for precautionary reasons.

Pettitte didn't complain about the decision, but feels he could pitch Tuesday or Wednesday. He understands the precaution about waiting until Friday, saying "I'm on board, to an extent. I want to pitch".

As for the rest of the Yankee starters, the rotation that will face the Arizona, lines up with Nova on Tuesday, Sabathia on Wednesday, and Hughes on Thursday.

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Phelps to the rotation.

Prior to the season, David Phelps was slated to be the Yankees 5th starter, while Phil Hughes continued his recovery from a buldging disk in his back. Phelps had put together a good spring, so I guess you could say that he earned a rotation spot.

But heading into the series against the Tigers, New York decided to rush back Hughes, to have him start in Detriot. Sending Phelps to the bullpen before ever making his 1st start. That decision has since back fired on the Yankees, as Hughes has delivered two, very ineffective starts.

Through two starts, Hughes has totaled only 7 innings, after allowing 8 runs, and 17 hits against Detroit and Baltimore.

Phelps on the otherhand has been anything but ineffective. So far, he's worked 3 games out of the bullpen, including on Saturday when Phelps came into the game to relieve Hughes after allowing 5 runs over 3 innings. Phelps tossed 4 shutout innings, allowing only one hit, and struck out 6.

This is just my opinion, but the Yankees were completely wrong to bring up Hughes before letting him make a couple more rehad starts in the minors.

Should Hughes continue the struggle, or even Ivan Nova (who didn't show very well in his 1st outing against Detroit), it shouldn't be a tough decision to do whats best for the team. Right now, I believe that David Phelps starting every 5th day, is right for the team.

There's no doubt in my mind that Phelps has the stuff to compete every 5th day. He showed it against Baltimore, that he can make pitches and get guys out. I was really impressed with the way he throw the ball. And that curveball, nasty.

But my opinions don't matter. I'm not getting paid to make these tough decisions. I only pay to watch what happens. I know that the Yankees see what I see. Hopefully, soon enough, what I want, is what's happening.

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Recap: 4/13 NYY vs BAL.

Phil Hughes struggled in his first outing against Detroit and it didn't get any better this time around, against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Hughes gave up a run in the 1st and four more over the next two innings. As Hughes only went 3 innings, allowing 5 runs, on 8 hits, walking 2, and giving up 3 homeruns.

David Phelps entered in the 3rd to relieve Hughes and pitched extremely well. Phelps tossed 4 scoreless innings and he didn't allow a run, only giving up one hit, while striking out six.

Travis Hafner put the Yankees on the board in the 2nd, with a solo homerun to right field, into the Yankees bullpen. Hafner's 3rd homerun of the season.

Vernon Wells also his 3rd homerun as a Yankee. It was a solo shot to left, bringing to Yankees to within two, at 5-3.

Yet, three runs was all the Yankees could manage against Jason Hammel, who allowed only the three runs over 6 innings, on 8 hits, with 4 strikeouts.

Hammel handed the ball to the bullpen which didn't disappoint. With Matuz, O'Day and Jim Johnson closing down the Yankees in the 9th, to snap New York's four game winning streak, 5-3.

Some notables in the game include Robinson Cano who went 2-for-5. Francisco Cervelli collected a pair of hits. Nate McLouth went 3-for-5, with a homerun. And Adam Jones picked up two base hits in four at-bats.

Next up for the Yankees, Huroki Kuroda will face when Wei-Yin Chen on ESPN, during Sunday Night Baseball, at 8:05 ET from the Bronx.

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Series preview: Yankees vs Orioles.

The Yankees are returning to the Bronx after their road trip, and will be greeted by the Baltimore Orioles. New York only won, one out of three games in Detroit, then rolled over the Indians by a combined score of 25-7 in the first two games, before games 3 and 4 were postponed due to rain.

Baltimore will head into the Bronx after taking 2 of 3 games Boston, including a 5 run 9th innings in game two, against Joel Hanrahan.

Probable starters:

Fri: Sabathia vs Gonzalez
Sat: Kuroda vs Hammel
Sun: Pettitte vs Chen

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Recap: 4/9 NYY vs CLE.

For the third straight day, the Yankees have managed to do the impossible. Score a lot of runs. After putting up 8 run on Sunday and 11 on Monday, the Yankees were able to tally 14 more runs off the Indians on Tuesday.

Five different Yankees went deep, including Ichiro, Cano, Youkilis, Overbay, and a pinch-hit Homer from Brennan Boesch.

Cano has been terrorizing the Indians pitchers with another homerun Tuesday, after two on Monday, and three doubles so far in the series.

After Cano hit a two-run homerun in the 4th inning, Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco came up and in on Kevin Youkilis, hitting Youk, to get ejected by home plate umpire Jordan Baker.

Terry Francona then called on Brett Myers to finish the rest of the game. Myers was originally scheduled to start Wednesday's game, instead went 5.1 innings, giving up 7 runs, on 11 hits.

Andy Pettitte followed up his tremendous first start, with another great performance in Cleveland. Allowing only one run over 7 innings, on 5 hits and 4 strikeouts.

Adam Warren recorded the final six outs, and the Yankees rolled to victory, 14-1, over the Indians.

A lot of Notables in the game include Brett Gardner, who had a super day at the plate, going 4-for-5, with 3 doubles. Cano went 4-for-6 with five RBI's. Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher both collected a pair of hits. And Lyle Overbay went 3-for-5 with three runs.

Wednesday Ivan Nova faces, well, we don't know! What we do know, is that the game starts at 7:05 ET from Progressive Field.

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Recap: 4/8 NYY vs CLE.

Travis Hafner spent 10 seasons in Cleveland and returned to a big standing ovation on Monday. But by the days end, he had Cleveland fans booing him, for all he had done against his former club.

Hafner turned in a great day at the plate, hitting a 3-run homerun in his first at bat and driving a total of four runs on the day.

Robinson Cano hasn't gotten off to a hot start, but finally found his swing, hitting two solo homeruns and a double off the wall in left field.

Cano and Hafner helped backup Hiroki Kuroda, who didn't come out very impressive in the 1st inning Showing no command to his picthes, Kuroda walked two batters, giving up three runs, on a total of 34 pitches.

Kuroda settled down in the 2nd inning, as he only allowed two hits in the next 4 1/3 innings, before getting pulled in the 6th. His final line show as; 5.1 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 6 K, 111 pitches.

Ubaldo Jimenez didn't prove to be any better. Giving up 7 runs, on 7 hits, and walking 3, in only 4 1/3 innings.

For the second straight day, the Yankees bullpen did its job, minus the 3-run 8th off Shawn Kelley. A combo of Kelley, Boone Logan, and Joba Chamberlain, combine for 3.2 innings, and giving up three hits, and three runs. To close out, an 11-6, Yankees win.

Some notables in the game include Vernon Wells, who went 3-for-4, with all 3 hits to the opposite field. Travis Hafner went 2-for-4, with 2 walks. Robinson Cano went deep twice and scored 4 runs. And Ichiro collected a pair of hits, and a RBI.

Game two of this four game Set, will start Tuesday at 7:05 ET, with Andy Pettitte facing Carlos Carrasco, from Progressive Field.

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Series Preview: Yankees @ Indians.

The Yankees come into Monday's Ballgame, after picking up a win on Sunday, over Justin Verlander and the Tigers. New York lost the 1st two games of the series, before their 7-0 victory yesterday.

Cleveland comes in after being shutout, 4-0 and 6-0, by the Rays on Friday and Saturday, then followed up, with a 13-0 beat down on Tampa Bay, yesterday at the Trop.

Probable starters:

Mon: Kuroda vs Jimenez
Tue: Pettitte vs Carrasco
Wed: Nova vs Myers
Thur: Hughes vs McAllister

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Game recap: NYY vs DET.

Looking to avoid the sweep, the Yankees turned to their ace, CC Sabathia, hoping he could fire a solid performance again the Tigers and their ace Justin Verlander.

The Yankees got all they could ask for out of Sabathia, as he tossed seven scoreless innings, giving up only four hits, on 114 pitches.

New York jumped on Verlander early, scoring three runs in the second inning, including a two-run homerun off the bat off Jayson Nix. Nix had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4, with 2 RBI's.

Verlander didn't have his best stuff, yet still last 7 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs, on 7 hits, walking 2, and striking out 4.

The Yankees took advantage of the Tigers bullpen, scoring two runs a piece, off Phil Coke and Octavio Dotel.

On the other hand, the Yankees bullpen managed to finish what Sabathia started. With David Robertson and Mariano Rivera pitching back to back scoreless frames, to finish up the Tigers and preserve a 7-0, Yankees victory.

Rivera pitching in a non-save situation, allowed a couple of bloop hits and struck out two. In his final regular season game at Comerica Park.

Some notables in the game include Kevin Youkilis, who double off Verlander in the first and drove in two runs on a single off Dotel in the 9th. Francisco Cervelli and Travis Hafner both went 2-for-4. Cervelli also had a pair of RBI's. And after a 4 for 4 performance on Saturday, Miguel Cabrera was kept quiet, with an 0 for 4 day.

This road trip will now bring the Yankees to Cleveland, for a four game Set. Huroki Kuroda will start against the Indians, during their home opener, at 4:05 ET.

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Game recap: NYY vs DET.

After losing to the Tigers, 8-2, Friday afternoon, the Yankees called upon Phil Hughes to make his season debut, on a cold and windy day in Detroit.

Hughes ran into a little bit of trouble in the first inning. After a couple runners reach base, Prince Fielder hit a sac-fly to center field, bringing Austin Jackson home.

Hughes left in the fifth, after giving up 3 straight hits to begin the inning. His line finished at, 4 innings, with 3 runs, on 8 hits, and 4 K's.

Leaving Andy pettite of the only Yankee starter to go past five innings in a start, so far this year.

Boone Logan was Hughes' relief, yet he could only manage to retire one, of the three hitters he faced.

So David Phelps who was originally scheduled to start, was called on. Were he served through 2 and 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, on six hits.

Max Scherzer was the Tigers starter and exit in the sixth, after allowing a Travis Hafner RBI single up the middle, driving in Robinson Cano. Scherzer pitched five innings, giving up four runs, on five hits, and struck out seven Yankee hitters.

Once Jim Leland handed the ball off to his bullpen, the Yankees would score no more. Over four innings, Al Albuquerque, Darin Downs and Joaquin Benoit combine for no runs, on only one hit.

Benoit shutdown the Yankees 1-2-3 in the ninth, ceiling in 8-4 Tigers victory.

Some notables in the game include Vernon Wells, who hit a solo home run in a 2nd. Lyle Overbay went 2 for 4, with a 2-run single in the 6th. Miguel Cabrera reached base 5 times going, 4 for 4. Austin Jackson and Torii hunter each went 3 for 5. Prince Fielder and Andy Dirks each drove in a pair of runs.

After falling to 1-4 on the year, the Yankees will turn to CC Sabathia, hoping he can improve on his rough opening day start. He'll oppose Tigers ace Justin Verlander, Sunday at 1:05 ET.

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Hughes to start Saturday vs Detroit.

The Yankees announced Friday that Phil Hughes will comeback from injury, to start Saturday, against the Detroit Tigers. David Phelps was scheduled to pitch Saturday, but he will now move to the bullpen, as the long relief man.

The Yankees bullpen has been worked in an abundance to begin the year. With Sabathia, Kuroda, and Nova not getting off to hot starts, its important that Hughes gets off on the right foot.

Hughes was out for most of the spring, dealing with a buldging disc in his back. He recently pitched 7 innings in a rehab start, for the Class A Tampa Yankees.

It's currently unknown, who will be removed from the 25-man roster, to make room for Hughes.

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Game recap: NYY vs BOS.

Only three games into the season and the Yankees have finally captured a monumental first win. Andy Pettitte fired maybe the best performance of the series and Mariano Rivera came in to close out the ninth. Giving the Yankees, win number 1, on the young season.

The 40 year old Pettitte tossed eight innings of one run ball, against the RedSox lineup that scored 15 runs, over their first two games.

Pettitte ran on a low pitch count all night. Making quick work of the Boston hitters. Cruising through the first six innings, the Red Sox didn't score until the 7th, on a Jackie Bradley double.

Ryan Dempster on the other hand, was forced labor through five innings. Throwing 58 strikes, on 101 pitches, allowing three runs, on five hits, and walking four Yankee hitters.

A couple of runs came in the third, when Lyle Overbay single a ball into left, scoring Hafner and Nunez.

Brett Gardner was first pitch swinging in the 3rd inning, when he sent a solo homerun to right field off Dempster. The 3rd Yankee homerun of the season.

Francisco Cervelli added a solo homerun of his own in the 8th. Sending it to the Red Sox bullpen off Clayton Mortensen.

Mariano Rivera is in his 19th and final season the big leagues, and started off right. After allowing a run, Rivera struck out Jackie Bradley looking, to end the game, for his 1st save of 2013. And a, 4-2, Yankees win.

The Yankees will now head to Detroit, to start a seven-game Road Trip, beginning with the Tigers, then the Indians for, four games.

Ivan Nova will face Doug Fister and the dangers Tigers lineup, Friday afternoon at 1:05 ET, from Comerica Park.

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