Game 143: It's almost over

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

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

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

Tonight's lineup against Tampa Bay:

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

Pitching matchup preview: Chris Capuano vs Jake Odorizzi

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Game 120: Yankees looking to snap skid

New York dropped the opener of the three-game weekend series, last night 5-0.

Rays starter Alex Cobb threw 7 1-3 shutout innings for the win over Brandon McCarthy. The Yankees were able to manage seven hits, but were predictably 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The Yankees sit eight games behind Baltimore in the AL East and 4 1/2 games back of Seattle for the second Wild Card position. At 61-59, New York needs some sort of spark it if wants to get Derek Jeter to the playoffs in his final season, but that seems unlikely at this point.

 Things have gotten so bleak for the Yankees, as the Rays, who were once 18 games under .500, now sit just one game back of New York with a 61-61 mark.

Today's lineup against Tampa Bay:

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

Pitching Matchup Preview:

The Yankees send boy wonder Shane Greene to the hill to go against Tampa Bay's Drew Smyly. Greene has been of the biggest surprises in the American League this season. The 25-year-old has a 3-1 record this season to go with a 2.89 ERA.

He's allowed 32 hits, 12 earned runs in 37 2-3 innings, while walking 13 and striking out 29 with a 1.21 WHIP.

In his last outing, Greene threw eight shutout innings to earn the victory against the Detroit Tigers. Smyly enters with a 7-10 record and a 3.73 ERA. He blanked Texas over 7 2-3 innings on Monday in his second start since being dealt as part of the David Price trade. Smyly has allowed 121 hits in 118 1-3 to go along with 36 walks, 104 strikeouts and a 1.33 WHIP.

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Yankees 3, Rays 4 (F/12): Brian Roberts comes up clutch, but Bombers fall in extras

With Rob Refsnyder breathing down his neck, Brian Roberts, for the moment, saved the Yankees' night with a solo homerun in the 9th inning with the Bombers down by a run, tying up the score. The Yankees and Rays would go to extra innings, where Tampa Bay beat New York, 4-3, in 12 innings on Monday night.

David Phelps, who came into the game 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in eight career appearances (four starts) against the Rays, gave up a pair of solo homeruns early in the game that put Tampa up 2-0. The first off the bat of Matt Joyce, who hit one to right field with two outs in the 1st, and then two innings later, in the 3rd, when Kevin Kiermaier lead off the inning with a solo blast of his own to right field.

The two homeruns were the worst parts of Phelps' night, as he wasn't that bad overall on the mound. Tampa only got to him with four hits, two of them dingers, in 5 2/3 innings. He also walked three and struck out four on 101 pitches.

Luckily enough, Phelps didn't have to take the loss because the Yankees' lineup wold come back to tie the game in the bottom half of the 3rd inning.

Ichiro Suzuki was hit by Chris Archer pitch to open the frame, then Brett Gardner hit an RBI triple into the right field corner -- his 5th of the year -- to put the Bombers on the board. The next batter, Derek Jeter, grounded out to the second baseman, Logan Forsythe, to even up the score.

Offensively, both teams were pretty quite throughout the night. If you're a fan of offense, this game was definitely not for you.

Archer, who started on the mound for Tampa Bay, was very impressive, as is usually the case when he starts against the Yankees. Outside of the third inning, they had trouble putting things together against him. He only gave up the two runs on five hits, with two walks and four strikeouts peppered in across seven innings. Because the Yankees tied the game in the 9th, it took away Archer's chance at becoming the first pitcher since Walter Johnson to win his first five career starts against the Yankees.

After working out of a two on, two out situation in the 6th inning when he took over for Phelps, Adam Warren pitched out of another big jam in the 7th, this one with the bases loaded and two outs -- Kiermaier singled, then Warren issued walks to Desmond Jennings and Ben Zobrist. Warren was lucky enough to get out of this one, too, inducing a groundout to first base by Matt Joyce to end the inning.

Dellin Betances, who has been used often recently, started on the mound in the 8th. After getting the first two outs of the inning, he walked Brandon Guyer and Forsythe. Joe Girardi clearly didn't trust him to go any further, taking him out of the game in favor of David Robertson. When I say that Betances has been used a lot lately I mean it -- 109 pitches in 4 outings over 7 days. Girardi is usually good with his bullpen, but his overuse of Betances is something to look at.

The Rays made Betances and the Yankees pay for those two outs walks, as Robertson was greeted by Ryan Hanigan, who promptly singled into center field to score Guyer, putting the Rays up 3-2. Robertson retired Kiermaier, then tossed a scoreless 9th inning.

The Yankees tried putting something together against Rays left-hander Jake McGee in the bottom half of the 8th inning. Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out, then two batters later, Brian McCann dumped a two-out single into left field, putting runners on the corners. However, Carlos Beltran ended the rally with a pop-out to the catcher behind the plate.

Roberts tied up the game with a solo homerun in the bottom of the 9th inning, sending the game in extra innings, where the Yankees would have a very good chance tow in the game in the 10th inning after Jeter singled to open the inning. He stole second base on a Mark Teixeira struck out, and then McCann struck out to end the inning.

Shawn Kelley tossed two scoreless innings, working out of a big bases loaded jam in the 11th inning by striking out back-to-back hitters to end the frame.

Forsythe drove in the game-winning run in the top of the 12th inning, singling to center field to score Guyer, who walked then stole second base against Jose Ramirez, who was on the bump to pitch the inning, putting the Rays up 4-3. The Yankees, as you would imagine, went down quietly in the bottom of the 12th.

At the midway point of the season, the Yankees are 41-40. Looking to stay above .500, Hiroki Kuroda will face off with David Price on Tuesday night at 7:05 pm.

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Spring Training Game 13: Rays at Yankees

The Yankees have gotten a lot of promising performances from their starting pitchers this spring, and David Phelps is looking to join that list. As one of the pitchers in the Yankees' fifth starter race, Phelps will be looking to turn out a good outing against the Tampa Bay Rays today at The Boss.

Phelps was roughed up in his last outing against a no-name Baltimore Orioles lineup.

With the O's playing almost none of their expected Opening Day starters, Phelps was being hit hard, but only gave up one run on five hits, while walking one and striking out two in 2.2 innings.

"They got some hits, but I feel like I was able to bear down those first two innings and pitch out of some spots, which is huge," Phelps said after the game. "If there's ever a time to work on something like that, Spring Training is a great time."

Joe Girardi has already said that he expects Phelps to be on the team in some capacity, whether it be in the rotation or the bullpen, where he has shown he can pitch, too.

If Michael Pineda continues to pitch as well as he did against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, it might be his fifth starter job to lose, while Phelps ends up in the bullpen because he can pitch there, and the Yankees don't necessarily know if Pineda can handle life as a reliever.

Today's lineup against Tampa Bay:

Today's lineup vs TB: Ellsbury 8, Jeter 6, Beltran 9, McCann 2, Soriano 7, Johnson 3, Roberts 4, Ichiro DH, Solarte 5, Phelps 1.
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank) March 9, 2014

Girardi called Kelly Johnson to likely backup for Mark Teixeira this season, and with that comes Johnson's first start at first base this spring. Derek Jeter is back in the lineup, playing shortstop. The man we're all rooting for, Yangervis Solarte, will also be starting today as Girardi continues to showcase his versatility by penciling him in at third base.

Among the relievers listed for Girardi today are Dellin Betances, who has been great so far this spring, Preston Claiborne, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, Mark Montgomery, Bruce Billings and Danny Burawa.

You can watch today's 1:05 pm ET game on YES or list on WFAN. You can even follow along on Twitter for updates.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Gardner drives in two runs, Yankees fall to the Rays

Brett Gardner gave the Yankees a 4-1 lead in the 4th inning on a single to left field, driving in two runs to extend the Bombers' lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.

But as it turned out, that would not be enough for the Yankees to overcome a four-run 5th inning by Tampa, due in large part to Robert Coello, who gave up a pair of homeruns in the inning, as the Yanks would go on to lose to the Rays, 5-4, Wednesday in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Coello opened the 5th inning by hitting Mikie Mahtook with a pitch, then gave up a single to Ben Zobrist, who homered in the first inning of the game. The next batter, Desmond Jennings, tied the game with a three-run homerun to right field.

After getting Even Longoria to groundout for the first out of the inning, Coello served up another homerun, this time solo shot Matt Joyce to give the Rays a 5-4 lead. Coello was pulled after that, giving up four runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning -- his spring ERA is 48.60.

The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning of this game after Eduardo Nunez and Ichiro Suzuki collected back-to-back one-out single, setting up an RBI single by Russ Canzler, who has been playing a lot of first base this spring in place of Mark Teixeira, who expects to play in his first game tomorrow, and a RBI groundout by Kelly Johnson.

Tampa answered back in the bottom of the 1st when Zobrist went deep off of Adam Warren, who got the call for the Yankees.

Warren wasn't at his best once against in his second start of the spring, but it wasn't start that hurt his chances of making the club out of spring training. He left after just 2.1 inning, giving up one run -- the homerun -- on four hits, while striking out two, and he didn't walk anybody.

“I was a little ill about the walks last outing, so I kind of really focused on that,” Warren said. “I still want to get in better counts, get ahead of batters a little better. I’ll keep working on that. I still need to refine some things, but that’s what spring training is for. I’m trying to take the next step each outing, refine some things and get ready for the season.”

Zobrist's homer made it a 2-1 score, which would hold up until Gardner's two-out, two run single in the 4th inning off of Rays reliever Grant Balfour. Gardner finished the game 1-for-3.

Dellin Betances made his third appearance of the spring, and he pitched very well once again, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings. He has yet to give up a run in the 5.2 innings his pitched this spring. According the the Rays radio announcers, Betances was commanding his offspeed pitches well, leading to his success against Tampa today.

There are a lot of spots in the Yankees' bullpen that are up for grabs at the moment, and the Yankees were hoping that Betances, and maybe Cesar Cabral, could put together a good enough spring for the Yankees to want him in Houston Opening Day. If he continues to pitch well, he can be an important are in the bullpen this summer.

“I think he’s more comfortable,” Austin Romine said of Betances. “Last year was big. He got up, got some experience, and I think his comfort level is a lot better. He’s able to make adjustments pitch to pitch, hitter to hitter.

"Today was case in point: he went out, lost his feel for his slider, got it back the next at-bat. He makes good adjustments. Before he would just try to grip it and throw it harder. Now he’s settling down, hitting his spot. He’s a lot more productive. … There’s a lot more life on the ball. Pitches are good. Offspeed is in the zone. He’s got more fastball command. I really can’t say enough about him.”

Matt Daley threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning, giving up two hits. Yoshinori Tateyama was pretty good again today, tossing two scoreless innings. And Jim Miller struck out two in a clean 8th inning of work.

Yangervis Solarte picked up another hit today, going 1-for-3. Zoilo Almonte went 1-for-2. But today's offensive standout was Nunez, who went 3-for-3.

The Yankees head to Clearwater tomorrow to face the Philadelphia Phillies for the second time this spring. Masahiro Tanaka will be on he mound for the Bombers, making his first start of the spring, but his second appearance overall. Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano are also expected to make their spring debuts tomorrow.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Spring Training Game 9: Yankees at Rays

After falling to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, last night at GMS Field in Tampa, the Yankees are back at it today when the travel to Port Charlotte for a 1:05pm EST game against one of their AL East rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Adam Warren gets the call for the Bombers as he continues his fight to win the Yankees' fifth starter competition. Heading into his second start of the spring, I have Warren behind Vidal Nuno and David Phelps, who was knocked around for five hits and one runs in 2 2/3 innings last night.

Warren threw two scoreless inning against the Detroit Tigers in his first start of the spring last Friday in Lakeland. He walked two in the first inning of that outing, but was able to get out without giving up a run.

“A little jumpy the first inning, just excited to get back out there,” Warren said after the start. “I’m not pleased with the walks, but I know that’s not normal for me. Just feel like I was a little jumpy, so made the adjustment in the second inning there.”

Warren is a lot like Phelps in that he can help the Yankees in a couple of different ways. He'll be able to give you a start every now an then when you need it, but his biggest strength is that he can pitch out of the bullpen well, which could help him when roster are being cut down.

Today's lineup vs Tampa Bay:


Ichiro Suzuki gets the start in center field today. He's trying to prove to the Yankees this spring that he can be more than just a fifth outfielder for them, and this is also a good time for him to play well and show any interested teams that he;s worth trading for.

“He’s going to compete for playing time, just a lot of the other guys that are competing right now,” Girardi said yesterday when talking about Ichiro.

Yangervis Solarte will get another start in the lineup today, this time at shortstop. Solarte is hitting .778 so far this spring with six RBIs, all while playing four different positions.

“He’s played really well, he really has,” Girardi said. “We’ve moved him around. He’s played all over the infield, and we put him in left field. He’s a switch hitter. He has (raised some eyebrows).”

As for the relievers coming to the game, Dellin Betances is the only relievers worth paying attention to.

Today's game will not be on TV or radio, but you can follow along on Twitter for updates.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog.

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Jayson Nix signs deal with the Tampa Bays Rays

After spending two years with the Yankees, Jayson Nix has signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bays Rays that includes an invite to Spring Training, reports FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.

Nix worked out fairly well for the Yankees as an infielder that could play around the diamond. He wasn't the best of hitters, but that Yanks were forced to use him a lot in 2013 due to the injuries of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

He fractured his left hand when RA Dickey with him with a knuckleball in a game on August 21th, ending his season.

He played 86 games for the Bombers last season, batting .236 with three homeruns and 24 RBIs. 

The Yankees didn't have any room for Nix on the roster, leading to them having to non-tender him. The re-signing of Brendan Ryan was pretty much what gave the feeling that his days in the Bronx were over.

Nix was one of Joe Girardi's favorite. He would always call Nixy a true baseball player -- meaning he came to the park ready to play each day, and even though he wasn't the best player on the team, he always played hard, and played the game right.

Even without Nix on the team next season, the Yankees will still have a few utility player-type guys that can be used at more than one position, with Ryan, Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts and Dean Anna.

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Keeping Tabs on the Enemies: January 5th

We are about two months into free agency, but the hot stove is just heating up. Some teams in the AL East look completely different, while others look about the same. Let's take a look at who has taken a step forward and who has taken a step back this offseason thus far.

Boston Red Sox: They have gotten slightly worse. Overall, the defending champions look similar to how they looked last year.

Their pitching remains the same, but they lost their starting center fielder, catcher, and likely shortstop in Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Stephen Drew. As of now, replacing those three players are Jackie Bradley Jr., AJ Pierzynski, and Xander Bogaerts. Bradley Jr is a nice looking player, but he is no Ellsbury. Shane Victorino had a great season in 2013, but is likely to regress, so their outfield, as a whole, has taken a step back.

In the infield, they have Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Bogaerts, and Will Middlebrooks. You can't expect the injury-prone Napoli to have a healthy season again as he played over 115 games for only the second time in his career.

You know what you are getting in Pedroia. Middlebrooks is likely to improve a little bit, but the key is Bogaerts. He could potentially be a lot better than Drew, or he could be worse. Having a young, inexperienced shortstop could hurt them. Behind the plate, going from Saltalamacchia to Pierzynski isn't a downgrade or an upgrade.

Baltimore Orioles: They have taken a step back. After finishing third in the AL East standings with a record of 85-77, many thought the Orioles would finally make a big splash to take that next step. So far, that just hasn't happened. 

They lost their starting left fielder in Nate McLouth, and have Reimold in left field right now. Jason Hammel, who has been one of their best starting pitchers the past couple years, is currently a free agent. They lost Jim Johnson, who I on of the best closers In the league and had 50 saves last season. Brian Roberts is now with the Yankees, but Ryan Flaherty is just as good as him and a lot younger. 

Overall, they lost their closer, a starting pitcher, their starting left fielder, and Roberts. Who did they bring in to make up for those losses? Jemile Weeks.

Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays, who finished last in the AL East this past season, haven't gotten better or worse. 

They have upgraded a little bit at the catching position, going from JP Arencibia to Dioner Navarro. It is a downgrade in terms of power but Navarro had a much higher OBP than Arencibia. 

They have gone from being bad at second base, to being bad at second base. Last season, they had Mark Derosa and Kawasaki. Right now, they have Ryan Goins. They lost Josh Johnson, who signed with the Padres, but he had a terrible season so that isn't much of a loss.

The Jays still need to add a starting pitcher before the winter if over, and it's been looking like one of Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana could be the guy that get.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays finished second in the AL East last season. They have gotten slightly better. 

They have gone from Fernando Rodney to Heath Bell at closer. Rodney struggled last season, but he still had a better season than Heath Bell. Bell had 15 saves and 7 blown saves last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, so right now, they have a question mark at closer. 

Going from Jose Lobaton/Jose Molina at catcher to Ryan Hanigan is a big upgrade. Hanigan struggled last season, but he has a career .359 OBP and will probably have a bounce back season in Tampa. Young players such as Desmond Jennings and Will Myers will likely improve as they have another season under their belt.

New York Yankees: The Yankees who finished third in the AL East last season, improved as much as anyone in baseball. 

They have gone from a lineup of Brett Gardner-Ichiro Suzuki-Robinson Cano-Lyle Overbay-Vernon Wells-Travis Hafner-Eduardo Nunez-Jayson Nix- Chris Stewart, to Ellsbury-Derek Jeter-Carlos Beltran-Mark Teixeira-Brian McCann-Alfonso Soriano-Kelly Johnson-Roberts-Gardner.

They are still waiting for the A-Rod decision and could possibly sign Mark Reynolds. But even now, that lineup looks a whole lot deeper this season than last season. 

Losing the best second baseman in baseball in Cano is a tough blow, but the depth of the current lineup should make up for it. 

Their success this upcoming season weighs heavily on the health of Jeter and Teixeira. 

In the pitching department, they have gone from Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Mariano Rivera to David Phelps, Michael Pineda, and David Robertson. Signing Masahiro Tanaka or another big name starting pitcher could make the pitching staff better than last year. 

Losing the greatest closer of all time in Rivera is a big loss, but having Robertson step up or signing Grant Balfour or another veteran with closing experience will help lessen that loss.

The Yankees still have some big moves that they will make, and other teams will make some changes, but if the season started tomorrow, here are my AL East standings predictions:

1. Rays, 2. Red Sox, 3. Yankees, 4. Blue Jays, 5. Orioles.

The Yankees could jump to being the AL East favorites, though, if they can add a couple more pieces for the winter is over.

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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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Hughes And Yanks Try To Fight Off Elimination Against The Rays

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles were eliminated from playoff contention with a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in 10 innings last night. Tonight in the Bronx, the Yankees could be the next team to join them.

The Yankees are entering tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Rays five games back of the second Wild Card spot with five games left to play. As I discussed earlier today, their playoff probability is currently at zero percent. With a loss tonight, or even a win by the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees would officially be eliminated from postseason contention.

Should it happen tonight, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark, tomorrow would be the first time since October 3rd of 1993 that the Yankees played a meaningless game at Yankees Stadium.

The Yankees are coming off a terrible 7-0 loss to the Rays last night at Yankee Stadium in the series opener against Tampa. Hiroki Kuroda gave up three runs in the 1st inning, and the Yanks' offense couldn't do anything to capitalize on the six walks issued by Matt Moore over five shutout innings.

Tonight's Lineup vs Tampa Bay:

Nunez 3B
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Wells RF
Reynolds 1B
Granderson CF
Ryan SS
Stewart C
Hughes RHP

Pitching Preview:

With their season on the line, their backs against the wall, the Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the mound in place of the injured CC Sabathia, who was placed on the DL on Monday with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Hughes, the Yankees' former first-round pick, has been having possibly the worst season since he's been in the Bronx, and if all goes as it should this offseason, this will Hughes' last start as a member of the New York Yankees.

His 4-13 record and 5.07 ERA has been far below the Yankees have wanted to see out of Hughes, hoping that he would be able to show them that he deserves to be resigned this offseason, but things haven't  panned out that way, and Hughes is likely out the door for good this winter.

Hughes is very likely to have a very small leash from manger Joe Girardi tonight, as he has had on Hughes in his last few starts, and if he runs into trouble at any point early in the game, it's highly likely that we'll see David Huff called into action.

If you thought things could not be more against the Yankees tonight with Hughes in the mound in a possible elimination game, taking the mound for the Rays will be their first-overall pick in the 2007 draft, left-hander David Price. Price will making his last start of the season for Tampa, and he's looking for his first win since August 24th.

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Phil Hughes Might Not Be The Only One Saying Goodbye Today

When you woke up today, the Yankees were still in playoff contentions -- technically. Last night in the Bronx, the Yanks, like the Mariano Rivera bobbleheads, failed to show up when the fans were counting on them the most.

After putting up a fight in late-August to put themselves back into the playoff mix, the Yankees folded up under the pressure, and most of the all, the terrible mess that has been the 2013 season.

Last night, Hiroki Kuroda continued to play that same old song that we've been hearing the past few weeks -- bad in the first, good after that. He gave up three runs in the first inning, letting the Rays jump out to a 3-0 lead.

"His stuff has just not been as crisp," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "His sinker has been a little bit flatter. It hasn't had the same amount of bite to it. It is more across. His slider has been OK, at times, but not as consistent as earlier in the year."

Then to make matters worse, Matt Moore walked six and threw three wild pitches, but the Yankees' offense was too busy playing the same song we've been hearing all season, called "We just can't hit it," causing them to collect just four hits on the night, and strand 11 on base.

In the end, the Yankees dropped the game to the Rays, 7-0, suffering their 11th shutout this season. More important, the Yanks, with the Indians winning on a two-run, walk-off homerun by former-Yankee Jason Giambi, fell to five games back in the Wild Card standings with five games left to play.

According to most websites, depending on what you read, the Yankees' postseason probability is now down to exactly 0%. That means that Yankees now have no shot at playing baseball in October, and we can pretty much start planing on how we're going to deal with what could be a rough offseason ahead of us.

"Right now, we need a ton of help and we need to win every game or we are not going to get in," Girardi said. "That is the hard part because of what you go through."

The Yankees aren't eliminated just yet, but with a loss tonight or even a win by the Indians, who are playing the last-place White Sox by the way, would end their season altogether.

If you though it couldn't get any worse than hear that, that guess what. Phil Hughes is starting on the mound for the Bombers tonight in what is, in all likelihood, his final start as a member of the New York Yankees -- start the applause.

That's right, with the Yankees entire playoff hopes hanging on by a fingernail, it'll be Hughes taking the mound tonight with his 4-13 record and 5.07 ERA, trying to lead the way.

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles were officially eliminated for postseason contention, and tonight, the Yankees could be the next team down. On Phil Hughes Day in the Bronx, the Yanks could be saying goodbye to more than just another pitcher.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

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Yanks And Rays Open Up Critical Wild Card Series In The Bronx

Could this be the series that finally ends the Yankees' season? Tonight in the Bronx, the Yankees open up a three-game series against the Wild Card leading Tampa Bay Rays. These three games will either keep the Yankees in the race and bring them closer to pulling off this miracle run, or it will end their playoff hopes all together.

The Yankees are coming off an emotional loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at Yankee Stadium, on a day will with celebrating and remembrance of Mariano Rivera, baseball's greatest closer, as he prepares to ride off into the sunset after the final pitch of the 2013 season is thrown.

With just six games remaining this season, the Yankees need every win they can get in order to get to the postseason. On Monday, the Yanks announced that they would have to go through these final six games without their apparent ace CC Sabathia, who was shut down for the rest of the season because of a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring.

Tonight's Lineup vs Tampa Bay:

Suzuki CF
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Reynolds 1B
Nunez 3B
Wells RF
Ryan SS
Stewart C
Kuroda RHP

Pitching Preview:

On Sunday, Andy Pettitte made his final home start at Yankee Stadium after announcing on Friday that he, too, would retire at the end of this season. Pettitte was great on the mound, taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning until it was taken away by a homerun from a September call-up.

Today against the Rays, Hiroki Kuroda will try one more time to turn his season around after going on a harsh losing streak since mid-August. Since going eight-innings against the Los Angeles Angels on August 12th, he's 0-6 with an ERA over six.

Although he dropped his last decision, Kuroda put together a quality start when he gave up three runs over six innings to the Toronto Blue Jays last Thursday.

"It was gutsy; he was in trouble every inning," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Kuroda's performance. "He did a really good job of minimizing the damage."

Taking the mound for the Rays tonight is one of their best young pitchers, left-hander Matt Moore, who is 15-4 with a 3.34 ERA, with two of his wins coming against the Yankees in four starts against them this season.

"Beating them is going to worsen their chances of getting in, so we can kill a couple birds with that one stone," Moore said of this critical series starting tonight.

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Sabathia Shut Down With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain

With just six games left this season, the Yankees will have to play on without their highest paid pitcher in CC Sabathia, who was shut down by the Yankees on Monday after it was announced he had suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

"We have hopes and beliefs that next year will be a better year for him and for us,'' Cashman said. "There's no point in having him make his last start with an injury.''

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Sabathia strained his left hamstring in the second inning of his last start for the Yanks on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. The injury will take about 8 weeks to heal, according to the team.

Sabathia, 33, had been going through a very rough 2013 season, finishing with a 14-13 record with an un-CC like 4.78 ERA, the highest of his 13-year career. He also allowed a career-high 26 homeruns this season, six more than his previous career-high.

"He's had an interesting year, to say the least,'' Cashman said. "The home runs really killed him. But we think he's retained a number of abilities that should allow him to pitch at or near the top of our rotation next year. ''

Losing CC may sound like a back-breaker for the Bombers, but in reality, it's not that bad. The Yankees only have six games remaining, and Sabathia was only going to take the mound one more time -- Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays, who CC is 1-4 with an abysmal 7.52 ERA against this season.

With CC no longer starting against Tampa this week, it's like that Phil Hughes will start for the Yankees in one of the three critical games in the Bronx against the Wild Card leading Rays.

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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.

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Yankees Show They Still Have Some Fight Left In Them

Just when you though the Yankees might be done for this season, they got back up, chugged down some Gatorade, and sparked their bats back to life to make a four-run comeback in the 8th inning against the Blue Jays Wednesday night in Toronto.

Coming into the night, the talk around the Yankees was that they weren't playing with enough engery. Alfonso Soriano said that after an off-day on Monday, the Yanks weren't at their best on Tuesday when they lost to the Jays 2-0 because they were still a little sluggish after having nothing to do on Monday.

Tuesday night's game gave us the impression tat the Yankees didn't have much left in the tank, and that even the fact of being just a couple games back of the Wild Card spot wasn't enough to will this beat down team to the playoffs.

They entered the 8th inning Wednesday night trailing the Blue Jays 3-0. They hadn't scored a run in their first 16 innings in Toronto, and they were just six outs away from suffering another devastating loss at the hands of the last place Jays.

Having already wasted several scoring chances early in the game, including having runners on the corners with one-out in the first, Brendan Ryan opened the 8th with a ground-rule double off Jays starter JA Happ, who was enter the 8th inning for the first time as a starter since April of 2010. After Curtis Granderson singled to put runners on the corners, hope was coming back once again.

Robinson Cano single to center to score Ryan and put the Yankees on the board for the first time since Sunday in Boston, then Soriano doubled to right field to pull the Yanks within a run.

The, seemingly out of nowhere, Vernon Wells, a man that many Yankees fas wouldn't want up at the plate in that situation, ripped a double down the left field line to score a pair of runs to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead.

Just like that, the Yankees went from scoreless and lifeless, to winning, alive and full on energy.

But, of course, this contest wouldn't be complete without some last inning antics out of the bullpen. David Robertson recorded the first two outs of the 8th, but after a single and stolen base to Brett Lawrie, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi couldn't trust Robertson, giving the ball to Mariano Rivera for a four-out save.

Rivera retired his man in the 8th, couldn't end the 9th without at least making things interesting. He put the first two men on, and then after both runners eventually moved to second and third with two away, Rivera struck out JP Arencibia to end the game, snapping the Bombers four-game losing skid.

"It's fun just to do that," Wells said. "We needed a win. Things had been ugly over the last few days. Guys are still battling. It's obviously frustrating going through periods like that, but hopefully, this is something that can kick-start something special for us."

A kick-start to a winning streak is something that the Yankees desperately need at this point. Andy Pettitte was saying before the game that all the Yankees need to do it go on a little bit of a run in these final 10 games and should be alright.

After the Rays pulled off an extra-innings victory against the Rangers Wednesday night in Tampa, it helped pull the Yankees back to within 2.5 games of a Wild Card spot. I haven't, and I still won't say they will make the playoffs, but at least I know they won't go down without a fight -- kind of like I thought they would have Wednesday night.

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Just Be Happy That The Yankees Made It This Far

Stop me if you've heard this: It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. In the Yankees' case, it's the other way around, as in, it's all about getting to the World Series.

With only 12 game remaining for the Bombers this season, it's looking like a long shot that the Yanks actually make the playoffs even though they're just 2.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot as they enter play in Toronto tonight.

I say that because we all know what's wrong with this squad as they prepare for a 12-game stretch that includes playing against two last place teams -- the Houston Astros and Blue Jays -- with a three-game series against the fourth place San Francisco Giants, and then one important set against the Tampa Bay Rays next week in the Bronx.

The starting pitching is hurting the team more than anything else at the moment, and I guess you could also include the bullpen that hasn't been very good lately, either.

In the last seven days, the Yankees, as a team, have accumulated an ERA of 5.80 -- good for 13th in the American League, ahead of only the Seattle Mariners (5.98) and Minnesota Twins (6.85). For the entire month of September, their 6.27 ERA ranks them dead last in the majors -- Yeah, I know, that's behind everyone.

But that's just for the last few weeks, and, somehow, the Yankees are still in the Wild Card race. Yet, if the Yanks actually end up making the playoffs, none of that will matter, because all that will matter is that they made it to the playoffs regardless of how they got there.

Look at it this way: In spring training, no body picked the Yankees to make the playoffs. Joe Girardi probably thought that it would take a miracle to get this team to October.

The Yankees let go of Russell Martin, who's now walking into October with the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the best teams in the National League, Nick Swisher, who's now in this postseason race with the Cleveland Indians, and not to mention Raul Ibaniez, who nearly has 30 homeruns for the Seattle Mariners.

On the opposite side of the subtractions, the Yankees brought in almost no one, apart from Kevin Youkilis, who the Yanks singed for 1-year $13 million to only play 28 games because of back surgery.

Along with bringing back aging veterans such as Andy Pettitte and Ichiro Suzuki, the Yankees rushed around in the spring to bring in Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells and Lyle Ovebay. Those three played big roles early, but the production value has dropped of dramatically lately, and, of course, Hafner is basically out for the year because of shoulder problems.

If you don't remember this, the Yankees' Opening Day DH was Ben Francisco -- who was also terrible. In a yea when the Yankees have used a franchise-record of 56 players, mostly due to the new injury suffered every day, they have managed to stay in this race.

In a season where Derek Jeter has played in only 17 games, they've managed to stay in the race. In a season where CC Sabathia is pitching like a No. 4 starter at best, they've managed to stay in this race. And in a season where Mark Teixeria has playing in 12 games, and Curtis Granderson was on the DL twice for broken bones, and I still haven't even mentioned what's been happening around Alex Rodriguez and his looming 211-game suspension.

The point is that the Yankees have been through so much this season, and yet they find themselves with still a great chance to make the playoffs with only 12 games remaining, even when every expert on the planet expected them to miss the playoffs -- even I expected them to miss out for the second time since
1994.

Now matter what happens in this final stretch run, just remember that no other team in the Wild Card race has been through half of what the New York Yankees have had to deal with this season.

The Yankees might not reach their destination this season -- a World Series championship -- but I'll be damned if it wasn't one hell of a journey.

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The Yankees Aren't Out Of This Playoff Race Just Yet

As they say, it's not over until it's over. Many of you might be able to argue that this season might actually already by over for the New York Yankees, but it you look at the facts in front of you, you might be able to ask, is it really over?

Well, the Yankees left Boston this weekend after and atrocious showing against the Red Sox, losing all three-games in the series, and being outscored by the Sox 22-7.

Yet, somehow, the Yankees "only" managed to lose one game to the Tampa Bay Rays, whom the Yankees now trail by three-games in the Wild Card. Even better, the Rays are actually tied with the Texas Rangers for the top spot in the Wild Card race, meaning the Yanks are just three games back of both of those teams.

Tonight in Tampa, the Rays and Rangers begin a critical four-game series at the Trop, with the first Wild Card spot, and possibly a playoff berth on the line.

With as well as the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians are playing right now, you can almost write one of those teams into the playoffs if either the Rays or Rangers have their way this week.

Both Tampa and Texas has been playing sloppy baseball of late, but the only team playing worse than the Yankees did in Boston this past weekend is the Rangers, losers of six straight, and nine of their last 10 games.

Just as the Rangers did last season when they let the Oakland Athletics come all the way back to win the AL West last season, Texas is currently running themselves out of the playoff race again this season.

If the Yankees were to really make a run at this Wild Card, this would be their best chance to do so, as the Bombers are in Toronto for three-games starting on Tuesday, to face a Blue Jays team that the Yanks have owned this season.

Of their last 12 remaining games, the Yankees play nine of them against current last place teams -- three against Toronto, three against the San Francisco Giants, and three against the worst team in baseball, the Houston Astros to finish the regular season, with the other the three against the Rays next week in the Bronx.

"We've got 12 games to go, there’s no time to be concerned, we've got to go," Said Alex Rodriguez after Sunday's 9-2 loss. “You got to play as hard as you can and you never know, crazier things have happened, we just have to worry about getting back on a good winning streak on Tuesday.

"I know we are right in the mix, nothing that a two- or three-game winning streak can’t fix," A-Rod said. “If we go out and win four of the next five starting on Tuesday I think we are right back into this thing. If you take Boston away over the last two to three weeks, we've played really good baseball. Boston has done a number on us, they basically whipped our ass."

Right now, the Yanks would need to leapfrog over the Baltimore Orioles and Indians in order to grab a Wild Card spot. Cleveland's last 13 games are against Kansas City, Houston, the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. They have the easiest schedule of all the contending teams.

The Orioles finish up with a tough 13 game fix against the Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays and one more series against the Red Sox to end the season.

I'm not saying that it will be done, but it certainly can be done. The Yankees obviously have a ton of issues to sort through if they actually plan on making the playoffs -- with everything from injuries to terrible pitching, but I'll get into that later.

All I'm saying is that you shouldn't write off the New York Yankees just yet, because as we've seen in the past, anything can happen in these last few weeks.

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Grand Slam In The 7th Blasts Red Sox Past The Yankees

Sometimes, baseball can be a cruel game.

On a Friday night on Boston -- Friday the 13th, that is -- the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox opened up their final series of the season at Fenway Park, and it was a game that lived up to everything that  Yankees and Red Sox series is suppose to be.

Boston took a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning off Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda, but as you might already know, no lead is safe when it comes to these two teams.

Kuroda settled into end up pitching six-plus innings without giving up another run outside of the 1st, permitting four runs on eight hits, while mixing in a pair a strike outs on 101 pitches.

As the game rolled on a homerun by Brendan Ryan, sac-fly by Lyle Overbay, and a two-run double by Robinson Cano in the top of the 7th brought the Yankees all the way back to tie the game.

But in the end, the Yankees' bullpen couldn't keep them in the game, giving up four-runs in the 7th inning to pave the way for the Red Sox to take the first game of the series, 8-4.

What it means: For starters, the bullpen failed to do it's job once again. With a win by the Tampa Bay Rays tonight, the Yankees will fall back to two-games behind Tamp for the second Wild Card spot. As well as the Yanks have been playing lately, they just can't catch a break when it comes to playing the Red So, who appear to be possibly the best team in the American League.

Salty grand salami: Boston loaded the bases to start the home half of the 7th inning, and with Preston Claiborne in the mound -- normally good, but not so much of late -- and the four-run lead the Red Sox had early in the game came right back to them when Jarrod Saltalamacchia blasted a grand slam beyond the bullpens in right field to put the Sox up 8-4.

No so good start: With the bullpen as fatigued as it is, Yankees manager Joe Girardi needed Kuroda to put the team on his back, while keeping the bullpen out of the game. Unfortunately for Girardi, Kuroda took the mound in the first inning and started off the game in no way the Yankees or Kuroda was hoping for.

Kuroda took the mound in the bottom of the first and didn't get out of the inning until after the Red Sox had already tagged him for four-runs on four-hits and a walk over 33 pitches -- signalling the bullpen might get a lot of work done.

Dustin Pedroia singled to start the inning, then David Ortiz double to left field a couple batters later. Mike Carp followed with a groundout to score Pedroia, and then single by Daniel Nava scored Ortiz. Kuroda walked Saltalamacchia and then served up a double to Stephen Drew to put the Sox up 4-0.

Settling in: Somehow, Kuroda managed to turn things around after the first inning, pitching a complete 180 on the mound, keeping the Red Sox off the board in the next five innings. He went on to give up just three hits after the 1st inning, while also retiring the Red Sox in order in the 4th and 6th innings.

Bunt double: With one-out in the first inning, the Red Sox put on a shift for Robinson Cano at the plate. Cano dropped down a bunt, and as it rolled towards nobody at third base, Cano put together some heads up basing running and trotted into second with a bunt double.

Ryan's Hope: Ryan, playing in just this third game with the Yankees, hit a solo homerun off John Lackey in the top of the 3rd inning to put the Yanks on the board, 4-1. It was his 1st homerun of the Bombers, and only his 4th this season between the Seattle Mariners and Yanks -- a new career high.

How'd he catch that? The Yankees set up with runners on the corners and only one away in the 6th inning against Lackey after Cano doubled and Alfonso Soriano singled. Overbay came up and shot a ball into the right-center field gap that Shane Victorino, somehow, chased down to make the catch for the second out, all while Cano tagged and scored from third to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.

Adding the zero's: Cano was fantastic in this game. He was quite the stud on defense, making a couple nice plays, including a running, over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right field to end the 6th inning. At the plate, he was as good as advertised, collecting four hits, three of which were doubles, one of which was the bunt double, including the two-run double to tie the game in the 7th.

Up next: These two teams continue this important series tomorrow for a Saturday matinee on FOX, as a pair of lefties, CC Sabathia (13-12, 4.82 ERA) and Jon Lester (13-8, 3.86 ERA) square off in the second game of the three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm EST.

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