Minor League Recap - 7/26/14: Trenton offense explodes in loss to Binghamton

Triple-A Scranton: 8-5 loss vs Pawtucket Red Sox

2B Jose Pirela: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
RF Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 RBI
LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
DH Adonis Garcia: 2-for-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB -- hitting .310 in Triple-A
1B Austin Romine: 1-for-4, BB
C John Ryan Murphy: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K -- 11-for-35 (.314) in his last 10 games

Bruce Billings: 3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Jim Miller: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Double-A Trenton: 10-7 loss vs Binghamton Mets

RF Jake Cave: 4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 3B, BB -- 6-for-12 (.500) in his last three games
LF Ben Gamel: 2-for-6, 2 R, 2 RBI, K
C Gary Sanchez: 3-for-6, R, RBI
1B Peter O'Brien: 2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, K -- 31st homerun of the year (21st in AA)
DH Tyler Austin: 4-for-4, 2 RBI, BB

Jaron Long: 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR -- 51 of 85 pitches for strikes

High-A Tampa: 8-6 loss (F/11) vs Fort Myers Miracle

LF-3B Jose Rosario: 1-for-5, R, BB -- 19-for-41 (.463) in his last 10 games
RF Aaron Judge: 2-for-6, R
1B Gregory Bird: 0-for-2, R, 3 BB
DH Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB
3B Eric Jagielo: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K
2B Angelo Gumbs: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, K
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-5, 2 K

Miguel Sulbaran: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Low-A Charleston: 8-7 win vs Asheville Tourists

CF Mark Payton: 2-for-7, 2 RBI
SS Tyler Wade: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
3B Miguel Andujar: 1-for-6, R, HR, 2 RBI, K -- 9th homerun of the year
LF Michael O'Neill: 3-for-6, R, 2B, 2 K
Gosuke Katoh: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB

Gabe Encinas: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Short Season Staten Island: 16-3 loss vs Tri-City ValleyCats

C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, K -- the hitting streak is up to 21 games
2B Ty McFarland: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Chris Breen: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Austin Aune: 1-for-4, 2 K

Jordan Cote: 2 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Sam Agnew-Wieland: 2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Matt Borens: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

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Game 103: Keep the winning going

Ichiro Suzuki can hear you, Michael Kay. Hall of Fame introductions coming up this weekend, the Future Hall of Fame outfielder, Ichiro, picked the perfect time to his his first homerun of the season last night, a three-run shot that put Yankees up 6-4, a lead which they would not give up after falling behind 3-0 in the 1st inning.

With last night's win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the first of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium this weekend, the Yankees extended their home winning streak over the Jays to an insane 17 games. Not since 2012 have the Blue Jays beaten the Yankees in the Bronx. And even more amazingly, they've held a lead in 12 of those 17 games.

Because the Baltimore Orioles won last night, defeating the Seattle Mariners, 2-1, in 10 innings, the Yankees, who are playing great baseball right now, 8-1 since the All-Star break, remained just three games behind the O's in the ever-so-winnable AL East, while the Jays fell to four games back.

Today's lineup vs Toronto:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Brian Roberts
C Francisco Cervelli

* Joe Girardi told reporters yesterday that he doesn't expect Mark Teixeira to be ready by the end of the weekend, but hopes that he'll be ready to get back in the lineup by Monday, when the team opens up a three-game series in Texas.

Teixeira did a few exercises and some running on Friday as he tries to recover from a mild strain in his lower left lat that has kept him out of the lineup since Monday.

During his absence, McCann has been playing first base, while Cervelli gets the chance to be showcased behind the plate for any interested trad suitors.

Pitching matchup preview:

Acquired by the Yankees from the Colorado Rockies for cash on Thursday night, the Yankees will send left-hander Chris Capuano to the mound on Saturday for his first start in pinstripes, while Chase Whitley has been moved into the bullpen.

Capuano, who was 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four minor league starts with Colorado after being signed on July 4, will be the first lefty to start for the Yankees this season since good ol' Vidal Nuno before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. With Nuno gone and CC Sabathia done for the year, this is all they've got.

Meanwhile, right-hander Drew Hutchinson will be on the hill for the Blue Jays today. He's coming off of the shortest outing his his career -- not including injuries -- after giving up a career-high six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox.

He'll be looking for a much better day as he goes up against a guy that hasn't started in the big leagues this season.

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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Minor League Recap - 7/25/14: Luis Torrens extends his hitting streak to 20 games

Triple-A Scranton: 10-2 loss vs Pawtucket Red Sox

1B Jose Pirela: 1-for-5, R, 2 K -- hitting .306 in Triple-A this season
2B Rob Refsnyder: 1-for-3, R, BB, K -- hitting .299 in Triple-A
LF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-4, RBI
CF Adonis Garcia: 2-for-4, 2B
DH Kyle Roller: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB
C John Ryan Murphy: 0-for-4, K

Matt Tracy: 3.2 IP, 6 H,  6 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Danny Burawa: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Rich Hill: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Double-A Trenton: 6-1 loss vs Binghamton Mets

LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4
CF Jake Cave: 1-for-4, R, K
DH Gary Sanchez: 2-for-4, K
C Peter O'Brien: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-4, K

Dan Carmarena: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Nick Rumbelow: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

High-A Tampa: 4-3 walk-off win vs Fort Myers Miracle 

CF Danny Oh: 3-for-5, R, K
RF Aaron Judge: 1-for-4, RBI, K
1B Gregory Bird: 2-for-5, 2 RBI -- walk-off two-run single in the 9th
DH Dante Bichette Jr: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
3B Eric Jagielo: 0-for-4
SS Cito Culver: 1-for-4, R, K

Brett Gerritse: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Kyle Haynes: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Low-A Charleston: 6-1 win vs Lexington Legends

CF Mark Payton: 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K -- batting .364 in Charleston this season
2B Tyler Wade: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, K -- 8th homerun of the year
LF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-3, R, BB
DH Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-4, K

Chaz Hebert: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Stefan Lopez: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Short Season Staten Island: 9-7 loss vs Tri-City ValleyCats

C Luis Torrens: 2-for-5, 2 R -- extended his hitting streak to 20 games
3B Ty McFarland: 2-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI -- 3rd homerun, and now batting .314
LF Chris Breen: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
1B Conner Spencer: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
SS Vincente Conde: 0-for-5, K
RF Austin Aune: 2-for-4, R, 2B, 3B, 2 K

Dillon McNamara: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Sean Carley: 0.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

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Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4: Ichiro's 1st homerun of the year gives Yanks 17th straight home win over Toronto

The Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays met up in the Bronx on Friday night for the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. Both teams were playing well coming into the game, but it was the Yankees, after falling behind early, that battled back to beat the Jays, 6-4, to improve to 7-1 since the All-Star break.

Jose Bautista did all of the heavy lifting for the Blue Jays, driving in all four of their runs on a pair of homeruns. The first, in the 1st, put the Jays up 3-0. Jose Reyes lead off the game with a bloop single into center field, then two batters later, Melky Cabrera singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Then Hiroki Kuroda hung a pitch to Bautista, and he made him pay by sending it far into the left field seats; not a cheap shot, as they'd say.

Facing left-hander Mark Buehrle, who hadn't won since June 1 and has also never been successful against the Bombers in his career, the Yankees closed the gap by putting up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the 2nd.

Brian McCann and Chase Headley opened the inning with back-to-back singles, then Buehrle walked Ichiro Suzuki to load the bases with nobody out. Brian Roberts put the Yanks on the board by beating out an infield single, scoring McCann. After Francisco Cervelli, who collected a pair of hits in the game, struck out, Brett Gardner made it a one-run game with a sac-fly into the right-center field gap.

The Blue Jays, or should I say Bautista, was quick to respond in the top of the 4th inning, hitting a solo blast off of Kuroda -- his 20th of the season -- to extend Toronto's lead to 4-2.

The 28-pitch 1st inning really hurt Kuroda, forcing Joe Girardi to pull him from the game with two outs in the 6th. Other than David Phelps' five inning complete-game on Wednesday, I believe that Kuroda is the first Yankee starter to go less than six innings since the All-Star break. He ended up with 94 pitches, giving up the four Bautista RBIs on eight hits, while walking one and striking out three.

The Yankees took a 6-4 lead in the 3rd inning with a four-run frame against Buehrle. Carlos Beltran hit a one-out solo homerun, his 11th of the year, into the left field seats to make it a 4-3 game. McCann and Headley followed with back-to-back singles, then Ichiro pulled off the biggest plot twist of the night, hitting his first homerun of the season, a three-run shot that put the Yankees up by two runs to cap off the early comeback.

Buehrle, in case you were wondering, didn't make it past the 3rd inning. John Gibbons went to his bullpen in just the 4th inning. Buehrle was charged with six runs in nine hits, with a walk and two strikeouts.

It took David Huff just seven pitches to both record the final out of the 6th inning after replacing Kuroda, and then getting the first two outs of the 7th before handing the ball to Shawn Kelley, who needed six pitches to retire Dan Johnson for the final out of the inning.

Bautista hit a one-out double off the glove of Roberts in center field -- he was running backwards for the ball and it hit off of his glove while going for the over-the-shoulder grab -- but that was the only bad mark of a scoreless 8th inning by Dellin Betances.

Then David Robertson came on in the 9th, and he struck out two of the four hitters he faced to lock down his second save in as many days -- 26th of the year. Man, he and Betances could make a very deadly combo in the 8th and 9th for many years down the road. The Yankees first need to give Robertson the contract extension that he desperately deserves.

Chris Capuano will make his Yankees debut on Saturday, starting in place of Chase Whitley, who was moved into the bullpen on Friday. He'll be going up against RHP Drew Hutchinson at 1:05 pm ET.

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Game 102: Going for 17 straight

After a fairly disappointing first half of the season, the Yankees have been playing some good ball since the All-Star break, winning six of their seven games, including three of four against the Texas Rangers this week.

Now the Bombers welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to town, a team that has lost 16 consecutive games in Yankee Stadium dating back to 2012, including includes a pair of three-game sweeps this year. With the Red and Rangers out of the way, I'd say this could be a great end to what has been a pretty good homestand for the Yankees.

The second have of the Blue Jays' season has gotten off to just as good of a start as the Yankees. The Jays just took three straight games away from the Boston Red Sox this week, and are 5-2 since the break. The Blue Jays enter the game tied for second place in the AL East with the Yankees, who enter play just three games back of the division-leading Baltimore Orioles.

Toronto is dealing with several injuries that could play a factor over the weekend, with Edwin Encarnacion (quad), Adam Lind (foot) and Brett Lawrie (finger) all on the DL.

Tonight's lineup against Toronto:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Brian Roberts
C Francisco Cervelli

* The Yankees announced today that they have designated RHP Chris Leroux for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for LHP Chris Capuano, who was acquired last night for cash in a trade with the Rockies. Capuano was added to the Yankees' big league roster, giving Joe Girardi four lefties in his bullpen. Overkill, if you ask me.

Pitching matchup preview:

Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees' ace-by-default, will be on the hill for the Bombers tonight in the opener of this three-game series.

Making his second start of the first half, Kuroda last took the mound against the Reds last weekend, tossing 6.2 inning of shutout ball, giving up just three hits.

While the Blue Jays haven't beaten the Yankees in the Bronx since 2012, Mark Buehrle's losing streak against the Yankees is even longer, as the left-hander hasn't defeated the Yankees in over a decade.

And All-Star for the first time in five years during the first half of the season, Buehrle has not won a start since picking up his 10th win of the season on June 1, going 0-6 since then. He's now 10-6 with a 2.86 ERA this season.

Buehrle took the mound against the Rangers on Sunday in Toronto, giving up five runs on eight hits in six innings of work.

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Minor League Recap - 7/24/14: Zoilo Almonte hits three homeruns in Triple-A Scranton

Triple-A Scranton: 12-4 win vs Gwinnett Braves (continuation of Wednesday's suspended game)

LF Taylor Douglas: 2-for-5, R, BB
2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K -- 7th homerun in AAA
RF Zoilo Almonte: 4-for-6, 3 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 K -- up to 16 homeruns in AAA this season
CF Adonis Garcia: 1-for-5
1B Kyle Roller: 2-for-5, R, 2 K
C Austin Romine: 3-for-5, R
SS Carmen Angelini: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI

Nik Turley: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
Matt Daley: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Game Two: 3-1 win vs Gwinnett

RF Jose Pirela: 0-for-2, 2 BB
DH Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
C John Ryan Murphy: 2-for-4, RBI, K
3B Rob Segedin: 2-for-4, R, 2B
2B Corban Joseph: 2-for-4, R, 2B, K

Pat Venditte: 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jim Miller: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: 6-5 win vs Binghamton Mets

DH Ben Gamel: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBI
LF Jake Cave: 1-for-3, R, 2B, BB, K
C Gary Sanchez: 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 K
1B Peter O'Brien: 0-for-4, 3 K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI, 2 K
CF Mason Williams: 1-for-4, R

Luis Severino: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Cesar Cabral: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Mark Montgomery: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

High-A Tampa: 6-1 win vs Fort Myers Miracle

LF Jose Rosario: 3-for-4, R, RBI
1B Gregory Bird: 2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K -- 7th homerun of the year
DH Dante Bichette Jr: 0-for-4, K
3B Eric Jagielo: 1-for-3, 2B, K
2B Angelo Gumbs: 0-for-4, 3 K
SS Cito Culver: 2-for-4, 2 R

Caleb Smith: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Low-A Charleston: 10-3 win vs Lexington Legends

CF Mark Payton: 1-for-4, 2 R,  2B, BB, K
DH Tyler Wade: 4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, K
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-for-5, R, 3 RBI
LF Michael O'Neill: 0-for-5, 3 K
2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-4, 3 K

Andy Beresford: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Angel Rincon: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Short Season Staten Island: 14-0 loss vs Tri-City Valley Cats

CF Collin Slaybaugh: 1-for- 4, 2B
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, K -- hitting .366 over last 10 games
2B Ty McFarland: 1-for-3, BB, K
RF Austin Aune: 0-for-4, 4 K

Jordan Montgomery: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

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Yankees discussing deal for Rockies' Jorge De La Rosa

The starting rotation is an area of need for the Yankees heading into the trade deadline, and Brian Cashman not only know that, but he seems to be looking in every possible direction to find those pieces.

Not only have they been talking with the San Diego Padres about Ian Kennedy, they're also talking with the Colorado Rockies, who they just acquired Chris Capuano from today, about the possibility of also acquiring left-hander Jorge De La Rosa.

Honestly, I think that De La Rosa would be a better option than Kennedy. He's a free-agent after the season, and could potentially cost less than someone like Kennedy. However, Keith Law mentioned on Baseball Tonight that Colorado isn't too thrilled about the idea of trading away the man that is essentially their ace, which could keep the price up.

Pitching to a 4.19 ERA and 4.32 FIP in 116 innings this season with the Rockies, De La Rosa has been pitcher very well lately, having given up just three runs in his last three starts, all of at least six innings, including 7.1 innings of one-run ball while striking out 11 Nationals on Thursday.

Joel Sherman notes that the Rockies have shown interest in backup catcher Francisco Cervelli, and the Yankees could possibly use him in a deal for De La Rosa, or maybe even fellow left-hander Brett Anderson, who the Yankees showed interest in during the offseason before he was traded from Oakland to Colorado.

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Yankees and Padres discussing trade for Ian Kennedy

After having a scout at his latest scout on Wednesday, the Yankees and San Diego Padres are discussing a trade involving right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy coming back to the Bronx, where he begun his career, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden.

In return, the Padres would like to have two of the Yankees' Top 10 prospects, left-hander Ian Clarkin and third baseman Eric Jagielo. However, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman says the Yanks don't like that package, thankfully.

To say Kennedy for Jagielo and Clarkin is overload would be an understatement. I can see giving up one of those players for Kennedy -- maybe not even one of them -- but two? No way. Ever.

The Yankees really need more starting pitching help, and I would be on board for bringing in Kennedy, but not at that cost. He's been good, not great, this season for the Padres. They they thought, "he, why not at least ask?"

We'll see how this all plays out.

Update:

theres nothing hot at all with kennedy and yankees at moment. theyd like a SP but no match to date on Ian K.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 25, 2014

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Yankees acquire left-hander Chris Capuano from Colorado Rockies for cash

As the trade deadline approaches, Brain Cashman refuses to sit around and do nothing.

The Yankees announced on Thursday night that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Chris Capuano from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash considerations.

Capuano, 35, started the year with the Boston Red Sox after signing a minor league deal near the end of the winter, appearing in 28 games with Boston out of the bullpen this season, posting a 1-1 record with a 4.55 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings.

He was released by the Red Sox on July 1, and signed with the Rockies a few days later, on the Fourth of July, staying with the Rockies' Triple-A, where he was 1-0 with a 3.07 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

SB Nation's Chris Cotillo says that Capuano will immediately join the Yankees' big league roster. If that's true, my guess is that Jeff Francis, who has only appeared on one game since being acquired over two weeks ago, will either be optioned to Triple-A, or designated for assignment since a 40-man roster spot would need to be cleared for Capuano.

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Yankees 4, Rangers 2: Brandon McCarthy sharp again in Yanks' series finale win

Having taken two of the first three games against the Texas Rangers this week, the Yankees sent right-hander Brandon McCarthy to the mound against Colby Lewis in the finale of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium. Making just his third start in pinstripes, McCarthy looked sharp again, giving up just one run over six innings, as the Yankees beat the Rangers, 4-2, on Thursday afternoon.

Neither team put a runner on base until the 3rd inning, when Texas opened the scoring with their only run against McCarthy. Rounged Odor and Shin-Soo Choo hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with two outs. Then a batter later, Elvis Andrus singled home Odor to put the Rangers up 1-0.

As I mentioned above, the Rangers didn't get another run off of McCarthy, who looked sharp yet again after giving up one run and striking out nine in his last start, against the Reds on Saturday. He only gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five on 109 pitches.

His pitch count ran a little high earlier than you would have liked, but his cutter, which he recently started throwing again, and his sinker were working well for him, helping him work through Rangers' lineup. The Yankees, so far, have turned Vidal Nuno into a pretty good replacement in the rotation.

A couple days after the walk-off single in his Yankee debut, Chase Headley tied up the game in 4th inning with a long single off of the right field wall, scoring Brett Gardner, who double to open the inning, tying the game at 1-1.

The Yankees tacked on two more runs an inning later, putting them up 2-1. Ichiro Suzuki led off the bottom of the 4th with a walk off of Lewis, then Francisco Cervelli doubled into the left field corner, scoring Ichiro all the way from first base for the go-ahead run. Brendan Ryan, a batter later, sacrificed Cervelli over to third base, then after Jacoby Ellsbury worked a walk, Gardner drove in Cervy with a sac-fly to deep left field.

Adam Warren took over on the mound in the 7th inning and was greeted by JP Arencibia, who blasted a solo homerun into the right field seats -- 4th homerun of the year -- to pull the Rangers within a run.

Warren retired the next two hitters before Matt Thornton was brought on the get the final out of the inning. Dellin Betances worked a scoreless nine-pitch 8th inning, with a strikeout.

The Yankees added on an insurance in the 8th when Carlos Beltran singled to start the inning, then Brian McCann doubled him home a batter later to push the Yankees' lead to 4-2.

David Robertson came on the shut the door in the 9th inning. He issued a one-out walk to Jim Adduci, but struck out the next two batters to end the game, sealing his 25th save of the season the Yankees' sixth win since the All-Star break, pushing their recording to 6-1 in the second half.

The Yankees will now welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to town for a three-game series that starts Friday night with Hiroki Kuroda facing off with Mark Buehrle at 7:05 p.m. ET.

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Game 101: Going for the series win

The Yankees got some help from Mother Nature last night, holding off just long enough for the Yankees to take a 2-1 lead against Yu Darvish and the Rangers, then get through 4 1/2 innings to make the game official, which was called after nearly two hours of a rain delay, giving the Yankees a win in the third game of this four game set, concluding today in the Bronx.

The Yankees lost a game, the Sunday night match against the Baltimore Orioles, right before the All-Star break because rain cut that one short, so it's only fitting that they get a win in the same fashion.

Brett Gardner hit the game-winning homerun off of Darvish last night, putting the Yankees up before the rain. It was Gardner's 10th homerun of the season, which is tied with Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran for second most on the team.

Gardner, who will be paid $5.6 million this season under his previously existing contract, has been one of the Yankees' best offensive (maybe the best?) players this season, batting .279 with 41 RBIs and a 3.1 WAR.

Today's lineup against Texas:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
LF Brett Gardner
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
2B Brian Roberts
RF Ichiro Suzuki
C Francisco Cervelli
SS Brendan Ryan

Pitching matchup preview:

Brandon McCarthy will take the mound for the Yankees today, as the Bombers look to capture the series win and improve their record to 6-1 in the second half of the season.

McCarthy will be making just his third start for the Yankees since being acquired before the All-Star break, and his second start at Yankee Stadium -- fifth of his career here in the Bronx. McCarthy's last outing, against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, was a good one, in which he tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out nine.

McCarthy said afterwards that he started throwing his cutter again, which he was told not to throw while with the Diamondbacks, and it worked out really well for him on Saturday.

The Rangers will counter with right-hander Colby Lewis, who has never pitched in the new Yankee Stadium before. Lewis faced the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start, giving up two runs on eight hits in five innings.

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Minor League Recap - 7/23/14: Zach Nuding tossed eight innings of one-run ball in Trenton's win

Triple-A Scranton: Suspended in the 3rd inning with Scranton up 8-0 (box)

Double-A Trenton: 5-2 win vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats

CF Mason Williams: 1-for-5, R, K
LF Ben Gamel: 1-for-5, 2 K
DH Gary Sanchez: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
1B Peter O'Brien: 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB
RF Tyler Austin: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI -- 5th homerun of the year

Zach Nuding: 8 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP

High-A Tampa: 13-6 win vs St. Lucie Mets

CF Danny Oh: 1-for-6, R, RBI, 2 K
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
1B Gregory Bird: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, K
DH Dante Bichette Jr: 2-for-5, R, RBI, K
3B Eric Jagielo: 0-for-2, R, RBI, BB, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
2B Angelo Gumbs: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K

Brady Lail: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
Jacob Lindgren: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Low-A Charleston: 6-4 win vs Lexington Legends

CF Mark Payton: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB
SS Tyler Wade: 0-for-5, R, RBI, K
RF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, K
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-for-5, R, K
2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-for-2, 2 BB, K

Rookie Davis: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
Chad Taylor: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Short Season Staten Island: 3-0 win vs Hudson Valley Renegades

C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4 -- hitting streak is up to 18 games
2B Ty McFarland: 3-for-4, R
DH Chris Breen: 1-for-4, K
1B Connor Spencer: 2-for-4, R, RBI, K

David Palladino: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Matt Wotherspoon: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

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Yankees 2, Rangers 1 (F/5): Yankees beat Darvish in rain-shortened game

The Yankees entered Wednesday night's game at Yankee Stadium struggling mightily at the plate to the tune of just four runs in 23 innings over the past two games against the Rangers.

With Yu Darvish on the mound, one might think the Yankees were in real trouble. Of course, conventional wisdom doesn't apply to the 2014 Yankees.  New York defeated Darvish and the Rangers, 2-1, in a rain-shortened 4 1/2 innings Wednesday night.

The Yankees sent David Phelps to the mound and he was outstanding once again, as he picked up his fifth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 3.77. Phelps allowed just one run in five innings, while striking out three on 72 pitches -- 44 strikes. Darvish recorded one out in the fifth inning before the torrential rainfall began.

The Rangers ace surrendered four hits, two runs and five strikeouts on 72 pitches -- 48 strikes. Phelps and Darvish both put up two scoreless innings to start the game, as both offenses’ looked rusty after Tuesday night's 14-inning marathon.

 Leonys Martin and Chris Gimenez opened the third inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners, Rougned Odor followed by grounding into a double play to score Martin to give Texas a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Francisco Cervelli led off with double down the left field line for the Yankees first hit of the night. Brendan Ryan grounded out to second to move Cervelli to third and the Yankee catcher was able to tie the game on a Darvish balk.

The next batter, Brett Gardner homered off Darvish to right field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. The solo blast was Gardner's career-high 10th home run of the season, which tied the Yankee outfielder for second on the team in home runs with Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann.

The Yankees will look to finish off a series win in Thursday's afternoon start at 1:05 p.m. Brandon McCarthy will be on the mound for New York, while Colby Lewis will take the hill for Texas.

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Game 100: Facing Yu Darvish

The Yankees went 18 innings between scoring runs before Jacoby Ellsbury tied the game in the 13th inning last night with an RBI single after the Yanks had fallen behind, 1-0, in the top of the 13th -- ironically, Ellsbury drove in the last Yankees run on Monday night with solo homerun.

Neither team really deserved to win last night's game on a count of how bad the Rangers played and how bad the Yankees' lineup struggled. But in the end, the team with the most runs win, and that just happened to be the Yankees, even if it took nearly five hours.

Let's just hope somebody can score in the first nine innings tonight.

Tonight's lineup against Texas:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
DH Carlos Beltran
1B Brian McCann
3B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki
C Francisco Cervelli
2B Brendan Ryan

* Michael Pineda will throw a simulated game tomorrow. The plan is for him to toss two innings or 30 pitches -- which ever comes first.

* McCann is going to play first base while Mark Teixeira is out, day-to-day, with a light lat strain.

Pitching matchup preview:

David Phelps has been pitching pretty well since rejoining the Yankees' rotation this season, and he hopes to continue his success tonight when he faces the Rangers in the third of four games against the Texas club at Yankee Stadium this week.

Phelps is seeking just his 5th win of the season, but he has worked six innings or more in each of his three July outings, and he's 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in that span.

Phelps kicked off the second half of the season with a win over the Cincinnati Reds last Friday, giving up two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings.

The Yankees have had a tough time hitting pitchers that you've never heard of the past two games, so it's probably not a good thing that they're facing Yu Darvish tonight, as he goes for his 10th win of the season for the third year in a row.

Darvish is coming off of a win against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, where he struck out 12 and gave up one run in 6.2 innings. This'll be fun to watch.

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Kelly Johnson placed on the 15-day DL with groin strain

A day after acquiring one third baseman, another has gone down with an injury.

The Yankees announced on Wednesday that infielder Kelly Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain, which he suffered in last night's 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Having used all of their bullpen, the Yankees called up RHP Chris Leroux from Triple-A Scranton, while designating RHP Bruce Billings for assignment.

Johnson started in right field for the Yankees last night with Chase Headley no becoming the everyday third base. It was likely that Johnson would play more in the outfield with Ichiro Suzuki struggling at the play.

Johnson was batting .219 with six homeruns and 22 RBI in 77 games for the Yankees this season.

They'll be getting a boost in the bullpen with Leroux joining then. Signed by the Yankees over the winter, he appeared in two big league games earlier in the season, and has spent most of his year in Triple-A as a starter.

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