Mo Blows The Save, Yanks Win On Wild-Pitch In The 9th

Barreling towards to end of his career, Joe Girardi didn't mind using Mariano Rivera for a six-out save, instead of using the lately unreliable bullpen to close out a game that the New York Yankees desperately needed to win.

After retiring the Boston Red Sox on 20 pitches in the 8th inning, the Yanks were three outs away from a win, but that was before a solo homerun by Will Middlebrooks tied the game in the 9th, giving Rivera his 7th blown save of the season.

Then in the bottom half of the 9th, Ichiro reached base on a one-out single, then proceeded to steal second, and moved to third base on a flyout to right by Vernon Wells, then a wild pitch off the glove of Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored Ichiro from 3rd to give the Yankees a 4-3 win.

"Obviously, if we lose this one today, it would have been a big hit mentally," Ichiro said through his interpreter. "It would have been tough, to be honest. But we did win, and hopefully we can take this win here, get on a run, and really use it to our advantage."

Hiroki Kuroda was coming off a fourth straight shaky outing, and although to threw a million pitches, he still gave to Bombers a quality start, coming away with the win, thanks in large part because of a two-run double by Robinson Cano to break a 1-1 tie in the 5th inning.

"This is the time of the season now where whatever we've got left, we've just got to give everything now," Cano said. "If we want to make it to the playoffs, that's what we've got to do."

Boston jumped out to 1-0 lead in the second inning after David Ortiz and Mike Carp opened the inning with back-to-back doubles off Kuroda. From there, he calmed down, giving up just five hits on the day, while throwing a season-high 117 pitches in six innings of work.

"At this stage of the season, fatigue really doesn't matter," Kuroda said. "You have to treat it as if this is going to be your last outing."

The Yankees tied up the ballgame in the home half of the 4th when Mark Reynolds -- who decided to drop down a bunt in the 2nd inning with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, but the decision backfired when he popped up the bunt for the out -- doubled over the head of Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field to score Alex Rodriguez all the way from first base. A-Rod finish 2-for-3 and also reached on a walk.

Then with one-out in the 5th, Chris Stewart, Ichiro and Wells all reached base on bloop hits to load the bases for Cano to line a double down the left field line, scoring two runs off Red Sox starter Jon Lester to take a 3-1 lead.

The Red Sox answered back to score a run of their own in the top of the six, when Ortiz doubled, moving to second on a groundout, then scoring on a groundout to second base by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, pulling Boston within a run.

After Kuroda exited the game after six innings, Shawn Kelley returned to pitch for the first time since last Sunday -- missing this past week because of triceps inflammation -- and with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Kelley got Dustin Pedroia to ground out the Eduardo Nunez at shortstop to end the inning.

Chris Stewart left the game in the 7th inning, he was replaced behind the plate by Austin Romine. It would be announced not long after that Stewart bruised his left foot, and the Yankees were sending him to the hospital for precautionary x-rays.

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Pre-Game Notes: Jeter, Kelley, Huff and More

As the New York Yankees look to avoid being swept by the Boston Red Sox, while also trying to gain ground on the teams ahead of them in the Wild Card race, the Yankees are currently dealing with a handful of injury problems.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi spoke with the media prior to Sunday's series finale, that also happens to be the final game of the Yanks' 10-game homestand, with the team embarking on a 10-game road trip starting Monday in Baltimore.

Jeter day to day, not being shut down:

After being removed in the 6th inning of Saturday's 13-9 loss to the Red Sox, the Yankees sent Derek Jeter to the hospital for precautionary CT scans one his surgically repaired left ankle. Good new for the Yankees, the results of the CT scan came back negative.

The Yankees were also planning on sending the CT results to Dr. Anderson, the man who performed Jeter's surgery last October, just to confirm to clean results.

Girardi told to media this morning that Jeter's ankle is still a little sore -- it was believed that he hurt the ankle while fielding a groundball in the top of the 6th inning -- and he plans on giving Jeter a few days off, before re-evaluating him.

When asked if the Yankee had any plans on shutter down for the rest of the season, and Girardi said no, they weren't planning anything.

Although, if there's truly concern over a possible injury in his ankle, I see no reason why he shouldn't be shut down. As Girardi explained, "this is probably his worst [season] ever", so why not just just him the last two games off and not risk him re-hurting the ankle. I'd much rather have him sit out and come back healthy in 2014, then possibly get hurt, especially if the Yanks don't make the playoffs.

Huff staying put in the rotation:

David Huff endured quite the beating by the Red Sox bats Saturday, giving up nine runs on eight huts after striking out the first two batters of the game. Huff didn't make it out of the 4th inning, going only 3.1 before Girardi pulled the plug.

Huff was in the rotation because he had been in pitching very well out of the bullpen for the Yankees, giving up just two runs in his first 16 inning with the team, and Phil Hughes had been having an awful year as a starter fir the Yankees, and finally a move was made.

Girardi said that another move involving Huff won;t be made, and that he plans on keeping Huff on the rotation, meaning that he'll likely be taking the mound again for the Yankees on Thursday when they wrap up a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

I wrote in a blog post yesterday that Girardi should give Huff another shot, consider that he was facing the Boston Red Sox, a team that has put up over 50 runs in their last four games. Putting Hughes back in the rotation is still worse than keeping Huff in it.

Kelley available to pitch, Logan and Robertson aren't:

Shawn Kelley, who has been out for a few days because of triceps inflammation, will be back in action for the Yankees on Sunday, saying before the game that he would be available to pitch once again for Girardi out of the bullpen.

Kelley hasn't pitched for the Yankees since last Sunday against the Orioles, when he gave up a three-run homerun to JJ Hardy to tie the game, as the Bombers would go in to lose 7-3.

In 52 appearances for the Yankees this season, Kelley has posted a 3.96 ERA, while being on of the Yanks better arms out of the bullpen. He's been able to come into game a deliver a big strikeout when needed, but he's been a little shaky on the mound lately.

As for the Yankees other hurting relievers, David Robertson and Boone Logan, the latest on them is that neither one is close to returning to game action. Girardi said that both pitcher are not yet at the point of even throwing.

Logan received some discouraging news after the game on Saturday, when MRI results revealed inflammation in the area of his left elbow, where he's been feeling some discomfort. Logan says that he began feeling problems on the pitch that he gave up a grand slam to Mike Napoli in Friday night's loss.

"He’ll probably be three days off," Girardi said. "And we’ll go from there."

Robertson is still dealing with tendinitis in his right shoulder, and he's been receiving treatment on the shoulder for the past couple of days, and it's unlikely that he'll return to game action within the next couple of days.

Robertson said he was feeling fatigued once he came back to the clubhouse after his appearance Thursday night against Boston -- when he allowed two runs on three hits in just one-third of an inning -- and decided to get it checked out just as a precaution.

"I woke up the next morning (Friday) and it didn't feel right," Robertson said. "It felt like I overused it. I reached back and threw a little extra on some pitches and my shoulder just didn't feel good the next day."

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Kuroda And Yanks Look To Avoid A Sweep By Boston

With 20 games left for the New York Yankees this season, every game is more important than the last for a team needing every win they can get. Unfortunately, the Yankees' last three games against the Boston Red Sox has been something of a nightmare.

Coming back from a six-run deficit on Thursday, only to lose in the 10th inning after Mariano Rivera blew the save -- being just one strike away from ending the game -- then having the Red Sox post nine runs in the 7th and 8th innings on Friday to comeback and beat the Yankees; then, of course, Saturday's beating of David Huff and other Yankee pitchers.

But in a lucky way for the Bombers, the three terrible losses they have suffered in the first three games against Boston this weekend have had no negative effect on them in the Wild Card race, as the Tampa Bay Rays continue to struggle on the West Coast, so the Yanks are still only 2.5 games back.

Derek Jeter hasn't been able to help the Yankees in their playoff chase this season, having only played in 17, and there's a slight chance he could be missing more time. After leaving yesterday's game in the 6th inning, the Yankees had him get a CT on his sore left ankle, but thankfully results came back negative.

Today's Lineup vs Boston:


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

No Jeter in the lineup today, as of now, he's day to day with a sore ankle. Also, Gardner not in the lineup for the Yankees, as of now, he's just getting a day off.

Pitching Preview:

At one point this season, Hiroki Kuroda was undoubtedly the Yankees' best starter. But a couple weeks later, he's not one of their biggest question marks, coming off a fourth straight shaky start, and is in dire need to turn thing around against the Red Sox on Sunday.

Kuroda has seen his ERA rise since August 12th, going from 2.33 to 2.99, as he has given up 23 runs in his last 23 innings. Although he took home the no-decision in his last start against the Chicago White Sox, he still gave up four runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.

"I thought his stuff was better tonight," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "The top of the order has been tough on him, and they were tough on him again tonight. But I thought his stuff was better, and that's a good sign for me."

Boston will be sending out to the mound, left-hander Jon Lester, has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six straight games. Lester is coming off a solid outing against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, tossing seven innings of one-run ball in route to his 13th win this season.

"I'm in a better spot right now as far as going down the mound, which puts me in a better position for that pitch," Lester said. "I think maybe taking a break from it for a little bit helped me, trying not to pound my head against the wall with it. It's been good the last three, four, five starts, so keep grinding it out."

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The Huff Experiment Fail, So What Should The Yanks Do Next?

“Let him start,” I said of David Huff. “He can't possibly be any worse than Phil Hughes. What’s the worst that could happen?” As it turns out, it could get pretty bad.

Taking the mound in place of the struggling Hughes, Huff actually managed to make New York Yankees fans wish that Hughes had started instead.

“I was terrible,” said Huff, who took the loss after permitting nine runs in the Yankees’ 13-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox Saturday afternoon in the Bronx. “To come off what I've been doing here and to have that happen today, it’s just embarrassing on my behalf.”

Huff looked good early on. He struck out the first two batters of the game, and then he got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to second base to end the top of the first. He was pitching well, attacking hitters, and getting ahead in counts.

But then the man who had only given up two runs in his first 16 innings with the Yankees, crumbled. He gave up a two-run home run to Mike Napoli in the second, and a three-run home run to Johnny Gomes in the third. In total, Huff dished nine runs (all earned) on eight hits in just 4.1 innings.

“I started off aggressive, and then I started getting too fine, I started nibbling,” Huff said.

Just like that, the Huff experiment was over for Joe Girardi and the Yankees. His next scheduled start is for Thursday in Baltimore, but Girardi wouldn't commit to whether or not Huff would be the guy taking the mound for the Bombers on that night.

As bad as Hughes has been, you have to wonder if the Yankees put him back into the rotation after skipping just one start. After all, Hughes would be the only option for Girardi if he decided that one-and-done with Huff is going to happen.

If you don’t remember, David Phelps is still hurt and just threw a bullpen the other day for the first time in a couple weeks, Michael Pineda might not show up this season, and Vidal Nuno is still somewhere in Florida dealing with a groin problem.

Brett Marshall, who was a starter for the Yankees in Triple-A Scranton this season, and gave up just one run in 4.1 innings Saturday, is a possibility, but I can hardly see that happening.

Overall, my response to Huff's garbage outing Saturday is this: So what? He was facing the Boston Red Sox, who have put up over FIFTY runs over their last four games. His next likely start would be against the Baltimore Orioles, while still a good team, aren't the Red Sox.

Come on, Girardi. Give him one more chance. If he screws up on Thursday, then I’ll give you the OK to bring back Hughes.

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Jeter Goes For CT Scan, Results Come Back Negative

Update, 5:33 pm EST: For now, we can all breath a sigh of relief. The results on Derek Jeter's CT scan on his left ankle have come back negative, the Yankees announced. The team also says that they plan on sending his results to Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed the original surgery last October.

As of now, there's no word on when Jeter will next see game action for the Yankees. We can only assume that he will be day to day.

"If these games didn't count, he could take a few days off or his bounce backs would be different, but he's like everybody else," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "He knows there's no time for the weary here."

Original: Pulled for a pinch-runner in the 6th inning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that Derek Jeter was removed from the New York Yankees' 13-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday because of a possible injury in the area of his surgically repaired left ankle.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman announced after the game that Jeter was being sent to the hospital for a precautionary CT scan on his ankle.

"He's been through a lot this year. ... We're just going to take a look under the hood." Cashman said.

Manager Joe Girardi told reporters that he took Jeter out of the game because he didn't like the way he was running, telling Jeter was he was just trying to protect him.

Jeter appeared to have hurt his ankle on a play in the home half of the 6th inning, fielding a groundball that he ended up throwing well off the first base bag, and was noticeably limping afterwards.

It was uncertain right away why he was removed from the game, by specular grew the he might be injured when Girardi was seen in the dugout talking to members of the Yankees' training staff.

Jeter has only played in 17 game for the Yankees this season due to a various amount of injuries. He missed a last portion of time because of a refracture in his ankle that he fractured during last October's ALCS.

After coming back from the ankle injury, Jeter played one game before going back on the DL because of a Grade 1 hamstring strain, then returned to play play a few more games before straining his calf while running the bases in San Diego.

The 39-year-old shortstop has played in such few games this season, spread over a couple of months, making it difficult for him to get things going at the plate, hitting just .190 in 63 at-bats in 2013.

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Boston's Offense Once Again Blasts Them Past The Yanks

If there's anything that we've learned from the first two games of this series, it's that no lead is safe. The New York Yankees came back from six-runs down on Thursday, and the Boston Red Sox came back from a five-run hole on Friday.

Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, the Red Sox jumped out to a commanding 12-9 lead after David Huff and the bullpen endured one of it's roughest days, but trying to overcome the seven-run deficit, the Yankees put together a rally in the late innings that made the game interesting once again, but it wouldn't be enough as the Yanks fell to Boston, 13-9.

"No lead seems to be big enough," Boston manager John Farrell said. "It's a testament to the offensive capability of both clubs and the relentlessness at the plate."

Entering the 6th inning down 12-3, the Yankees put a rally together to put them back into the game for the most part, scoring two runs on a double by Brett Gardner, then coming around to score on a single by Derek Jeter. Alfonso Soriano added a fourth run a few batters later on a single to left field, making it a 12-5.

Then things got even more interesting the in the 8th when they Bombers tacked on two more runs to pull them within three. Mark Reynolds, who entered the game in the 6th as a pinch-runner for Jeter, doubled into the left field corner, plating a pair of runs.

Yet, no matter what the Yankees did on offense, the Red Sox out-hit the them. Boston's bats where explosive once again, scoring run after run off Huff, Jim Miller and Brett Marshall.

Huff's day was over before you knew it. He was nothing like he was on the bullpen for the Yanks this season, giving up up nine runs on eight hits in 3.1 inning. He struck out the first two batters of the game, then it all went downhill from there.

"I started out aggressive in the first inning," Huff said. "As soon as the [Napoli] home run happened, I started getting too fine with my pitches and started nibbling a little bit."

"You can't afford to not be firing on all cylinders or they'll take advantage," Said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "And they've been taking advantage on every extra inch you give. Despite that, our guys keep fighting."

Miller, who was called up by the Yankees this morning, entered in the 4th, but he, too, proved ineffective against the Red Sox, giving up three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Marshall was easily to better of the three Yankee pitchers, permitting just one-run in 4.1 innings.

"Right now, they're not missing pitches," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We talked about when they came in that they're swinging the bats extremely well, and they're continuing to do that."

For Boston, a lot of the damage came from Mike Napoli, who went deep twice, driving in three runs on the day. Johnny Gomes also came up big for the Sox, also going yard, driving in four runs. Xander Bogaerts smashed his first career homerun in the 4th, and he helped factor in the final score, driving in three runs, too.

"We have to turn it around," Girardi said. "The bottom line is we have to pitch better, because we are scoring some runs. We have to figure out how to get them out."

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Yanks and Red Sox Open Up Four-Game Series In The Bronx

The last time the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox squared-off, temper on both sides were running high after Ryan Dempster plunked Alex Rodriguez on his elbow with a fastball, leading to the ejections of manager Joe Girardi and Brett Gardner.

Rodriguez responded a couple innings later with a solo homerun off Dempster to open the 6th inning, leading the Yankees' comeback to defeat the Red Sox 9-6.

Since Dempster's beaning of A-Rod, the Yankees are 11-5, and are also coming off a three-game sweep of the last place Chicago White Sox, including Wednesday night's 6-5 victory, with Mariano Rivera closing out the game with a four-out save.

The Yankees enter this pivotal series against Boston, currently sitting 2.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card standings, and eight games back of the Red Sox in the standings. A sweep this weekend would put the Tanks right back in the AL East race.

"I think time is always good," Girardi said of any feeling still remaining between the two sides. "I think that obviously we know what's at stake, and we have to go out and play the games and win the games. That's the most important thing."

Tonight's Lineup vs Boston:

Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Granderson DH
Rodriguez 3B
Overbay 1B
Suzuki RF
Stewart C
Nova RHP

Pitching Preview:

To open up this important four-game set against the Red Sox, the Yankees are hoping to get off on the right foot, and to do so, they're sending out their ace of the past few weeks, Ivan Nova.

Nova is coming off possibly the best start of his career, when he tossed a complete-game shutout against the Baltimore Orioles last Saturday, giving up just three hits and one lone walk, while also striking out seven in the Yankees' 2-0 victory.

Nova has easily been the most reliable of all the Yankees' starters over the past few weeks, going 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last six starts in August on his way to being named AL Pitcher of the Month for August. Over that span, He has pitched into the seventh inning in each of those, allowing three runs or fewer in all but one.

Boston will counter with one of their top pitchers, Jake Peavy, who was acquired by the Red Sox from the White Sox shortly before the July 31st trading deadline.

3-1 with a 3.18 ERA in six starts since his arrival with the Red Sox, but is also 0-4 lifetime against the Yankees with a 3.96 ERA. Peavy's last start was against his former club, the White Sox, and he picked up the win, tossing seven innings of two-run ball.

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CC Sharp, Yankees Sweep The White Sox With 6-5 Victory

A day after New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced that he was moving the struggling Phil Hughes to the bullpen in favor of David Huff, CC Sabathia, who know the Yankees would never move out of the rotation, needed to deliver a big game for the Bombers.

Facing the Chicago White Sox, a team that's already gotten the better of him once this season, Sabathia was as good as the Girardi and Company could have hoped for, firing 8 1/3 innings of three-run ball in the Yankees 6-5 win over the Sox, Wednesday night in the Bronx.

"I feel like I'm getting better," Sabathia said. "Like I've said, I'll keep building, keep working and try to help the team win."

Though the stats say that Sabathia was dominant throughout the night, his first inning is where most of the damage against him took place. After a couple of walks, he gave up an RBI double into the right field corner Avisail Garcia to put the White Sox on the board in a hurry.

Garcia came up big again for Chicago later in the game when he drove in another run in the 8th inning for his second RBI of the game, driving up both of the White Sox runs on the night.

Sabathia settled down after escaping danger in the 1st. From there, he didn't find himself into many more pickels up until the 8th inning when he entered having given up just three hits, he gave up a single to Gordon Beckham, then Alexei Ramirez beat out a double play ball, and after Paul Konerko singled, Girardi pulled the plug on his night.

CC gave the Yankees an outing that ended up finishes much better than the way it began, giving up just three runs on five hits over 8 1/3 innings, while walking four and striking out four on 111 pitches.

"I thought he was pretty good tonight," Girardi said. "I don't think too many pitches cut tonight. He gave us distance tonight. He did a very good job."

On the other side of the ball, Erik Johnson was making his major league debut against the Yankees, and Robinson Cano welcomed him to the big leagues by taking him deep in the 1st inning. A solo shot to right field by Cano tied the game at 1-1.

Following Cano's homerun, the Yankees were able to load the bases with two outs, but couldn't do anything with it after Ichiro struck out swinging to end the inning.

Johnson was able to settle down his nerves and hold the Yankees off the board for a few innings, but lose control once again in the 4th, giving up five runs in an inning where the Bombers gained control of the game.

A double by Lyle Overbay scored Alex Rodriguez to put the Yanks up 2-1. Then a couple batters later, Brett Gardner ripped his 9th triple of the season into the left-center field gap to clear the bases and bring home two more runs, extending the Yankees' lead to 4-1.

Cano drove in his second of run the game after he reached safely on an infield single that hit off the pitcher, giving the Yankees a 5-1 lead. Then Alfonso Soriano added an important tack-on run with a sac-fly to left field, scoring Derek Jeter from third.

"We didn't know much about [Johnson]," Cano said. "We just knew that he was pitching good in the Minors. We were able to score some runs early, we took advantage when he threw some balls over the plate."

After Sabathia was forced out of the game in the 8th, David Robertson enter, trying to record the final two outs of the inning. Pitching for just the second time in the last nine days, Robertson couldn't figure how to get the White Sox hitters out, giving up four runs (two charged to CC) on three hits and a walk, before Girardi brought in Rivera to attempt the four-out save.

Rivera struck out Alejandro De Aza looking to end the 8th, then he came back out for the 9th and fired a 1-2-3 scoreless inning to end the game and give the Yanks their 6-5 victory. Mariano picked up his first four-out save since July 24th, 2011.

"In some situations, I have to do that," said Rivera. "Tonight was one of them. It doesn't matter, as long as we get it done. You get a win tonight, and we had the lead and we just had to hold it."

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Nova Named AL Pitcher of the Month For August

A couple weeks ago, Alfonso Soriano was named the AL Player of the week after he rattled out a weeks worth of game with a batting average above .400 to accompany nearly 20 runs batted in. Now the New York Yankees have another reason to celebrate.

Major League Baseball has announced that RHP Ivan Nova has been named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for August.

Nova's enter season has been turned around over the past few weeks, and his last start in August might just be able to sum it all up. He tossed a three-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday for the first complete-game shutout of his career.

Nova made six starts in the month of August, posting a 2.08 ERA in 43 1/3 innings to go along with his 4-0 record, and 31-12 strikeout to walk ratio.

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Yankees Go For Sweep With CC On The Mound

Trailing 4-1 entering the 8th inning with Chris Sale on the mound, who had only given up one runs through the first seven innings, no one expected that New York Yankees to put up any fight, and instead go down with another disappointing loss.

But a one-out single by Derek Jeter and a double by Robinson Cano knocked Sale out of the game after 114 pitches, and from there, the comeback magical comeback began.

Alfonso Soriano singled to center field to pull the Yankees within a run, then following a single by Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson , pinch-hitting for Vernon Wells, singled to center to tied up the ballgame. After Mark Reynolds struck out, Eduardo Nunez lined a doubled to left field to plate two runs, giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead.

Mariano Rivera entered the game in the 9th inning and shut down the side in order to seal the Yankees' victory, while also closing out his 40th save of the season for the 9th time in his career. Now the Yanks go for the sweep, looking to gain more ground on the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card standings.

Tonight's Lineup vs Chicago:

Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Cano 2B
Soriano DH
Granderson LF
Rodriguez 3B
Suzuki RF
Overbay 1B
Romine C
Sabathia LHP

Pitching Preview:

Following the Bombers win against the Chicago White Sox, Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced that David Huff would start for the Yanks on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox in place of the struggling Phil Hughes, with Hughes moving to the bullpen.

Lucky for CC Sabathia, no matter how bad he struggles, it's extremely unlikely that Girardi would ever remove him for the Yankees' starting rotation. While CC has won three of his last four starts, his ERA in those outings is 6.17, with his ERA for the season at a blistering 4.91.

Sabathia earned the win in his last outing on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles, although his numbers from the start did not suggest that he pitched well enough to earn the win, giving up five runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Squaring off against the big lefty, making his Major League debut, is Chicago's young right-hander Erik Johnson. At 23-years-old, Johnson 2-3 with a 1.96 ERA (31 ER/142 IP), three complete games and 131 strikeouts over the span 24 starts between Triple-A and Double-A this season.

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Girardi Announces Huff Will Start Saturday Against Boston

Following the New York Yankees come from behind win against the Chicago White Sox Tuesday night in the Bronx, Yankees manager Joe Girardi made an announcement that could affect the playoff race directly.

Girardi announced that LHP David Huff will start for the Yankees on Saturday when they take on the Boston Red Sox, with the struggling Phil Hughes moving into the bullpen.

"It's been an up-and-down year for Phil," Girardi said. "Huff's been throwing the ball well and we're just going to make the change."

Hughes started for the Yankees against the White Sox on Monday, but a near two-hour rain delay forced the Girardi to take Hughes out of the game as play resumed. Going to the bullpen, he called on Huff to restart the game on the mound. Huff delivered the Yanks a solid relief outing out of the bullpen, tossing 52/3 innings of one-run ball.

Since coming back up with the Yankees in August, Huff has pitched 15 innings in five appearances, permitting just one runs on six hits.

"I'm happy about it. I'm just trying to go out there and help out the team as much as possible," Huff said. "I'm just here to help, basically. Whether it's an inning out of the bullpen or it's a start."

While Hughes has been nothing but a loss waiting to happen on the mound, losing 11 of his last 14 starts for the Bombers. At Yankees Stadium, Hughes hasn't been able to find a way to fit in, suggesting he might never start a game for the Yanks against, as he will become a free-agent this winter.

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Yanks Rally In The 8th To Beat White Sox 6-4

At a time in the season where every game matters, the come from behind win against the Chicago White Sox is a big win for the New York Yankees.

While Kuroda was the story for the Yankees once again through the first seven innings, the Yankees offense rewrote all the headlines in the 8th when they put together a five-run inning to come all the way back to defeat the White Sox, 6-4.

"It was a great comeback," Nunez said. "We all fought together."

With Chris Sale still in the game to start the 8th, he struck out Brett Gardner, then gave up a single and a two-strike double to Robinson Cano, setting up runners on the 2nd and 3rd with one away. Sale was then removed from the game, then Alfonso Soriano singled to score two runs, pulling the Yankees back to within a run, making it a 4-3 game.

"Sale has been extremely tough on us," manager Joe Girardi said. "He was tough on us there, but Robbie gets that big double that gets him out of the game, and then guys just put great at-bats on the relievers. That's a huge win."

After Alex Rodriguez singled, moving Soriano to third base, Curtis Granderson, pinch-hitting for Vernon Wells, singled to center field to score A-Rod and tie up the ballgame. Mark Reynolds struck out for the second out of the inning, then Eduardo Nunez earned his pinstriped by lining a two-run double into the left field corner, giving up the Yankees a 6-4 lead.

The five-run 8th inning go Kuroda off the hook, who gave up four-runs in 6 1/3 innings. The White Sox jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead off Kuroda in the 1st inning on an RBI single by Adam Dunn. Nunez was a big part of the inning after letting a double play ball knocked off his glove.

Kuroda escaped with the bases loaded in the 1st, letting only one run score in an inning that could have been much worse. From there, he began to settle down a little, but lost it again in the 5th when a two-run triple to Alexei Ramirez gave the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Alejandro De Aza extended Chicago's lead with a solo homerun off Kuroda in the 7th, ending his night after 6 1/2, permitting four runs on seven hits, while walking two and striking out seven on 95 pitches.

"I thought his stuff was better tonight," Girardi said. "The top of the order has been tough on him, and they were tough on him again tonight. But I thought his stuff was better, and that's a good sign for me."

True story, the Yankees first run of the game came in the second inning, when , with Wells on third and Nunez on first, Nunez took off towards second, with Wells breaking towards home and reaching safely to score, stealing home in the process.

Mariano Rivera entered the game in the 9th, and he shut down the White Sox in order, striking out Leury Garcia to end the game for his 40th save of the season -- the 9th time in his career that he's recorded at least 40 saves.

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Kuroda Looks To Rebound Against The White Sox

The New York Yankees need every win they can get at this point, and Monday's 9-1 stomping of the Chicago White Sox was a win that the Yanks are looking to build off of. This late in the season, with where they are in the standings, they can't afford any slip-ups.

The only teams slipping up in Monday was the White Sox, giving up eight runs in the 4th inning that included two errors, and the first six Yankee hitters to reach base before an out was even recorded.

After a two hour rain delay forced the Yanks to take Phil Hughes out of the game after 20 pitches, David Huff took over and shut down the Sox for just one run over 5 2/3 innings, only furthering the discussion of why he should be in the rotation.

And as the playoff race thickens, the next 25 game of baseball are going to be an exciting bunch to watch. MLB announced that the AL Wild Card game will take place on Wednesday, October 2nd, and if the Yankees want to be there, they better buckle up.

Tonight's Lineup vs Chicago:

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

Pitching Preview:

Prior to Hiroki Kuroda's last three starts, he had been everything the Yankees were looking for out of CC Sabathia and the rest of the game. But lately, he's been nothing of what he once was, and maybe turning the page to September might be a good thing, since he was 1-4 in the month of August.

"It feels like, against the hitters, they're getting good timing off me," Kuroda said after his last outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he was shelled for seven runs in five inning, with five of those runs coming in the 1st inning. "And it feels like that's happening quite a lot."

Kuroda will be facing off against the White Sox Cy Young contender, left-hander Chris Sale. The two are facing each other for the second time this season, after Sale got the best of Kuroda in the first meeting back in early August.

Sale rebounded from an awful outing two starts ago, striking out 12 against the Houston Astros in his last start -- the fourth outing of 12 or more strikeouts in 2013, setting a single-season franchise record.

"My arm feels loose, my body feels good," Sale said. "Something [White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper] and I have talked about is last year I kind of limped across the finish line. This one, he's like, 'Let's sprint across at the end of the year.' It's something I'm working toward and trying to do."

In five career games (two starts) against the Yankees Sale is 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA, including the August 6th matchup in which he held them to one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings.

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Yanks Beat White Sox By Blowout, 9-1, After Rain Delay

Coming off a tough loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, the questions surrounding the New York Yankees was whether they would be able to rebound from the loss. They answered all of those questions on Monday, putting up eight runs in the 4th to down the Chicago White Sox, 9-1.

"This time of year, you want to get some games like this," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You can not use some guys in the bullpen, get some guys out a little early and maybe give them a little bit of rest. You just want to keep tacking on runs, and that's what they did in that big inning."

After a near two-hour rain delay knocked starter Phil Hughes out of the with one out in the 2nd, David Huff stepped in and helped lead the Yankees to victory, holding the White Sox fairly quiet through the 7th inning.

Prior the the rain delay, the Yankees jumped on the board to take a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, following a double by Brett Gardner to open the inning -- the third straight game in which Gardner doubled in his first at-bat -- then Derek Jeter singled up the middle to drive in Gardner.

With a runner in first base and one-out in the second inning, Hughes had put Avisail Garcia into a 0-2 count before the rain started pouring down on Yankee Stadium, leading homeplate umpire Mike Everitt to call for the tarps to come out.

Following a rain delay of one hour and fifty-three minutes, Huff took over on the mound for the Yankees, and he only raised the question even more whether the Yankees should swap out Huff and Hughes, moving Huff into the Yankees' rotation.

He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one-run on five hits -- the only run was a solo homerun to Paul Konerko -- and he didn't walk a batter, while also striking out three on 62 pitches (48 strikes).

"Attacking them," Huff said. "Attacking them with fastballs and changeups, throwing a lot of strikes and just trying to get that first-pitch strike and get them in a hole."

"He did a really nice job," Girardi said. "He's pitched well for us. Those were big innings for us where we didn't have to use like four or five guys in the bullpen, and that helps."

Then entering the 4th inning, still leading 1-0, the Yankees exploded for eight-runs in an inning that felt like it lasted longer then the rain delay. The inning started when Alex Rodriguez doubled, then Vernon Wells on an infield single to short. Curtis Granderson walked to load the bases, then another infield single scored A-Rod.

Austin Romine followed with a two-run single to make it a 4-0 game, the Gardner's second double of the day scored Reynolds to make it 5-0. Derek Jeter made it 6-0 on an infield single off the pitcher, then Robinson Cano popped out for the first out of the inning.

Alfonso Soriano then doubled home his 37th RBI while with the Yankees, then a batter later, Wells drove in two more runs on a double play groundball to the first baseman that was thrown into left field. In all, the Yankees sent 13 batters to the plate in their biggest inning of the season.

"It was just one of those innings, and you don't see it happen too often. It's very difficult to do," said Jeter. "We were fortunate that we got some bounces that went our way, but for the most part, we had some good at-bats up and down the lineup."

Cesar Cabral made his major league debut in the top of the 8th inning, striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches. He ended up striking out another batter, while also permitting one base hit.

JR Murphy also made his major league debut in the 8th inning, pinch-hitting for Cano in the bottom half of the inning. He ripped a groundball down the third base side, beating it out for an infield singled for his first big league hit. Murphy was the 52nd player used by the Yanks this season -- a franchise record.

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Yanks And White Sox Are In A Rain Delay

I hate to say this, but we're currently in a dreaded rain delay in the Bronx.

When, or if, we resume play, there is one out in the top of the 2nd inning, with Avisail Garcia standing at the plate, down in the count 0-2 to starting pitcher Phil Hughes.

It was about 1:30 pm EST before the rain started to come down, and after a couple of minutes, that's when the umpiring crew chief called for the tarp to be brought out.

The New York Yankees currently lead the Chicago White Sox 1-0. Brett Gardner lead off the bottom of the 1st with a double, then came around to score on a base hit up the middle by Derek Jeter.

Hughes began the ballgame by retiring the White Sox in order on ten pitches.

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Hughes Takes The Mound In Series Opener Against The White Sox

Well, it doesn't come much closer than that. The New York Yankees were nine outs away from sweeping the Baltimore Orioles, holding a 3-0 lead entering the 7th inning. A couple of hits took Andy Pettitte out of the game, then a pair of homerun off Shawn Kelley and Joba Chamberlain took the Yanks out of the lead.

Coming from a Yankees bullpen that is usually lights out, it only took one bad inning for the Yankees to go from cruising with a lead through the first six innings, to trailing by four-runs in the final three frames.

The Yanks lost out on a chance to gain another game on the Tampa Bay Rays and move to 2 1/2 games back in the Wild Card standings. Instead, they fell back behind the Orioles and remained 3 1/2 games back. They also fell into a tie with the Cleveland Indians.

Now the Yankees will welcome the Chicago White Sox into the Bronx, whom the Yanks were swept by in three-games in early August. This series can be anything like the first meeting for the Yankees if they want to make the playoffs. Every game matters, and these next three games sure do matter a whole lot.

"You know that you really can't afford too many slip-ups," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You gave to play well and you have to win series but you get to a certain point and you continue to make ground, your destiny is going to be in your own control."

Today's Lineup vs Chicago:

Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Rodriguez 3B
Wells DH
Granderson RF
Reynolds 1B
Romine C
Hughes RHP

Pitching Preview:

The road to the playoffs starts with how the Yankees starting pitching responds to the added pressure. Of all the pitchers that desperately need to turn things around, Phil Hughes is the one. In extreme danger of losing his spot in the rotation, this might be his last chance to prove himself to the Yankees.

"Every time you have one of these outings, I try and look at the positive," Hughes said. "I still have the opportunity to pitch in big games where it really matters, and that's all I can do."

I don't think I need to tell you that Hughes is having an awful season. None of the Yankees other starters has struggled as much as he has. He's lost 11 of 13 decisions since May 15, and his August ERA was a disastrous 6.46.

One of Hughes' biggest problems lately is his lack of ability to pitch past the 5th inning, having gone only 4 2/3 in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. In all, Hughes hasn't pitched more than five innings in five of his last 10 outings.

Hughes' recent struggles -- coming off giving up four runs in a loss to the Blue Jays last Monday -- the Yankees pushed his original Sunday start against the Orioles back to face the White Sox today in the series opener.

Looking to stop Hughes and the Yankees in his tracks is White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana, who will be taking the mound to face the Bombers for the second time this season.

Quintana is coming off his third straight quality start, but also took the no-decision for the second straight outing. He gave up only three runs over 7 2/3 innings, while also striking out eight against the Houston Astros last Tuesday.

For those of you that didn't know, Quintana is a former Bronx Bomber, and he's 2-0 in two starts against the Yankees, while he'll also be making his second career start at Yankee Stadium.

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Yanks Recall Preston Claiborne From Single-A Tampa

My prayers have been answered! With the Single-A Florida State League season officially over, Preston Claiborne is back in the Bronx to rejoin the New York Yankees bullpen.

Claiborne was sent down by the Yankees on August 26th to make some room for fresh arms in the bullpen, solely because September 1st was only a few days away, and the Yanks would be able to call him back up once rosters expanded.

In his rookie season, Claiborne has appeared in 37 games for the Yankees since being called-up in late April. He's been one of the best pitchers in the bullpen, posting a 2.78 ERA with a 36/11 strikeout to walk ratio.

Yesterday, the Yankees made five initial September call-ups, including three pitchers -- Dellin Betances, Brett Marshall and Cesar Cabral. The Yankees active roster now stands at 30 players.

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Seven-Run 7th Dooms Yanks As They Fall To the O's 7-3

As Ron Burgundy would say, "Well, that escalated quickly." Entering the 7th inning with a 3-0 lead, the Baltimore Orioles exploded for seven-runs on the New York Yankees -- their first runs scored since Friday night -- to take away the momentum, and any chance of a sweep by the Bombers.

Andy Pettitte has tossed six scoreless innings before a pair of singles to open the 7th chased him from the game. The first six O's reached base in the inning, then homeruns by JJ Hardy and Adam Jones helped lead Baltimore to a 7-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

All was going well for the Yankees through the first six innings. Alfonso Soriano singled home the game's first run in the 3rd inning -- his 36th RBI since joining the team. Then in the 4th, Brett Gardner walked with the bases loaded and Derek Jeter flew out on a sac-fly to right field to put the Yanks up 3-0.

Pettitte had picked up right where Ivan Nova left off on Saturday. He was attacking hitters early, his breaking pitches were working well, and he was locating his pitches very efficiently. In the end, he worked six plus inning, giving up two runs on seven hits, while striking out three.

Baltimore was only able to string together five hits off Pettitte through six innings, before things finally started to come together in the 7th. Michael Morse and Danny Valencia singled to open the inning, bringing Yankees manager Joe Girardi out of the dugout to go to the bullpen.

Shawn Kelley entered the game, and left four pitches later after Matt Wieters singled home Morse, then Hardy put the O's up 4-3 with a three-runs homerun off the top of the right field wall, just barely out of the reach of Curtis Granderson's glove.

"It's completely on me for those pitches right there. I've got to get Wieters and Hardy out and get us into the dugout with a lead," Kelley said. "Three-run lead, going into the seventh, chance for a sweep against a team we're right there, neck and neck with -- it's a tough one to swallow."

So then Girardi went to Boone Logan, but he proved to also be ineffective, giving up a bunt-single to Brian Roberts, then he walked Nick Markakis. After 12 pitches, Girardi went to Joba Chamberlain, trailing only by one-run in the 7th.

Chamberlain got Manny Machado, who made several nice defensive plays in this game, to pop up to the catcher on a bunt attempt, but a couple pitches later, Jones launched a three-run homerun to center field off Joba -- the 7th homerun his given up this season -- extending the Orioles' lead to 7-3.

Despite the poor effort from the bullpen, Girardi says he don't regret making the move to take Pettitte out of the game after throwing 93 pitches. Pettitte even said he didn't have a problem with it.

"He was up in pitches and they had just squared up two balls against him, so we felt it was time to make a change," Girardi said. "Unfortunately it didn't work out."

"It's not even an issue to me. I know Joe has all the faith in the world in our bullpen, and I know Joe has faith in me, also," Pettitte said. "Right now, you can't second guess going to our bullpen. They've just been so great. … Nobody in here -- not me and I'm sure not our manager -- is going to lose any faith in those guys out there."

The O's big 7th inning took away all the momentum from the Yankees, as they went down pretty quietly in the 8th and 9th innings, losing out on sweeping Baltimore, and gaining any more ground on the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card standings.

"You talk about winning series, but when you win the first two and you're up 3-0, you get greedy," Girardi said. "And that's the hard part."

Phil Hughes will take the mound for the Yankees tomorrow, on Labor Day, as the Yanks open up a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, whom the Yanks were swept by earlier in August. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm EST in the Bronx.

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Pettitte And Yankees Go For Sweep Of The Orioles

Ivan Nova could not have been any better Saturday afternoon, tossing a three-hit, complete-game shutout against the Baltimore Orioles. OK, maybe he could have given a few less hits. But either way, it was a dominating performance.

While the rest of the Yankees rotation has been seemingly at the heart of the discussion about why the Yanks won't be able to pull of the improbable playoff run to make it to October.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, since Nova begin his dominant run of great pitching on July 5th, his 2.06 is nearly a run and a half better than the rest of the Yankees' staff combined at 4.58.

And with Saturday's win, the Yankees vaulted vast the O's in the Wild Card standings, and now trail the Tampa Bay Rays by just 3 1/2 games for the second Wild Card spot. Going for the sweep on Sunday, the Yanks open up a three-game series against the terrible Chicago White Sox on Monday.

Today's Lineup vs Baltimore:

Gardner CF
Jeter DH
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Rodriguez 3B
Wells RF
Reynolds 1B
Nunez SS
Stewart C
Pettitte LHP

Pitching Preview:

OK, I must admit something. Nova isn't the Yankees only starter that's been pitching well lately. Andy Pettitte has also been pretty good on the mound in his last few outings, having given up only only two earned runs in his last 24 innings

Pettitte is coming off one of his best starts of the season last Tuesday, when he tossed seven shutout innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, marking the first time this season that Pettitte didn't allow any runs in a start.

"He was really good," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after his start on Tuesday. "He went through the lineup with not too many pitches the first time. He got some big outs when he had to. I thought he was sharp."

The last time the Pettitte faced the Orioles was back on July 6th -- the day after Nova began his dominating run -- when he threw 6 2/3 innings of four-run ball in a win over the O's.

Baltimore will counter with their own left-hander, Wei-Yin Chen, who;s coming off the worst outing of his career when he gave up eight runs in just 3 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park last Tuesday.

"It seemed like every time Wei-Yin made a mistake, he paid for it," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said Tuesday. "He jerked some balls across the plate and left some out over there where he usually doesn't do it."

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Yankees Make September Call-Ups

For starters, Happy September! Second, as many of you already know, September 1st mean that all Major League roster can expand from the normal 25-man, to fully equiped 40-man rosters.

As the final month of the season, the expanded rosters can really come in handy to teams wanting to add depth as the playoff run winds down. And for teams not in playoff contention, it's a great opportunity to teams to get a look at some of their young prospects.

With the countless amount of injuries that the New York Yankees have suffered this season, some of their possible call-ups are already here, but the chance to add more depth on the bench and in the bullpen is something that Yankees manager Joe Girardi can't afford to pass up.

Here is the current list of people with the Yankees to begin the day (Note: This will be updated as more call-ups are made):

* IF David Adams

* RHP Brett Marshall

* RHP Dellin Betances

* LHP Cesar Cabral

* C JR Murphy

For now, these are the only five Yankees that have gotten the call into action for the Bombers. But it's still likely we'll see quite a few more faces as the weeks go by. Remember, David Phelps and Michael Pineda are currently dealing with injuries, and if they manage to get healthy soon, we'll certainly see them back in pinstripes.

Other Call-Up Notes:

* Preston Claiborne will also be rejoining the Yankees, but he can't do so until after the Single-A Tampa Yankees finish up their Florida State League season today, so he'll likely be with the Yankees tomorrow.

* Melky Mesa is another player that was expected to be called up by the Yankees, but he's currently dealing with hamstring issues, thus the Yanks were forced to designate him for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster.

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