Call Marla Gibbs, Yankees on "227"

With the recent death of Sherman Hemsley, Marla Gibbs is now 1 of only 2 surviving members of the main cast of The Jeffersons, along with Damon Evans, the 2nd actor to play Lionel Jefferson.

Mike Evans, the 1st one, who left the show to co-create and co-produce Good Times, whose youngest character, played by Ralph Carter, was named for himself, died in 2006. Interestingly enough, he married a woman named Helena Jefferson. Sadly, she also died from cancer, even before he did.

Gibbs later starred on a sitcom titled 227, named for the apartment building the show was set in, in Washington, D.C. That's not exactly "Movin' on up," but at least she didn't have to verbally joust with George Jefferson anymore.

Last night, the Yankees were on "227." They scored 2 runs in the 1st inning, 2 in the 2nd, and 7 in the 3rd, on the way to a 12-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles, salvaging the last game of a 3-game home series.

The Yankees teed off on Zach Britton (1-1). Curtis Granderson hit his 29th home run, giving him 60 RBIs as a Number 2 hitter on August 1. Robinson Cano hit his 24th, a grand slam, giving him 62 RBIs. Nick Swisher hit his 24th double, giving him 55 RBIs and raising his batting average to .263 after an atrocious start.

Casey McGehee made his Yankee debut, wearing Number 45 and playing 1st base in place of the injured Mark Teixeira, going 0-for-2, but hitting a sacrifice fly that drove home Cano with his 1st Yankee RBI, and drawing 2 walks and scoring each time on a Derek Jeter single.

Phil Hughes (11-8) pitched very well for 6 innings, then made way for the return of Joba Chamberlain. I'm sure a lot of people thought this was another example of NBC's awful tape-delay, but then, baseball is no longer an Olympic sport.

Joba was a bit rusty, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk over an inning and 2/3rds, but that he was able to pitch without pain after not appearing in a major league game for 14 months -- especially since we didn't expect to see him again until early next season -- is good enough. Clay Rapada and David Robertson each got 2 outs without allowing a hit, much less a run.

The Yankees are now 61-43, 6 1/2 games (7 in the loss column) ahead of the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. The Boston Red Sox are 8 1/2 back (9 in the loss column), and the Toronto Blue Jays are 10 back. The elimination numbers are 48 for the Jays, 49 for the Sox, and 51 for the Rays and O's.

The Yankees have today off, and the Seattle Mariners come into town for a 3-game series tomorrow.  Then it's off on a roadtrip, 4 games in Detroit, and 3 in Toronto.