Minor League Recap - 8/25/14: Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez, Mason Williams power Trenton to victory

Triple-A Scranton: 4-2 loss vs Rochester Red Wings

RF Ramon Flores: 1-for-4, 3B, RBI, K
2B Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
1B Kyle Roller: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, K
LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4
3B Scott Sizemore: 2-for-4

Bryan Mitchell: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Preston Claiborne: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Double-A Trenton: 9-2 win vs Akron RubberDucks

RF Jake Cave: 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI
LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4, R, BB, 3 BB
C Gary Sanchez: 1-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, K -- 13th homerun of the season
1B Greg Bird: 2-for-3, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 BB, K -- 7th homerun in Double-A
CF Mason Williams: 1-for-3, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB -- 5th homerun of the year

Daniel Camarena: 8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K

Short Season Staten Island: 2-1 win (F/10) vs Brooklyn Cyclones

1B Connor Spencer: 1-for-5, K
LF Chris Breen: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K -- 7th homerun of the short season
3B Ty McFarland: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K
C Luis Torrens: 2-for-4

Ty Hensley: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Andrew Chin: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

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Yankees 8, Royals 1: Michael Pineda and the bats take down the streaking Royals

The world is a batter place when Michael Pineda is on the mound for the New York Yankees.

Making just his third start off of the disabled list, Pineda held the hottest team in baseball to just one run over 6 1/2 innings of work, as the Yankees put up six runs against James Shields en route to a 8-1 win at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night in the makeup of a June 9th rain-out.

The win extended the Yankees' winning streak to five games, as they look to climb back into the playoff race for one more shot at a ring in Derek Jeter's final season.

The Bomber struck early against Shields, taking a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning. Ichiro Suzuki reached on an infield single to open the inning, the moved to second base on the same play. After Zelous Wheeler walked to pair a of of runners on, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded into a fielder's choice a second base, moving Ichiro over to third base, then Derek Jeter grounded to score Ichiro for the game's first run.

Kansas City, though, answered back in the bottom half of the inning with it's only run of the game against Pineda and the Yankees' bullpen, jumping on the board with a solo homerun from Mike Moustakas.

Stephen Drew gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the top half of the 4th inning with a solo homerun into the right field seats off of Shield -- his 6th dinger of the season.

And from there, Pineda did his thing. He retired 10 straight Royals hitters following the Moustakas homerun; it wasn't until Jarrod Dyson singled with one-out in the 6th that Kansas City would get another base runner. Pineda left with one-out in the 7th inning, having given up just one run on five hits, while striking out five and walking none on 96 pitches.

He was able to leave the game with a 6-1 lead after the Yankees scored four runs in the top of the 7th inning.

Martin Prado, the hottest bat in the Yankees' lineup lately, led off the 7th inning his 4th homerun of the season, a solo blast into the left field seats that extended the lead to 3-1. Chase Headley and Ichiro followed with back-to-back singles, then after a fielder's choice by Wheeler, Ellsbury ripped an RBI single into right field -- the 1,000th hit of his big league career -- to score Ichiro. Jeter singled a batter later, making it a 5-1 game. And then Brian McCann followed with a sac-fly to score Ellsbury, who was initially ruled out at the plate, only to have the call overturned on instant replay.

After walking Carlos Beltran, Shields was finally pulled from the game, having given up six runs on 10 hits, walking three and striking out three. Not a good night for Big Game James.

Ellsbury continued his good night, hitting a two-run homerun in the top of the 9th inning that extended the Yankees' lead to 8-1.

David Huff finished off the final two and a third innings for a the Yankees, giving up just two hits -- both singles -- as he closed out the win for the Yankees, who are now just three games back of the second AL Wild Card spot.

The Yankees now head off to Detroit, where they will open up a three game series with the Tigers, who have won four of their last five games. Rick Porcello will be on the mound for the home team, with Brandon McCarthy getting the game for the Yankees in this 7:08 p.m. ET game.

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Game 129: Makeup game

On what was suppose to be an off-day, the Yankees make a one-game stop in Kansas City to finally wrap of their four-games series at Kaufman Stadium -- the Royals had taken two of the three games played, with the June 9th matchup rained out.

The Yankees are catching the Royals at the wrong time, 24 of their last 31 games, even with a loss to the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Kansas City currently holds a two-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, and are in a position to make the playoffs for the first time in over two decades.

Tonight's lineup against Kansas City:

CF Jacoby Ellsbury
SS Derek Jeter
C Brian McCann
DH Carlos Beltran
2B Stephen Drew
LF Martin Prado
1B Chase Headley
RF Ichiro Suzuki
1B Zelous Wheeler

* Mark Teixeira is dealing with some tightness in his left hamstring. Joe Girardi doesn't it's much, and expects him in the lineup tomorrow night in Detroit.

Pitching matchup: Michael Pineda vs James Shields

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Minor League Recap - 8/24/14: Ramon Flores hits two homeruns in Scranton's loss to Rochester

Triple-A Scranton: 5-4 loss vs Rochester Red Wings

CF Jose Pirela: 2-for-5, R
RF Ramon Flores: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI -- 6th and 7th homeruns of the season
2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K
1B Kyle Roller: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K
LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4, 3 K
C John Ryan Murphy: 0-for-3, BB, K

Zach Nuding: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
Chase Whitley: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Nick Rumbelow: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Double-A Trenton: 7-3 win vs Harrisburg Senators

CF Jake Cave: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K -- 2nd homerun in Trenton
LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4, BB, K
1B Greg Bird: 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-4, R, K
RF Mason Williams: 1-for-4, R

Luis Severino: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Cesar Cabral: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

High-A Tampa: 5-1 win vs Dunedin Blue Jays

CF Mark Payton: 0-for-2, R, RBI, K
SS Cito Culver: 1-for-3, R, R, RBI, BB, K
3B Eric Jagielo: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RF Aaron Judge: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
1B Mike Ford: 2-for-4, RBI

Brady Lail: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Low-A Charleston: 5-4 loss (F/12) vs Rome Braves

SS Abiatal Avelino: 1-for-5, BB, 2 K
2B-3B Tyler Wade: 1-for-5, R, 3B, BB, K
DH Miguel Andujar: 1-for-6, K

Rookie Davis: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Short Season Staten Island: 3-1 win vs Vermont Lack Monsters

1B Conner Spencer: 1-for-4, R, 2B, K
2B Ty McFarland: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Chris Breen: 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI

David Palladino: 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

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Yankees 7, White Sox 4 (F/10): Yankees finish off sweet of the Sox on Brian McCann's walk-off homerun

Coming off of the bench to pinch-hit for Francisco Cervelli, Brian McCann ripped a three-run walk-off homerun just inside the right field foul pole to send the Yankees home with a 7-4 win in 10 innings on Sunday, extending their winning streak to four games.

White Sox shortstop Alexi Ramirez put the Yankees into a 1-0 hole just two pitches into the game with a solo homerun to left field off of Yankee starter Chris Capuano that just barley made it's over the wall and into the season.

Capuano didn't let the homerun to open the game effect him very much, as he would go on to only give up five more hits after that, including a two-run homerun to Conor Gillespie in the 6th inning that extended Chicago's lead to 3-0.

Capuano went six innings for the Yankees for the fifth time in his first six starts with the team. He gave up the three runs on six hits, striking out five without walking a batter.

The Yankees rallied to take the lead with four runs in the bottom half of the 6th inning. Derek Jeter opened the inning with a grounded, then Martin Prado reached second base on an error in left field by Dayan Viciedo. Mark Teixeira followed up with a double to put the Yankees on the board, making it a 3-1 game. Sale walked Carlos Beltran, struck out Chase Headley for the second out of the inning, and then walked Cervelli to load the bases with Zelous Wheeler coming up.

It didn't take long for Sale to hit Wheeler, forcing in a run to pull the Yankees to within one, and then a batter later, Ichiro Suzuki singled to deep right, driving home a pair of runs to put the Yankees up 4-3.

Because of Viciedo's error to kick off the rally, none of the four runs against Sale in the 6th inning were earned, has he would give up just those four on four hits in six innings of work, walking three and striking out seven.

Esmil Rogers and Rich Hill combined to pitch a scoreless 7th inning ahead of Adam Warren, who struck out one in a three up, three down 8th inning.

That led to David Robertson in the 9th inning, as he was looking to convert his 23rd consecutive save opportunity, However, things would not go his was as Adonis Garcia opened the top of the 9th inning with a game-tying, solo homerun into the right field seats.

The Yankees had a chance to win things in the bottom of the 9th inning when with a runner on second base, the White Sox walked Stephen Drew to get to Jeter with runners on first and second base with one out. The plan worked, as Jeter would ground into a 6-3 double play to end the inning.

David Huff would enter the game to pitch a scoreless 10th inning before the Yankees ended the game in the bottom half of the frame. Beltran hit a two-out double, Headley was intentionally walked, and then McCann did his thing, hitting his 15th homerun of the year to end the game.

After six games at home in the Bronx, the Yankees now hit the road for a seven game trip that starts tomorrow night with a one-game stay in Kansas City where they will play a makeup game with the Royals at 7:00 p.m. ET. Mike Pineda will be on the mound for the Yankees, facing off with James Shields.

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Game 128: One more for the road

After taking the first two games of this three-game set on Friday and Saturday, the Yankees are looking for a clean sweep of the Chicago White Sox in the series finale this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. ET.

The Bombers' offense put in one of it's best performances in a while -- albeit still lackluster -- putting up five runs yesterday for the first time since August 8, as New York would go on to win the game 5-3 on the strength of six quality innings from Hiroki Kuroda.

Following today's game, the Yankees will pack up and prepare to hit the road, where they'll play a makeup game against the Kansas City Royals tomorrow, followed by three games in Detroit, and then wrap up with three games in Toronto over the weekend.

Today's lineup against Chicago:

SS Derek Jeter
LF Martin Prado
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Carlos Beltran
3B Chase Headley
C Francisco Cervelli
RF Zelous Wheeler
CF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Brendan Ryan

* Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury are out of the lineup today with the Yankees facing a left-handed pitcher. Gardner is dealing with some soreness in his right ankle after getting hit yesterday, and Joe Girardi says that Ellsbury is a little beat up.

Pitching matchup preview: Chris Capuano vs Chris Sale

Lefty against lefty, Chris against Chris, it'll be Sale and Capuano facing off today at Yankee Stadium.

Capuano gets the ball for the Yankees coming off of a no-decision against the Houston Astros earlier in the week, in which he gave up four runs on eight hits, with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. It was the first time that Capuano was unable to complete at least six innings in a start since joining the Yankees.

Meanwhile, the White Sox will have their ace, Sale, on the mound for them today, as the lefty comes in boasting 2.12 ERA this season -- a number that trails only Felix Hernandez (2.07) for the best in the American League.

Sale has lost his last two decisions over his three starts, including his last start in which he gave up just three runs on eight hits over six innings of work.

Sale has already faced the Yankees once this season, back in May during the Yankees' trip to Chicago. He was making his first start off of the DL, and tossed six one-hit innings before being pulled after just 86 pitches.

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Yankees 5, White Sox 3: Yankees' offense 'explodes' for fives runs against Chicago

Fresh off of his walk-off antics on Friday night, Yankees infielder Martin Prado was back it again on Saturday, collecting three hits, including a two-run double to put his team ahead, as the Bombers would go on the beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3, on Joe Torre Day at Yankee Stadium.

After a pregame ceremony to honor the former Yankees manager, Torre, which included the retiring of his No. 6 uniform, Hiroki Kuroda took the mound for the Yankees and gave up an early 2nd inning run that put the White Sox on the board.

Connor Gillespie opened the top of the 2nd with a double into right field off of Kuroda. Alexi Ramirez brought him home a batter later with a double of his own.

The Yankees answered back in the bottom half of the inning with tying against Chicago starter Scott Carroll -- well, mainly against Chicago's defense. Carroll walked Mark Teixeira to open the inning, then Carlos Beltran reached on a fielder's choice, with everybody safe. A batter later, Prado dropped down a sacrifice bunt; Jose Abreu ran up to get the ball, but his throw to the bag was off target, lead everybody to be safe with nobody out.

Immediately after that, Chase Headley grounded into a double play that scored Teixeira from third base to even the score at 1-1.

The Yankees' offense struck again two innings later, putting pair of runs on the board to go up 3-1. Brian McCann doubled to kick off the inning, then Teixeira walked to put two on with nobody out. Teixeira, though, ran himself off of the bases on a single to right by Beltran -- McCann was held up at third, but because Teixeira didn't see that, he, too, ran to third, and was eventually tagged out. Beltran would also take second on the play.

A batter later, Prado ripped a two-run double into the left field corner, bringing home both runners to give the Yankees a two-run advantage, and finally some run support for Kuroda, who put together a quality start.

Kuroda escaped danger in the first inning, stranding a pair of runners, then struck out the side in the 2nd inning after giving up the back-to-back doubles to open the inning. The only other run he gave up in six innings of work was on an RBI single by Abreu that score Alejandro De Aza, who walked and later took second base on a wild pitch.

Kuroda only gave up two runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out six on 101 pitches. He picked up his 9th win of the season.

After Kuroda had shut down the side in the 6th, the Yankees' offense went back to work in the bottom half of the inning two add on to it's lead. Beltran led off the inning with a solo homerun that just barley sneaked over the right field wall for his 15th homerun of season, in his first game since Tuesday night. Prado lobbed a double into right field a batter later, moved to third on a ground out by Headley, then scored on a sac-fly by Stephen Drew, giving the Yankees their fifth run in a game for the first time since August 8.

Shawn Kelley opened the 7th inning by giving up hits to two of the first three hitters, followed by an RBI groundout that scored Jordan Danks to pull the White Sox to within two runs. Kelley got one more out before Dellin Betances was brought on to get the final out of the 7th inning on four pitches.

Adam Warren proceeded to toss a three up, three down 8th inning before handing the ball off to David Robertson, who worked around a Paul Konerko walk to record his 22nd consecutive save -- longest streak in the majors -- and 34th of the season to close out the Yankees' third straight victory.

The Yankees and White Sox will wrap up this three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Chris Capuano will be on the mound for New York as they go for the sweep, but will have to face the dominant lefty Chris Sale at 1:05 p.m. ET.

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Game 127: Yankees retire Joe Torre's No. 6

The Yankees enter Saturday afternoon's matchup with the Chicago White Sox on a two-game winning streak after Martin Prado's walk-off single in the 9th inning last night that gave the Bombers a 4-3 win the opener of this three-game series.

With Baltimore's loss last night, the Yankees were able to gain a game on the Orioles and now sit eight games back in the AL East heading into today. Over in the Wild Card race, Seattle's win over Boston last night kept the Yankees 4.5 games back of the second wild card spot.

It's a special day in the Bronx, as the Yankees will finally be honoring former manager Joe Torre during a pre-game ceremony that will include the retiring of his No. 6 jersey, which would leave Derek Jeter's No. 2 -- for now, at least -- as the only remaining single-digit number to not be retired by the Yankees.

Today's lineup against Chicago:

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

Pitching matchup preview: Hiroki Kuroda vs Scott Carroll

Hiroki Kuroda will get the ball for the Yankees this afternoon, as he looks to continue the trend of quality pitching by Yankees starters lately. Kuroda is coming off of his best start of the month, when he allowed just two runs over 6 2/3 innings against the Rays.

The White Sox will send right-hander Scott Carroll to the mound today in the second game of this three-game set. Carroll is coming off of a rough start against the Toronto Blue Jays, in which he allowed five runs on eight hits, while walking three.

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Game 125: Shane Greene gets the start against the White Sox

Coming off of their shutout win over the Astros yesterday that helped them salvage a game after dropping the first two to Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Yankees welcome the Chicago White Sox to town for a three-game series that kicks-off tonight at Yankee Stadium.

The White Sox comes in with the fifth worst record in baseball, having lost 12 of their last 17 games, including being swept in three-games by the Baltimore Orioles this week.

Tonight's lineup against Chicago:

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

SP Shane Greene

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Minor League Recap - 8/21/14: Jaron Long tosses eight shutout innings in Trenton's win

Triple-A Scranton: 5-1 loss vs Buffalo Bisons

LF Jose Pirela: 0-for-3, BB
2B Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K
RF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Kyle Roller: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Scott Sizemore: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
1B Austin Romine: 1-for-4, 2B, K
C John Ryan Murphy: 1-for-3, BB, K

Nik Turley: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4, R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Nick Rumbelow: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Double-A Trenton: 3-0 win vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats

LF Jake Cave: 0-for-4, K
CF Mason Williams: 2-for-4
C Gary Sanchez: 0-for-3, BB
1B Greg Bird: 2-for-4, 2 2B
DH Rob Segedin: 3-for-4, R, 3B, RBI, K
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 2-for-4, R, RBI

Jaron Long: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

High-A Tampa: 10-6 win vs Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton: 2-for-5, RBI, K
SS Cito Culver: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
3B Eric Jagielo: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
DH Mike Ford: 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K
1B Reymond Nunez: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K -- 3rd and 4th dingers of the year

Brett Gerritse: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Low-A Charleston: 12-0 win vs Greenville Drive

SS Abiatal Avelino: 1-for-6, R, HR, RBI, 3 K -- 2nd homerun of the year
2B Tyler Wade: 3-for-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB -- 1st homerun this season
LF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-4, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB

Justin Kamplain: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K

Short Season Staten Island: 2-0 loss vs Brooklyn Cyclones

CF Devyn Bolasky: 2-for-4, 2B
3B Ty McFarland: 0-for-3, BB, K
DH Chris Breen: 1-for-4, 2 K
C Luis Torrens: 0-for-3, BB, K

Matt Borens: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Dillon McNamara: 3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

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Game 124: Avoiding the sweep

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

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

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

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

Today's lineup against Houston:

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

SP Brandon McCarthy

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Masahiro Tanaka throws 35 pitch bullpen session at Yankee Stadium

Injured starter Masahiro Tanaka took another big step in his road back to the big leagues on Wednesday, throwing a 35 pitch bullpen session off of the mound at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka told reporters that the bullpen was “good” and “better” than his last time throwing, and more importantly, there was no pain in his right elbow.

This was also Tanaka's first time throwing something more than fastballs since he was shutdown in mid-July -- he threw his breaking ball, including five splitters.

As for what's up next for Tanaka and the Yankees, that is still unknown. We know for sure, though, that he won't be returning the the big league team this month, as Brian Cashman has said. Right now, a mid-September return seems very likely.

The next step for Tanaka, as long as the pain stays away, would normally be a live batting practice session, followed by some simulated games, and than minor league rehab starts.

"I don’t really have a realistic timeframe because I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves,” Girardi said. “But the next step would be throwing BP, then a simulated game, then obviously a rehab game. The fact that he felt good today was encouraging. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow; obviously that’s really important. But he was able to throw his curveball, his slider and his split; I watched it and he looked pretty good.”

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Minor League Recap - 8/20/14: Mark Payton collects four hits and a homerun in Tampa's win

Triple-A Scranton: 11-2 loss vs Syracuse Chiefs

CF Jose Pirela: 1-for-3, RBI
2B Rob Refsnyder: 0-for-4, K
RF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4, K
1B Kyle Roller: 0-for-4
3B Scott Sizemore: 1-for-4, K
C Austin Romine: 0-for-3, 2 K

Bryan Mitchell: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Pat Venditte: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Tyler Webb: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: 8-2 loss vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats

CF Jake Cave: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4
1B Greg Bird: 0-for-4, 3 K
DH Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-4, K
RF Mason Williams: 2-for-4, R, 2B. 3B, RBI

Daniel Camarena: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 HR

High-A Tampa: 11-1 win vs Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton: 4-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB -- 2nd homerun in High-A
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
3B Eric Jagielo: 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI
RF Aaron Judge: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI -- 8th homerun this year with High-A Tampa
1B Mike Ford: 2-for-5, R, RBI

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

Low-A Charleston: 7-2 loss vs Greenville Drive

SS Tyler Wade: 1-for-5, R
LF Michael O'Neill: 0-for-5, 3 K
2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-4, 2 K
1B Bubba Jones: 0-for-4, 2 K

Andy Beresford: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

Short Season Staten Island: 14-4 win vs Brooklyn Cyclones

2B Jose Javier: 1-for-6, 2 R, RBI, 2 K
C Luis Torrens: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
3B Ty McFarland: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI
CF Austin Aune: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 K
SS Vicente Conde: 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K

Sean Carley: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
Jordan Cote: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Game 123: Michael Pineda returns to the Yankee Stadium mound

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

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

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

Tonight's lineup against Houston:

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

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

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

Pitching matchup preview:

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

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

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

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Minor League Recap - 8/19/14: Jose Pirela drives in four runs in Scranton's win

Triple-A Scranton: 6-5 win vs Syracuse Chiefs

CF Jose Pirela: 3-for-5, 2 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, K -- 9th homerun of the year
2B Rob Refsnyder: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
RF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-4, RBI, K
1B Kyle Roller: 0-for-4, K
SS Zelous Wheeler: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K

Zach Nuding: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Jim Miller: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: 2-1 loss vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats

RF Jake Cave: 1-for-4
LF Ben Gamel: 0-for-4, 2 K
1B Greg Bird: 0-for-4, 3 K
DH Tyler Austin: 1-for-3, BB
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 1-for-3, R, BB
CF Mason Williams: 0-for-4

Luis Severino: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR -- making his return off of the minor league DL
Jacob Lindgren: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

High-A Tampa: 2-1 walk-off loss vs Brevard County Manatees

CF Mark Payton: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-4
DH Eric Jagielo: 1-for-4, RBI, K
RF Aaron Judge: 1-for-4

Brady Lail: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Low-A Charleston: 8-7 win vs Greenville Drive

DH Abiatal Avelino: 2-for-6, 2 R, 2B, 2 K
SS Tyler Wade: 0-for-4, R, BB
LF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-4, BB, K
3B Miguel Andujar: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI -- 10th homerun of the year
1B Jackson Valera: 3-for-5, R, RBI
2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-for-1, R, RBI, 4 BB

Rookie Davis: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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