Game 124: Avoiding the sweep

Last night seemed like D-Day for the Yankees, on a count of how many "the Yankees are finished" columns I saw floating around Twitter this morning.

The Bombers dropped the second of three games to the Astros last night, falling 5-2 after another late-inning collapse by the Yankees' bullpen, which has now let them down in back-to-back days.

Just five games back of the Detroit Tigers for the second AL Wild Card, the Yankees might be able to pull something off, but at this point it seems very unlikely from the team that hasn't won five straight games since April.

This was suppose to be a big week in which they took advantage of two bad baseball teams -- the Astros and White Sox -- but now they're trying to salvage a game from the Astros.

Today's lineup against Houston:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Martin Prado
3B Chase Headley
C Francisco Cervelli
RF Ichiro Suzuki
DH Zelous Wheeler

SP Brandon McCarthy

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Yankees 2, Astros 5: Michael Pineda's good effort not enough to beat Houston

And so, seemingly, ends the Yankees' hopes of making the playoffs in Derek Jeter's final season.

Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday, the Yankees picked up right where they left off, dropping a second straight the Astros on Wednesday, falling 5-2 for the seventh loss in their last nine games.

Houston took a 1-0 lead against Michael Pineda and the Yankees in the 4th inning when Dexter Fowler hit a two-out triple that scored Robbie Grossman, who singled to open the inning. The Yankees, though, answered right back with a run of their own, getting a solo homerun from Stephen Drew that tied the game at 1-1.

The Yankees gave Pineda a lead to work with an inning later, thanks to some small ball. Ichiro Suzuki led off the inning with a single, stole second base, then moved to third on a groundout by Jeter. Then Jacoby Ellsbury dropped down a suicide squeeze to score Ichiro from third, putting the Yankees up 2-1.

Making his second start off of the DL, Pineda went into the 7th inning pitching very well, keeping his pitch count low throughout the night. Joe Girardi pulled him with one out in the 7th, and finished with two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

I've missed watching him pitch, and any chance the Yankees have left of making a playoffs, he'll be a big part of it.

It all went downhill for the Yankees after Pineda was taken out of the game. David Huff struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. In came Esmil Rogers, who gave up singles to the next four hitters, scoring four runs that put the Astros up 5-2.

Scott Feldman started for the Astros; he wasn't great, but neither were the Yankees and that's all that mattered. Feldman went 6 2/3, giving up just two runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out seven.

The Yankees tried to rally in the 9th, putting a pair of runners on with two down, but Ellsbury flew out to the warning track to end the game.

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Game 123: Michael Pineda returns to the Yankee Stadium mound

This very disappointing season for the Yankees took another hit on Tuesday night, as the Bombers kicked off a very important six-game homestand with a 7-4 loss to the Houston Astros, a team that boasts the third worst record in baseball.

Houston struck out 15 times last night, they left 10 runners on base, and they beat the Yankees by three runs for their third win over the Yankees in four meetings so far this season.

With Baltimore's win last night, the Yankees are now 9 1/2 games back in the AL East -- they're all but officially out in the division, it seems -- and they're four games back of the Mariners and Athletics for the second wild card.

Tonight's lineup against Houston:

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

* Carlos Beltran was scratched from tonight's lineup after feeling some pain in his elbow after a swing in last night's game. Joe Girardi told reporters that Beltran will see a doctor later today, and that he only hopes he'll be out for a day or two.

This is the same elbow that has caused Beltran pain for most of the season. He could have had the surgery and probably returned by now, but instead, he's still hurting and might need to get something done in the winter.

Pitching matchup preview:

For the first time since early April, Michael Pineda will take the mound for the Bombers at home in Yankee Stadium this evening. The right-hander made his long-awaited return from the DL last week, one run on two hits over five innings against the Baltimore Orioles.

If the Yankees are going to make any sort of playoff push, Pineda is going to be a big piece of that puzzle.

Going for the Astros will be the right-hander Scott Feldman, who held the Yankees scoreless for 6 2/3 innings on Opening Day. Feldman is coming off of a rough outing against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, where he gave up seven runs on nine hits.

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Yankees 4, Astros 7: Yanks lose another game to the Astros

The Yankees can't afford to lose any games at this point in the season, falling farther and farther back in the standings with every defeat.

On Tuesday night in Bronx, they dropped a game to the third worst team in baseball, falling to the Houston Astros, 7-4, after a rough night by David Robertson led to a three-run, go-ahead homerun by Chris Carter in the 9th.

New York scored all four of their runs on two separate  plays, but two-run scoring events. Brian McCann put the Yankees on the board in the 4th inning with a big two-run blast off of Astros starter Brett Oberholtzer, giving his team a 2-0 lead on his 14th homerun of the season.

If you thought that one two-run homerun from McCann would not be enough to win the game with Chris Capuano on the mound, you were right.

Houston got a run back against Capuano in the 5th inning, cutting the Yankees' lead to 2-1. After a couple of quick outs to open the inning, Gregorio Petit doubled to left ahead of Robbie Grossman, who singled him home.

Dexter Fowler opened up the top of the 6th inning with a triple off of Capuanom then scored a batter later on a groundout to Martin Prado at second base by Jason Castro, trying the game at 2-2. The next two batters singled off of Capuano before Joe Girardi brought in Adam Warren to get out of the mess, which he didn't do.

With runners on first and second, Warren got Jake Marisnick to ground out, moving both runners over 90 feet. A batter later, Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run single that put the Astros up 4-2.

Capuano went 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits, while walking two and striking out eight. He threw a lot of pitches in the earlier innings of the game, which came back to hurt him in the 6th, as he would finish with 103.

Some clutch hitting by Prado in the bottom half of the 6th inning leveled the game and put the Yankees right back in it. After Jacoby Ellsbury singled to open the inning, he moved to second base on a balk by Oberholtzer and then Carlos Beltran walked to put a pair of runners on ahead of Prado, who ripped a two-run double into the right field corner, tying the game.

But that was all the Yankees would get because the offense, once again -- for the billionth time -- couldn't do much more.

Oberholtzer was pulled after giving up the double to Prado. He only lasted 5.1 innings, too, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out seven on 94 pitches.

The Yankees had a great chance to take the lead in the bottom of the 8th, with Ellsbury reaching third base with just one man down. With the infield playing in, and Ellsbury ready to run on contact, Beltran hit a hard groundball to short, causing Ellsbury to be thrown out a the plate. A batter later, Prado hit what would have been the go-ahead hit with a single to left.

After Warren's two-thirds of an inning in the 6th, Shawn Kelley worked a perfect 7th. Dellin Betances struck out two in a scoreless 8th. And all of that led to Robertson, who blew up in the 9th inning.

After retiring the first hitter of the inning, Robertson walked Grossman and Jose Altuve back-to-back, setting up a three-run bomb by the Carter, putting the Astros up 7-4. Fowler followed up with an infield single, thus ending Robertson's off-night. He was also booed off of the field by Yankees fans because they apparently don't appreciate how great he's been all season.

The Yankees have played four games against the Astros this season, and they have lost three of them. With a win by the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees, who have six of their last eight games, now stand 9 1/2 games back in the AL East.

The Yankees and Astros will continue this series on Tuesday night in the Bronx with Michael Pineda and Scott Feldman dueling at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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Game 122: Every game matters

Coming off of a five-game road trip -- six games, but one in Baltimore was rained out -- against their tough AL East rivals, the Yankees are back home this week, where they will see some bad baseball teams in the coming days, starting with the Houston Astros this evening at Yankee Stadium.

The Astros are the Astros. We all know that they are not a playoff team -- although their 52 win total is already better than the 51 wins they produced last season, so at least they have that going for them. And surprisingly, they're only the third worst team in the league -- ahead of the Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies.

The Astros split a four-game series with the Red Sox up in Fenway Park this past weekend weekend and have lost eight of their last 13 games overall. So with the Yankees needing every win they can get, this is definitely a good time to face Houston.

Tonight's lineup against Houston:

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

Pitching matchup preview: 

Chris Capuano gets the ball for the Yankees in tonight's series opener. The left-hander is making his fifth start since joining the club in July, and he's still looking for his first win, even though he has pitched well, for the most part.

Capuano allowed four runs over six innings last time out at Baltimore, striking out seven. The big blow to him in that one was a two-run shot in the 5th inning by Adam Jones that would put the Orioles ahead in the game, as the Yankees would go on to lose.

The Astros will send left-hander Brett Oberholtzer from the opposing dugout tonight. Oberholtzer has pitched seven innings in three consecutive starts and at least six in 11 straight, as he looks to add another good outing against the Yankees.

Houston has won seven of Oberholtzer's last 10 starts, as the lefty has gone 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA in that span.

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YBB American League preview: Houston Astros

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

This is the first of a 14-part feature series here at Yanks Beat Blog in which we take a quick look at the 14 other American League teams that the Yankees will be competing against this season.

It's been quite some time since the Houston Astros have been a relevant team in Major League Baseball. For the last handful of years, they've been in the cellar in both the National and American League, in which they enter their second year as a member of.

The Astros will head into this season with the top overall pick in the June draft after finishing with the worst record in the league for the third straight year.

But those top draft picks have been used on nothing. Houston has been stockpiling young talent for years, a lot like the Chicago Cubs have been doing with the crop of young talent that should be ready to take over the next 2-3 years.

The Astros, however, won't be seeing this talent for at least a few more seasons, so for now, they'll be staying at the bottom of the very tough AL West.

Houston surprised a lot of people this past offseason by spending money on free-agents, something they usually don't do.

The Astros brought in Jesse Crain to a one-year deal, adding him to a bullpen that has vastly improved over the group that ranked last in the majors with a 4.92 ERA, and their 29 blown saves tied for the most.

Crain will be joined in the bullpen by other new comers this offseason, including Chad Qualls, Matt Albers, Anthony Bass, Darin Downs and Raul Valdes.

Scott Feldman, who put together a solid first half with the Cubs before being traded to the Orioles prior to the trading deadline last season, was signed on a four-year pact. His experience will help provide some veteran leadership to an otherwise young group of starting pitchers.

The trade for Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler kind of flew under-the-radar. Fowler is a guy that's going to get on-base and drew a lot of walks for you at the top of the lineup. He's going to bring speed, and will give you range in center field.

These additions might not end up meaning a lot for the Astros because, like I said, they're building the future around the development of their prospects, and won't be ready to compete until 2016, at the earliest.

It won't take long for you to get a chance to watch the Astros play, as the Yankees will leave from Florida and head to Minute Maid Park to face Houston on Opening Day.

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Nova, Banuelos get roughed up in win over the Astros

Ivan Nova and Manny Banuelos gave up a combined six runs in 4.2 innings, but a two-run homerun by likely Opening Day third baseman Kelly Johnson helped the Yankees down the Houston Astros, 9-6, Saturday afternoon in Osceola County Stadium.

Mark Teixeira was in the lineup for just the second time this spring after getting yesterday off, and he had a good day at the plate, reaching base twice on a walk and a double in the 3rd inning.

After a very good showing his in second out of the spring last Monday, Nova was knocked around by a very young Astros squad.

He gave up two singles and a double to open the bottom of the 1st inning; the double from Jason Castro scored both Dexter Fowler and Jose Altuve to put Houston up 2-0. The Astros added another run off of Nova in the 2nd inning on a RBI single by Cesar Izturis.

Nova was able to get through the final two innings of his outing without giving up a run. Overall, it wasn't his best day, one of those outings that the Yankees hope to avoid this year. The Astros collected 3 runs on 8 hits off of him, and they also struck out five times against the Yankee right hander.

“Everything would stay up,” Nova said. “It was kind of hard for me to keep it down, and they took advantage of it. Even the second inning, they were hitting the ball real good.”

However, Yankees manager Joe Girardi thought that this was a good outing for Nova.

“You look at his outings so far, they've been pretty easy,” Girardi said. “Today I thought was a good outing because he found it. He struggled in the first inning finding some sink and finding his curveball, and I thought he did a good job of finding himself and giving us four innings and really not throwing a ton of pitches.”

Banuelos followed Nova in the 5th inning, but he couldn't get three outs before Girardi pulled the plug on his day.

After giving up a double to Altuve and a walk to Castro, Chris Carter took Banuelo deep for a three-run homerun. Banuelos was able to get the next two guys out, but he must have hit his pitch-limit because Girardi pulled him with two outs.

“I was happy for him that he got out there,” Girardi said. “He threw some strikes. It’s been a long road back, and he had a smile on his face because I think you appreciate a lot more. When you lose something for a while, you appreciate it a lot more when you come back.”

Down 1-0 heading into the 2nd inning, Dean Anna opened the inning with on of his two hits in the game, and then Scott Sizemore reached on a throwing error that scored Anna. After a Zoilo Almonte groundout, Mason Williams doubled to right field to bring home Sizemore.

An innings later, following the double by Teixeira, Johnson hit a homerun to right field off of Darin Down to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

“Honestly, that was pure trying to get him over, and I caught it out front,” Johnson said. “Always good to remember what it feels like. Better than not hitting one all spring and then going into the season trying to remember, ‘Back in September, when I hit my last one…,’ you know what I mean?”

The Yankees scored two more runs in the 6th inning on a sac-fly by Williams to bring Anna home, then Brett Gardner followed that with a single into center field, scoring both Sizemore and Almonte to put the Yankees up 7-6.

New York doubled their lead an inning later on a Zelous Wheeler single and a Ramon Flores fielder's choice.

Anna finished the game 2-for-2 with a walk and a pair of runs scored; an overall good day for him as he tries to make the team. Austin Romine also collected a pair of hits in two at-bats. And Yangervis Solarte went 1-for-2, his batting average this spring is .667.

Cesar Cabral threw a scoreless inning and didn't give up a hit, though he did walk a batter. David Herndon, Fred Lewis and Chris Leroux also threw scoreless innings. Apart from a couple of guys, the Yankees' bullpen has been solid this spring.

The Yankees are back in Tampa to host the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow at The Boss. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm and you can see the game on YES.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Spring Training Game 12: Yankees at Astros

The Houston Astros sold out today's game against the Yankees at Osceola County Stadium. Derek Jeter will not be making that trip as they all hoped.

After last night's thrilling win against the Detroit Tigers that ended on a walk-off balk, and included an very impressive debut by Michael Pineda, the Yankees are up in Kissimmee today for their first game Grapefruit league game against the Astros this year, they same club they'll face on Opening Day.

Ivan Nova gets the call for the Yankees in this one, and he's looking to build off of his last start in which he looked really good, striking out four in three scoreless, hitless innings.

Nova is penciled in to be the Yankees' fourth start this season behind CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Masahiro Tanaka. So far this spring, all four of the the rotation locks have pitched well, and no one has gotten hurt (knock on wood).

For the Astros, this will be a split squad game, so most of their talented players might be on the road, with the other half home to face the Bombers.

Today's lineup vs Houston:

Today's lineup vs HOU: Gardner 8, Nuñez 4, Teixeira 3, Johnson DH, Cervelli 2, Anna 6, Sizemore 5, Almonte 7, Williams 9, Nova 1.
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank) March 8, 2014

After playing shortstop for two straight days, Jeter gets the day off. Mark Teixeira is back in the lineup for the second time this spring after getting yesterday off. Scott Sizemore, who is trying to make the team as a utility infielder, is starting at third base for the first time. And Eduardo Nunez is starting at second base today.

Nova is scheduled to go at least three innings, and then Manny Banuelos will come in right after him, making his first appearance of the spring. Banuelos is one of the Yankees' top pitching prospects, and there has been talk of him possibly making the team out of spring training as he's coming off of Tommy John Surgery.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Pettitte Tosses Complete-Game In Final Career Start

Think about it for a moment: Andy Pettitte will never pitch on a major league mound ever again.

Pitching in front of his hometown crowd, making his final major league start, Andy Pettitte, like Mariano Rivera, went out on the top of his game, tossing a complete-game, five-hitter, giving up just one run as the Yankees defeated the Houston Astros 2-1 Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

"I couldn't have dreamed of this working out the way it did," Pettitte said. "I'm just so thankful and feel so blessed and fortunate. I just feel like God worked this out exactly perfect; another day I'll never forget."

Pettitte, who will retire with the most starts, wins and innings than any other player to pitch in the postseason, took the mound as the Yankees best starters over the better half of two months, and even though he was facing the Astros -- baseball's worst team, and losers of 14 straight games -- he still made it look easy.

"I'm trying to figure out why the guy is retiring, as well as he threw the ball tonight," Astros manager Bo Porter said.

The Astros took a 1-0 lead off Pettitte in the 4th inning. Jose Altuve -- Houston's best player -- used some very heads up baserunning to score from second base on a routine groundout to the shortstop Brendan Ryan by Chris Carter.

Pettitte wasn't giving up much on the night, permitting just four hits through the first eight innings. Robinson Cano tied the game in the top half of the 6th with a single to right field to score Chris Stewart from third base. Eduardo Nunez would score a couple batters later when the Yankees had the bases loaded on Astros catcher Matt Pagnozzi was about to attempted a throwdown to second when he accidentally spiked the ball into the ground, rolling away far enough for Nunez to score from third.

Then as the game went on, and Pettitte made it through the 6th, 7th and then the 8th innings, Yankees manager Joe Girardi sent Pettitte out to the mound to start the 9th at 105.

Pettitte retired the first two batters of the inning, before giving up a two-out single to Chris Carter. Girardi walked out to the mound to have a quick chat with Pettitte, deciding to leave him in the game to get the last out. It was a good decision.

"We left the decision in his hands every inning that he went back out," Girardi said. "He said, 'I can finish it.' I said, 'Go ahead then.'"

Then Pettitte got JD Martinez to groundout to Nunez at third base to end the game, giving Andy his first complete-game since 2006, when he was a member of the Astros.

Pettitte tossed 116-pitches, giving up one run on five hits, while walking two and striking out five. Just as he has been over the past weeks, he was at the top of his game, and there was no better way for him to go out like this pitching, pitching in front of his fellow Texans.

"It's a shame we've got to get old and you can't just continue to play this game," Pettitte said. "But just how blessed and fortunate I am, to be able to play a game and get paid to do it, it's just been incredible."

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Rivera Unlikely To Pitch For The Yanks This Weekend

The Yankees only have two games left this season, and they'll most likely be playing without their longtime closer Mariano Rivera.

Rivera hasn't pitched since his Yankee Stadium sendoff on Thursday when he retired the first four Tampa Bay Rays hitters he faced before two of his closest friends, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, came walking out of the dugout with two outs in the 9th to retrieve Rivera from the ballgame -- likely for the final time.

Prior to tonight's game at Minute Maid Park, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Mariano told him he's not pitching tonight, and there's a very good chance to he won't be available tomorrow -- unless he changes his mind.

"I think that is a big part of it," Girardi said about Thursday's magical moment effecting Mo's choice not to play against the Astros this weekend. "That was a special night for him the way it unfolded. He wants it to end that way."

Girardi also said that it's very unlikely that Rivera with get the opportunity to live out his dream of playing in center field. So we can all stop talking about that now -- although I was really hoping for it to happen.

“I don't think we're probably going to see that as well,” Girardi said. “At least I gave him the opportunity. It’s his decision.”

Last night, in the Yankees' 3-2 win over the Astros, David Robertson -- the likely 2014 Opening Day closer -- closed out the 9th inning for the Bombers, setting down the 'Stros to seal the victory.

So, unless Mo changes his mind, we've pretty much seen the last of Mariano Rivera pitching for the New York Yankees.

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Pettitte Makes The Final Start of His Career In Houston

Just like AMC's "Breaking Bad", this season is almost over. After last night's 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros in which Joba Chamberlain likely threw his last pitch as a member of the New York Yankees, nearly blowing the 3-0 lead in the 7th inning, the Yanks were able to hold on for their first win in almost a week, snapping a four-game losing skid.

With just two games remaining this season, the Yankees have nothing left to play for, and the next meaningful game they'll play won't come until April 1st, 2014 when they open up the season in Houston against the Astros -- yeah, just stay put in Houston.

What everyone is watching for this weekend is whether Mariano Rivera -- who pitched for the final time at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, when longtime teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte came out to retrieve him from the game -- will actually get the chance to play in the outfield this weekend. Manager Joe Girardi said it's up to Mariano what he does this weekend, but Mo says he'll only play the field if his legs let him.

Tonight's Lineup vs Houston:

Granderson CF
Nunez 3B
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Overbay 1B
Almonte RF
Suzuki DH
Ryan SS
Stewart C

Pettitte P

Pitching Preview:

For the 438th time in his career, Andy Pettitte will be taking the mound for the Yankees Saturday night -- it also tied him with Whitey Ford for the most starts in team-history. Pettitte announced his retirement on August 20th, and pitched his final game at Yankee Stadium two days later, tossing seven-plus innings of two-run ball.

"I think it'll be enjoyable, for sure," Pettitte said. "I think it's going to be emotional. I'm not real sure what to expect, to tell you the truth. There's no doubt when I get out of the game, it's going to be sad, because I know that's it."

Like Mariano Rivera, Pettitte will be able to close out his career on a high note, as he's been the Yankees best pitcher over the past few weeks, still showing that he has what it takes to get hitters out -- even as the oldest starting pitcher in the league -- going 3-2 with a 2.09 ERA in nine start for the Bombers since August 11th.

"Pettitte, if you give me a vote, he's a Hall of Famer," Porter said. "The career he's put together and the success in which he's had, not only in the regular season and postseason and championships, but he's a Houston guy, so I think it's great for the city and great for him. I'm glad that he gets to make his last scheduled start at home."

In the most fitting of situations, Pettitte and the Yankees will be going up against Clemens -- Paul Clemens, that is. Clemens has only made four starts for the Astros this year, going 0-2 with a 4.02 ERA. For the season, the right-hander is 4-6 with a 5.69 ERA.

"It's a tremendous honor to get to go against Andy Pettitte and face him," Clemens said. "It's a blessing, a privilege. I want to compete with them, give them a good, competitive ballgame, keep it real tight and make them compete until the last pitch is thrown for him and myself. Hopefully, that will be a good one for him to look back on and say he had a good little battle with a young guy."

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Yankees 'Absolutely' Considering Letting Mariano Play Center Field

"Absolutely." said Yankees manager Joe Girardi when he was asked if would actually consider using retiring closer Mariano Rivera in center field for one of the Yankees' final four remaining games this season.

The Yankees were eliminated from postseason play last night after the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, with the Yanks losing to the Tampa Bay Rays not long afterwards. So these last games mean nothing for the Yankees.

Girardi said that he wouldn't use Rivera tonight against the Rays because the game still means something for Tampa, so he wouldn;t want do anything to help favor the Rays in any way.

As for this weekend in Houston, that's a whole different story. Rivera has been shagging fly balls in the outfield for a very long time, and, as you know, he tore his ACL last season while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City before a May game against the Royals.

This entire 2013 season has been pretty rough to go through as a Yankees fan and writer, with the non-stop injuries and poor play on the field, eventually leading up to the team missing the playoffs for the second time since 1994, but getting to see Mariano play a game in the outfield before he retires after this Sunday would make up for all of that.

As much as I want to see him go out with one last save on Sunday, recording the final out of the season by catching a fly ball in center field would be fifty times better.

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Yanks Not Letting A-Rod Skip This Weekend's Series In Houston

Updated Story: Not so fast. After earlier reports said that the Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez permission to skip the team's final three games this weekend in Houston to prepare for his suspension hearing, GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi were quick to shoot that idea down.

When asked about it before tonight's game against the Rays, Cashman said that all reports are false, and I A-Rod was not given that permission.

"I know some reports came out, but we expect him to be there," Girardi said. "He does not have permission not to be there ... We expect our players to be there. If they're able bodies we expect them to be there. I'll see if he's available to me tonight but there's no indication that he won't be."

Original Story: As learned by the NY Daily News, the Yankees have given Alex Rodriguez permission the skip the teams final three games in Houston this weekend to prepare for his suspension hearing in front of an arbitrator on Monday.

This means that Thursday night's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays will be A-Rod's final game this season, and possibly his last game until 2015 and beyond.

A-Rod, who is facing a 211-game suspension by Major League Baseball for his alleged involvement in a now shuttered South Miami anti-aging clinic, was originally suspended by MLB on August 5th, the same day that he made his season debut for the Yankees.

Last night, the Yankees suffered another disappointing loss to the Rays, officially eliminating them from postseason contention, meaning that A-Rod won't be missing any meaningful games this weekend.

In 44 games for the Yankees this season, A-Rod is hitting .244 with seven homeruns and 19 RBIs.

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The Yanks' Playoff Hope Is Still Alive, But Not By Much

In sports, nothing compares to the last week of baseball. As some of the divisions have already been claimed, the divisions still wide open are always a joy to watch, as the pressure of winning in the crunch time of the season grows on all contending teams.

For the Yankees,crunch time started a long time ago, and as they head into the final week of the season with six games left against the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros, they're four games back of the Cleveland Indians in the Wild Card race.

Every last game for the Yankees can be considered a must-win game, because if they fail to win even one of the remaining six, they can almost certainly say goodbye to their playoff hopes.

Starting tomorrow in the Bronx, the Yankees open up their most important series of the season -- and their best chance at clinching a Wild Card berth -- with a three-game against the Rays, who currently lead the Wild Card.

Enter play four games behind, the Yankees can't afford to lose any of the three games, as a loss on Tuesday could potentially set them five games back with five left to play -- not exactly good odds.

More so, the Yankees would also need to get some help from the teams currently ahead of them in the Wild Card race, but the strength of schedule for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Indians are not in the Yankees' favor.

The Indians have two games home games left against the awful Chicago White Sox on Tuesday and Wednesday, then finish their season with four games against the Minnesota Twins. The Royals are in Seattle for three games against the no-so-competitive Mariners starting on tonight, then go to the White Sox for more more easy games to finish the season.

Then you have the Rangers, who had been playing very poorly lately, but still find them selves just 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot, with three games against the Astros and four games at the Angels -- two very easy opponents.

At this point, on a scale of 1-10, the Yankees chances of making the playoffs are probably at a two, but if you think about it, a two if still better than a zero. They still have life, but not much left. If they plan in making the playoffs, it's going to take a miracle of a six-game winning streak, along with some, I mean a lot, of help from the other teams involved.

The season ends Sunday in Houston, but the Yankees' playoffs hopes could end a few day before that if they don't start winning now.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

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