E-Boland and the Bombers

Welcome everyone! I'm David Cassilo, and I will be taking you through today's Fourth of July showdown between the Blue Jays and Yankees. It's a beautiful day in the New York area, but I am glad to have you if you have chosen to spend it following the Yankees today.

After a 4-2 win yesterday behind A.J. Burnett, the Yankees are now five games ahead of the Blue Jays in the Wild Card race. The two teams are going in opposite directions with the Blue Jays just 2-6 in their last eight games and the Yankees winning eight of their last nine.

So far this season these two teams have met just four prior times with the Yankees winning the last three contests.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Today the Yankees will hope Chien-Ming Wang can build on a victory over the Mets in his last start by silencing Toronto's bats. In the last outing against the Mets, Wang gave up two runs and four hits over 5.1 innings. It was his longest start of the season. The win improves his record to 1-6 and lowers his ERA to 10.06.

In his career against Toronto, Wang is 4-2 with a 4.63 ERA in nine career starts. However, manny of the current Blue Jays have experienced a lot of success against Wang. Most notably, Aaron Hill is 10/17 with three RBI, Kevin Millar is 9/19 with four RBI and Lyle Overbay is 6/14 with five RBI. No current Blue Jay has ever hit a home run off Wang.

Opposing Wang is one of MLB's best pitchers, Roy Halladay. The 2003 Cy Young Award winner is 10-2 with a 2.56 ERA so far this season. The 10 wins lead the AL, even despite Halladay missing 17 days with a groin injury. His last start was his first since coming off the disabled list. In that start Halladay was defeated by Tampa Bay after allowing two runs over six innings.

Halladay has been a Yankee-killer during his career as he is 16-5 with a 2.79 ERA against New York in 31 career starts. In his last start against the Yankees on May 12th, Halladay gave the Blue Jays their only victory over New York this season. He pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and one run while striking out five.

The Yankee hitters have had varying levels of success against Halladay. Johnny Damon is one of the few that has done well. He is 29/84 with two HR and nine RBI against the right-hander. On the other hand, Mark Teixeira has struggled mightily, going just 4/22 with one HR and three RBI against Halladay.

I will be back for first pitch.

Top of the first: Marco Scutaro flies out to center field. Aaron Hill singles down the left field line. Wang gets out of trouble by getting Adam Lind to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

Bottom of the first: Derek Jeter strikes out looking. Johnny Damon walks after working the count full. Mark Teixeira grounds out to second base. Alex Rodriguez singles to right field, and Damon just beats the throw home by Alex Rios to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Rodriguez to second on the throw. Robinson Cano grounds out to first base.

Top of the second: Scott Rolen pops up to second base. Lyle Overbay walks. Vernon Wells hits a ground rule double that hits the right field foul line and goes into the stands. Alex Rios singles up the middle, scoring two runs and giving the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead. David Dellucci grounds into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Bottom of the second: Jorge Posada flies out to right field. Hideki Matsui hits a solo home run to right field, and the score is tied 2-2. Melkey Cabrera grounds out to first base. Brett Gardner strikes out swinging.

Top of the third: Rod Barajas grounds out to third base. Scutaro lines out to right field. Hill grounds out to shortstop.

Bottom of the third: Jeter flies out to center field after Wells makes a nice running catch at the wall. Damon walks for the second time. Teixeira singles to right field, and Damon goes to third. Rodriguez pops out to first base. Cano grounds into a fielder's choice.

Top of the fourth: Lind strikes out swinging. Rolen doubles off the right field wall. Overbay hits a ground ball up the middle that goes off the glove of Wang and right to Cano who throws out the first baseman. Wells flies out to center field.

Bottom of the fourth: Jorge Posada homers to right field to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Matsui lines out to first base. Cabrera strikes out swinging. Gardner grounds out to shortstop.

Top of the fifth: Rios grounds out to shortstop. Dellucci grounds out to first. Barajas grounds out to shortstop.

Bottom of the fifth: Jeter lines out to right field. Damon lines out to second base. Teixeira hits a single to center field. Rodriguez walks. Cano grounds out to second base.

Top of the sixth: Scutaro leads off with a double down the left field line. Hill fails to advance Scutaro as he grounds out to shortstop. Adam Lind hits a two-run home run to right field, and the Blue Jays lead 4-3.

Wang leaves the game with an undisclosed injury. More details as they come. His final line: 5.1 IP 6 H 4 ER 1 BB 1 K

David Roberston enters the game with a 1-0 count to Rolen, and then walks him. Overbay walks too. Wells strikes out looking. Rios hits an RBI single into center field, and Toronto leads 5-3. Rios advances to second on a passed ball. Dellucci flies out to Gardner, who is able to track the ball down due to his great speed.

Bottom of the sixth: Posada flies out to right field. Matsui grounds out to second base. Cabrera singles into right field. Gardner flies out to center field.

Top of the seventh: Brian Bruney has come in to pitch the seventh. Barajas hits a single past shortstop and into left field. Scutaro singles past third base, and Toronto has runners on first and base with no one out. Jose Bautista comes in to run for Barajas. Hill hits a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners to second and third. Lind is intentionally walked. Rolen pops out to second base. Overbay lines out to second base.

INJURY UPDATE: Wang left the game earlier with a strained right shoulder.

Bottom of the seventh: Jeter singles into right field. Damon hits a two-run home run to right field that would only have been out at Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees tie the score at 5-5. Teixeira grounds out to second base. Rodriguez hits a single up the middle. Cano grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Top of the eighth: Phil Hughes replaces Bruney to pitch the eighth. Wells and Rios fly out to right field. Dellucci flies out to left field.

Bottom of the eighth: Halladay is done as Brandon League has come in to replace him. Posada grounds out to first base. Matsui hits a ground rule double that skips off the left field line and bounces into the stands. Cody Ransom runs for Matsui. Cabrera lines out to Dellucci in left field, who almost overruns the ball. Gardner strikes out swinging.

Final line for Halladay: 7 IP 9 H 5 ER 3 BB 3 K

Top of the ninth: Mariano Rivera comes in to pitch the ninth. Raul Chavez, who came on for Barajas earlier, singles into left field. Scutaro grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Hill grounds out to third base.

Bottom of the ninth: Jeremy Accardo is in to pitch the ninth for Toronto. After falling behind 0-2, Jeter works a leadoff walk. Damon strikes out swinging. Teixeira flies out to center field, and Jeter tags up to move into scoring position. Rodriguez is intentionally walked.

The Blue Jays bring in Jesse Carlson to face Cano. He grounds out to second base, and we will head to extra innings. He is now 0 for his last 19 with RISP.

Top of the tenth: Phil Coke will pitch the tenth for the Yankees. Lind pops up to third base. Rolen grounds out to third base. Overbay flies out to Gardner.

Bottom of the tenth: Shawn Camp is pitching for Toronto. Posada strikes out looking. Nick Swisher pinch hits for Ransom and grounds out to second base. Cabrera strikes out looking.

Top of the eleventh: Wells leads off the inning with a walk. Rios flies out to left field. Dellucci strikes out swinging. Wells steals second base. Chavez flies out to center field.

Bottom of the eleventh: Gardner grounds out to second base. Jeter and Damon strike out swinging.

Top of the twelfth: Brett Tomko will pitch the twelfth for the Yankees. Scutaro flies out to left field. Hill strikes out swinging. Lind flies out to Cabrera, who catches hit right at the wall.

Bottom of the twelfth: Texeira hits a double that goes off first base and down the right field line. Rodriguez is intentionally walked again to face Cano. With the count 3-0, Cano unexpectedly bunts. Teixeira, who was very surprised, was late to break to third and was thrown out. Posada hits an RBI single into center field, scoring Rodriguez and giving the Yankees a 6-5 win.

FINAL: 6-5 Yankees

W- Tomko (1-2)
L- Camp (0-4)

Player of the game: Jorge Posada 2-6 1 HR 2 RBI 1 R; GW RBI single

Once again the Yankees come from behind to get a dramatic win at Yankee Stadium. With Halladay starting the game, the Yankees have to be thrilled that they came away with a victory.

With Posada stepping up and Cano having a terrible day at the plate, it would not be a shock to see them flipped in the batting order tomorrow.

The Yankees will try to win their third game of the series tomorrow when Joba Chamberlin squares off against Scott Richmond.

-David Cassilo

Facing the always-tough Roy Halladay:

Jeter - SS
Damon - LF
Teixeira - 1B
A-Rod - 3B
Cano - 2B
Posada - C
Matsui - DH
Cabrera - RF
Gardner - CF
Wang - P

Posada's left thumb is still a bit swollen, but he'll play and hope not to get hit on it again. Swisher gets a regular day off. And a ceremony to honor Lou Gehrig precedes the 1:05 start.

“Bruney's our eighth-inning guy."

Joe Girardi repeated that phrase several times this week in being questioned about replacing Phil Hughes, who needed just nine pitches to set down the Mariners in the seventh inning, with Brian Bruney in the eighth Tuesday night.

That has changed.

In two straight games -- including today -- Girardi looked elsewhere in the eighth and that's going to continue in the coming weeks.

“We need to get [Bruney] going and we need to get him right and we’ll get him right but Hughes is throwing the ball real well right now,” Girardi said.

Not that Bruney is getting banished to irrelevance.

We’re going to pick some innings and they’re still going to be important innings and get his stuff right and get his location right." Girardi said of Bruney's suddenly undefined role. "This is a guy that really missed about two months and in a sense you could almost say he’s going through spring training again."

Girardi also can't ignore what Hughes has done from the bullpen.

“I see him come out of that bullpen with a lot of confidence,” Girardi said of Hughes. “You look at the pitches today – down and away, down and away, 95, 96 [mph]; location’s very good; curveball’s very good; just a lot of confidence.”

Bruney didn't complain afterward.

"I’m just going to go out there and throw when I’m called upon," Bruney said. "Everybody’s caught up in what inning...it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t. We’re getting W’s and the team’s playing well. What are you going to complain about?"

He continued.

"Like I said, as long as we’re getting W’s, I really don’t care, honestly," Bruney said. "I’ve said that 100 times. We’re winning games, we’re playing well. I’m sure there’s going to be situations where I have to get somebody out and it’s going to be a big spot and I’ll be ready for it. Really, there’s one role – Mariano’s the closer. We have five starters, then we have six guys that fill in whenever. I happened to be coming in the eighth inning for a while but things change. I’m not bent out of shape over it, I promise you that. Like I said, I’m here to win."

Said Hughes: "It really doesn’t matter if it’s the fourth inning, or eighth inning or whatever it is,” Hughes said. “We’re all down there basically to bridge the gap between the starter and Mariano. Obviously, someone needs to pitch the eighth and get valuable outs in the eighth, and any one of us could do that.”

It's interesting to discuss, but the whole "eighth-inning" specialist thing is overdone anyway. For over 100 years, baseball survived without some of these things, using simple formulas such as if a reliever came in in the fifth, sixth, seventh inning or whatever and was hot and getting people out, he stayed in. It's the reason Hughes should have stayed in the other night and the reason if Bruney comes in next week in the sixth or seventh inning and blows away hitters with ease, he should probably stay in, too. But that's another topic for another day.

Anyway, another standout game today from A.J. Burnett, who improved to 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA (three earned runs in 27 1/3 innings) over his four starts since lasting only 2 2/3 innings that night in Boston. For Burnett, it's all about the fastball, which was at 96 early and 95 late and consistently over the plate for strikes.

“Fastball command,” Burnett said. “When I get ahead with that, I’m able to use the hook and then everything else, but it all starts with the No. 1”

Which is breeding huge amounts of confidence, something Burnett didn't have earlier in the season.

“When you’re clicking on pitches, you don’t really think about anything,” Burnett said. “It’s just all confidence out there. I’m going to go out and get strike one, and if I get ahead, I’m going to put you away.”

And with that, have a great holiday weekend. I'm off Saturday and Sunday and will be flying to Minnesota Monday. But there will still be plenty of coverage here of the remainder of the series against the Blue Jays so please check back.

The pitching matchups the rest of the series, all 1:05 games:

Saturday: Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 10.06) vs. Roy Halladay (10-2, 2.56)
Sunday: Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89) vs. Scott Richmond (6-5, 3.69)
Monday: Andy Pettitte (8-3, 4.25) vs. Ricky Romero (6-3, 2.85)

Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous "Luckiest man on the face of the earth speech." MLB will honor the anniversary by reciting the speech prior to every game on Saturday's schedule.

Here's Mark Herrmann's column on the 70th anniversary of Gehrig's famous speech.

Here's a clip of the real thing:

Gooooooooooooooooooood afternoon everybody (Chris Russo impression). If you turned on YES this afternoon, you're probably a little surprised, no "Mike and the Mad Dog" (the duo broke up over a year ago), but not even "Mike'd Up." It's Yankees baseball, a rare treat on a Friday afternoon.

The reason for the afternoon game is obvious, the good Yankees want to get home snug in their beds early for some rest on Boss's Birthday Eve. George Steinbrenner turns 79 tomorrow (also our nation turns 233).

Last night's game ended just over 13 hours before the start of this one, but on the bright side, the Yankees won't have to dwell too long on that loss. A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.94 ERA) takes the hill for the Yanks, fresh off his best start of the season, a one-hitter against the Mets last weekend. The Blue Jays will turn to Brian Tallet (5-5, 4.47). Tallet's lost three of his last four. Toronto beat Tampa on Wednesday to snap a four game losing streak, and the Jays sit four games behind the Yanks.

Will the Jays build a new winning streak and hand the Yanks a second straight loss? Or will the Bombers deliver the Boss an early birthday present? We'll find out this afternoon in the Bronx.

Be back before first pitch to get this started.
-Mark Macyk

Jeter ss
Damon lf
Teixeira 1b
A-Rod 3b
Cano 2b
Swisher rf
Matsui dh
Cervelli c
Gardner cf

Good evening Yankees fans and welcome to the final game of this three game set at the New Stadium between the Yanks and the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees will be looking to extend their winning streak to eight, while the Mariners, who had won four of five coming into the week, will look to reestablish their winning ways.

It'll be C.C. Sabathia on the hill for the Yanks tonight, who are going for their second straight sweep. Sabathia is starting to back up the big contract the Yanks gave him in the offseason. He's 7-4 with a 3.55 ERA and his whip is just 1.09, good for fourth in the AL. The big man has won six of his last seven decisions and has gone at least seven innings in nine of his last ten starts. For some comparison, Mets ace Johan Santana is 9-6 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP (16th in the NL).

The Mariners will turn to Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79 ERA) and will attempt to halt a 10-game M losing streak in the Bronx. A month ago, Vargas was 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA, but he's dropped three of his past four decisions, most recently allowing five runs in 4.2 innings of an 8-2 loss to the LA Dodgers. Ichiro Suzuki was held hitless last night, but still leads the majors with a .368 batting average. Russel Branyan is tied with a few others for third in the AL in homers, with 19, one less than Mark Teixeira.

Be back before the first pitch to get this started.
-Mark Macyk

Jeter ss
Damon lf
Teixeira 1b
Rodriguez 3b
Cano 2b
Swisher rf
Matsui dh
Cabrera cf
Cervelli c

One note from Joe Girardi's pre-game press conference was the status of Jose Molina. Molina is scheduled to start tonight for Scranton and Girardi said it is possible, should his rehab appearances go well through the weekend, Molina could rejoin the Yankees in Minnesota.

Not surprisingly, it's raining and to the right is what the Stadium infield currently looks like, though as I'm writing this at 3:15, the rain is starting to subside and the sun seems to be cracking through the clouds.

Meanwhile, this announcement from YES: during Saturday's pre-game show, which starts at 12:30 p.m., the network will air a story commemorating the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man" speech. Toward the end of the piece, YES will show various members of the organization reciting Gehrig’s speech. Among those: Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Brian Cashman, Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon.

As part of MLB's campaign to raise awareness for ALS, Gehrig’s words will be read at all MLB stadiums on Saturday.

Back with the lineups shortly.

Primary stories from tonight?

Alex Rodriguez still swinging a hot bat, Andy Pettitte with his best home performance of the season and the bullpen pitching perfect eighth and ninth innings. All that and, of course, the Yankees improving to a season-best 13 games over .500 with their seventh straight victory.

“We’ve been playing well,” Pettitte said. “I know we feel very confident. We’ve been throwing the ball as a staff pretty good and we have a great offense. Again, right now, it’s everything. The bullpen’s doing great holding games for us, so there’s no complaints right now, that’s for sure.”

Pettitte, in improving to 8-3 and lowering his ERA to 4.25 from 4.38, allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings, his best performance of the season at home, where he came in with a 5.77 ERA in 2009 compared with 2.79 on the road. He struck out five and walked one.

“You want to pitch well in your own ballpark,” Pettitte said. “It was nice to get it going and I felt comfortable early and fortunately I was able to get a win. It was a good win for us.”

Rodriguez, as the DH, went 2-for-4, making him 10-for-23 with four home runs and 13 RBI in his last seven games. Rodriguez said the rest he received at the start of the Marlins series has unquestionably helped.

“There’s no question I feel more energetic,” Rodriguez said. “The swing only comes if there’s fuel in the tank and I feel like right now my body’s reacting really well.”

Girardi said before the game that Rodriguez might get another DH day this homestand and he is likely will sit outright in one of the games in Minnesota because of the Metrodome’s firm playing surface.

The Yankees are staying cautious with Rodriguez’s hip, though he doesn’t want it to become an excuse for any future poor performances.

“I think it’s important to note that I am feeling better, but if in the middle of August I go 2-for-18, that doesn’t necessarily mean that my hip is at fault,” Rodriguez said. “It’s that I suck for those two weeks. Baseball’s a hard game, but right now I’m seeing the ball pretty well.”

Pettitte on Rodriguez's recent stretch: “It’s huge. Obviously when he starts swinging the bat the way he is right now, you see what kind of damage he can do and you see the kind of runs that our offense will put up on the board. It just makes it tough because you know Tex is going to swing the bat well and when you have both of those guys going and the top of our lineup…our offense is clicking right now. Hopefully we’re able to keep it going.”

As for tonight’s bridge – Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke – to Mariano Rivera, and the bullpen overall, Pettitte said he’s had confidence in the group all season.

“I felt like we had some good arms out there and guys have just sort of settled right in,” Pettitte said. “Guys have stepped up big time who weren’t here at first and it makes everything so much better for Joe to be able to have so many different choices to go to. Everybody’s just throwing the ball great right now.”

Phil Coke on his strategy when he came in to face Ichiro Suzuki, who hit over .400 last month, with one out in the eighth:

“Hope he hits it softly somewhere,” Coke said with a laugh.

Suzuki did, grounding out to Coke.

And with that, Arthur Staple fills in tomorrow night as CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.55) goes against Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79). Back Friday afternoon for the start of the Toronto series.

Good evening everyone! Adam Ronis here for the second straight day to take you through tonight's action.

The lineups
Mariners (39-37)
Suzuki (RF)
Branyan (1B)
Lopez (2B)
Griffey Jr. (DH)
Gutierrez (CF)
Balentien (LF)
Woodward (3B)
Johnson (C)
Cedeno (SS)

Yankees (44-32)
Jeter (SS)
Damon (LF)
Teixeira (1B)
Rodriguez (DH)
Posada (C)
Cano (2B)
Swisher (RF)
Cabrera (CF)
Ranson (3B)

On Jarrod Washburn: Washburn has pitched very well this season. The record of 4-5 doesn't show it, but records are misleading. He has thrown 89 1/3 innings and allowed 81 hits, walked 25 and struck out 60. He has a 3.22 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has just win in his last 10 appearances and it came in his last start. In 12 starts in his career against the Yankees, he is 5-5 a 2.56 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.

On Andy Pettitte: Pettitte has been very erratic. He is coming off a bad start in which he lasted just 3 2/3 innings against the Braves. He allowed seven hits, six runs -- three earned -- walked three and struck out four. He is 7-3 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. In 90 1/3 innings, he has allowed 103 hits, walked 36 and struck out 61.

AL East watch: The Red Sox scored four runs in the ninth inning to tie the score and added a run in the 11th inning to beat the Orioles this afternoon, 6-5. The Rays fell to the Blue Jays, 5-0. The Yankees enter this game three games behind the first-place Red Sox. The Yankees have won six straight.

News and notes: Eric Hinske is on the roster. Ramiro Pena was sent down to make room for Hinske...Alex Rodriguez homered last night for the third time in five games...The Yankees have scored 45 runs in the past six games...Melky Cabrera is 0-for-13 against Washburn. Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui are both 2-for-14 against Washburn...Ichiro has a 12-game hitting streak and hits in 53 of his past 56 games. He is hitting .387 in that span...Erik Bedard is schedule to come off the disabled list July 7.

Eric Hinske, after being delayed in Pittsburgh yesterday, made it to New York and is available tonight. Ramiro Pena was sent down.

Tonight's lineup:

Jeter ss
Damon lf
Teixeira 1b
A-Rod dh
Posada c
Cano 2b
Swisher rf
Cabrera cf
Ransom 3b

Joe Girardi after the game was peppered with questions about putting Brian Bruney in the game after Phil Hughes dispatched the Mariners rather easily in the seventh, needing all of nine pitches.

"Bruney's our eighth-inning guy," Girardi said. "We need to get Bruney going."

Bruney initially said he thought he threw the ball well, but relented.

"I have no excuses. I was not good tonight," Bruney said. "The guys came through and picked me up, though."

They did, with Hideki Matsui getting the three-run eighth inning started with a leadoff double. Melky Cabrera and Derek Jeter then delivered run-scoring hits in the inning. Of Cabrera's 29 RBI this season, 12 have either tied the game or put the Yankees ahead in the seventh inning or later (41 percent). [Thanks to Yankees PR for the stat].

"Bruney's been pitching well for us," said Jeter, whose two-run single made it 8-5. "At times we're going to have to pick him up."

Bruney's stats overall this season: 3-0 -- tonight's win, obviously, would fall in the fortunate category -- with a 3.95 ERA.

As for Joba Chamberlain, he was ok, lasting 5 1/3 innings and allowing nine hits and three runs. He struck out four and walked three. His ERA is 3.89.

"Too many long counts," Girardi said of Chamberlain, who threw 96 pitches (55 strikes).

But Girardi was quick to point out that the Yankees are 10-5 in games Chamberlain has started this season.

"There's going to be days where you don't have your greatest stuff and you have to go out and just compete," Chamberlain said. "At the end of the day, you have to be able to keep your team in the game, good or bad, whether you've got your great stuff or you don't."

Regardless, that makes it six straight wins, the bottom line of the night.

Back tomorrow night as Andy Pettitte (7-3, 4.38) takes on Jarrod Washburn (4-5, 3.22).

Good evening as once again rain hovers over the New York area. Adam Ronis to entertain you through tonight's game and hopefully this rain slows down in July. We can't blame Seattle for bringing the rain because it has rained almost every day in June.

The lineups
Mariners (39-36)
Suzuki RF
Branyan 1B
Lopez 2B
Griffey Jr. LF
Sweeney DH
Guiterrez CF
Woodward 3B
Johijma C
Cedeno SS

Yankees (43-32)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF

On Brandon Morrow: Just like Joba, Morrow has been shuffled between the bullpen and starting rotation. Morrow was supposed to be a starter in the spring and then was named the closer. He was bothered by injuries and didn't perform well. Then he became a starter a few weeks ago. He was supposed to go to Triple-A for a few starts, but because of injuries, he has made the transition to a starter in the majors. Morrow made his first start on June 13 and this will be his fourth start of the season. The last start was the first one he went five innings. He allowed six hits, three runs, walked one and struck out four against the Padres in a no-decision. Overall, he is 0-3 with a 5.64 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. In 30 1/3 innings, he has allowed 34 hits, walked 20 and struck out 34. He has good stuff, but control has been his issue. Yankees fans may remember Morrow from last season. On Sept. 5, the first start of his career, he dominated the Yankees going 7 2/3 innings, allowing one hit, one run, three walks and struck out eight in a 3-1 win.

On Joba Chamberlain: Chamberlain still isn't pitching deep into games, but he has pitched at least six innings in his past two starts. He defeated the Braves in his last start by going 6 1/3 innings and allowing seven hits, three runs -- two earned -- walked none and struck out five. The key was no walks. He issued nine walked in the two starts prior and that elevates his pitch count and prevents him from going deep in games. In 14 starts, he is 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He has thrown 75 2/3 innings and allowed 70 hits, 37 walks and struck out 69.

Lets go streaking!: The Yankees have won five straight and are a season-high 11 games over .500. The Yankees went 9-6 against the National League. The Mariners have won 9 of their last 12.

News and notes: The Yankees acquired infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with cash considerations, for minor leaguers Casey Erickson, a righthander, and outfielder Eric Fryer...Adrian Beltre had shoulder surgery to remove bone spurs from his left shoulder and will miss 6-8 weeks...Erik Bedard is scheduled to come off the disabled list Saturday and start for the Mariners against the Red Sox...Russell Branyan has a nine-game hitting streak. Branyan has been a part-time player and at 33, he is playing everyday. He has four homers during the hitting streak. He is batting .303 with 19 homers, but just 38 RBIs...The Mariners are hitting .261 as a team with a .315 OBP... The Yankees have scored 415 runs, while the Mariners have scored just 291...The Mariners recalled outfielder Ryan Langerhans.

Glance at the standings: The Yankees are second in the AL East, 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox. The surging Rays are third, five games out of first...The Mariners are third in the AL West. They are 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Angels.

Jeter ss
Damon lf
Teixeira 1b
A-Rod 3b
Cano 2b
Posada c
Matsui dh
Swisher rf
Cabrera cf