Have the Yankees Saved the Season?

Before this series with the American League Eastern Division-leading Boston Red Sox, I said that the Yankees needed to take at least 3 out of 4 to stay alive in the Division race.

Mission accomplished. Next mission: Make sure said preceding mission was not in vain.

On Thursday night, CC Sabathia pitched like an ace. Perhaps even more important than that, he showed that the biggest part of his body isn't his gut, or his head, or his mouth, but his spine. Something the Yankees have shown precious little of against the Red Sox since October 17, 2004. And the Yankees got the runs they needed, beating The Scum 6-2. Things were looking up.

On Friday night, they seemed to come crashing down. Sonny Gray pitched decently, but the Yankees couldn't hit Doug Fister, and lost 4-1.

On Saturday afternoon, Masahiro Tanaka took the ball, and matters, into his hands, and pitched like an ace. And the Yankees gave him the runs he needed to beat Drew Pomeranz, winning 5-1.

And then, last night, Luis Severino pitched like an ace. And the Yankees hit 3 home runs off Boston's much-hyped free agent acquisition, Chris Sale: Chase Headley in the 3rd inning, and, in the 4th, the 1st back-to-back jacks Sale had given up all season, to Matt Holliday and Todd Frazier. Sale didn't get out of the 5th inning. Aaron Judge finally broke his home run drought, unleashing the boomstick for his 38th dinger of the season. Yankees 9, Red Sox 2.

So long, Scum. This is the last time we'll be meeting in the regular season, although a Playoff matchup is possible.

*

So here's where things stand, with 21 of the Major League Baseball regular season's 25 weeks in the books:

* The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games in the AL East, 3 in the loss column. My guideline is that if you have more weeks left than games behind, you have a chance; if you have more games behind than weeks left, forget it. The Yankees are still under the threshold.

* The Yankees still stand to be the home team in the AL Wild Card Game. As usual, I don't trust Joe Girardi to manage a win-or-go-home game, hence the importance of winning the Division: At the absolute worst, the Yankees would not have the home field advantage in the AL Division Series, but they would still have a margin for error, as it's a best-3-out-of-5.

* If the current MLB standings hold to the end of the season, the Playoff matchups would be as follows, with the team having home field advantage listed first: Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins, winner facing Houston Astros; Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox; Arizona Diamondbacks (who have won 10 straight) vs. Colorado Rockies, winner facing Los Angeles Dodgers; Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs.

* The Mets are 14 games out of the National League Wild Card, and David Wright is ending his rehab assignment and going into surgery again. His career may be over. The Curse of Kevin Mitchell strikes again.

* The Yankees have 26 games remaining. In order:

* Starting with today's Labor Day matinee, 3 away to the Baltimore Orioles. And the Baltimore Bandbox might be just what the doctor ordered for our sluggers.

* After a day off on Thursday, 3 in Arlington against the Texas Rangers.

* 3 in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Bay Rays.

* 4 at home to the Orioles.

* 3 at home to the Minnesota Twins.

* After a day off, 3 away to the Toronto Blue Jays.

* Home for a rainout makeup against the Kansas City Royals, the game that forced New York City FC to move a "home" game to East Hartford, Connecticut. (After all their fans' snipes about being the true "New York" team because the New York Red Bulls play home games in New Jersey, they will never live that down.)

* 3 at home to the Rays.

* And closing with 3 at home to the Jays.

Having those last 7 games at home may well help, although the Red Sox, with 25 games left, will also have their last 7 at home, but their last 4 will be against the Playoff-bound Astros, who just bolstered their starting rotation with the addition of Justin Verlander, whom Brian Cashman wasn't willing to go after.

So the Yankees have 14 home games, and 12 away games. If they split the away games, 6-6; and, in the home games, take 3 out of 4 vs. the O's; 2 out of 3 vs. the Twins, Rays and Jays; and the 1 vs. the Royals... 16-10 the rest of the way, hardly an unreasonable proposition...

That would give the Yankees 89 wins. That would mean that, for the Yankees to win the Division, the Red Sox would have to go 11-14, .440, the rest of the way. And, with no games left against the Sox, the Yankees have no control over that.

Then again, the Sox' last 4 games are against the Astros. If the Astros take 3 out of 4, then the Sox would have to go 10-11 otherwise. That's certainly possible.

Have the Yankees saved the season with their 3-of-4 performance against The Scum? Stay tuned.

Here's the projected starting pitchers for the Baltimore series:

* Today, 2:05 PM: Jordan Montgomery vs. Dylan Bundy.

* Tomorrow, 7:05: Sabathia vs. Jeremy Hellickson.

* Wednesday, 7:05: Gray vs. Kevin Gausman.

Come on you Bombers!

Mo Mentum Swings Back to Red Sox

Maurice "Mo" Mentum is that most enigmatic of athletes, jumping from one team to another without warning.

Less than 24 hours after the biggest win of the season, the Yankees had the most depressing defeat. This time, there would be no come-from-behind against the Red Sox.

Gary Sanchez got the game going the right way, hitting a 2-run home run in the 1st inning, his 19th dinger of the season. In all the fuss over Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier, El Gary is putting together a good season.

The Yankees took that 2-0 lead into the top of the 3rd inning. Luis Severino ended up having the inning that may turn out to have sunk our season. With 1 out, he walked the Sox' Number 8 hitter, Christian Vazquez, and then their Number 9 hitter, Jackie Bradley Jr.

Then former Yankee Eduardo Nunez grounded to 3rd. Todd Frazier should have been able to turn it into an inning-ending double play. But he bobbled it, his 1st error in 22 games as a Yankee. The bases were loaded.

Mookie Betts singled home Vazquez and Bradley. And Andrew Benintendi hit a home run to make it 5-2 Boston.

Benintendi hit another home run in the 5th. Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury hit home runs in the 9th inning, their 7th and 5th of the season, respectively, but it was too little, too late. Red Sox 10, Yankees 5. WP: Drew Pomeranz (12-4). No save. LP: Severino (9-5). The Yankees fell to 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox, with 47 to play.

The series concludes tonight. Chris Sale, the much-hyped, and rightly-so as it has turned out, Boston acquisition of the 2016-17 off-season, but unable to help the Red Sox win either of his 2 starts against the Yankees in 2017 thus far, starts for them tonight.

For the Yankees, Jordan Montgomery starts, despite a scary moment yesterday: While signing autographs as the Red Sox took batting practice, he was hit in the head by a ball. As it turns out, he was fine, with no concussion, and no injury beyond a cut on his ear.

It should be noted that August 13 is not a good day for the Yankees. It is the anniversary of the deaths of both Mickey Mantle (1995) and Phil Rizzuto (2007).

Yankees Get Just Enough Scoring (and Defense) to Beat Indians

The Yankees went into last night's game against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on a 4-game losing streak. Things were looking grim. They were so grim...

"How grim were they?"

They were so grim, we were asking Jordan Montgomery to pitch well enough to not have to use the bullpen. That's how grim they were.

The Yankees did give him a lead right off the bat, literally. Brett Gardner led off the game with a walk. Aaron Judge singled. And Didi Gregorius missed hitting a home run buy a foot, settling for a double off the wall, which scored Gardner.

Joe Girardi only let Montgomery pitch 5 innings, throwing just 65 pitches -- an average of 13 pitches per inning. At that rate, he could have made it to the 7th, and still have gotten under Girardi's usual "Oh my God, he's thrown so many pitches his arm might fall off!" threshold of 95. But in those 5 innings, he allowed only 1 run on 3 hits and no walks. He struck out 7. The only run he allowed was a solo home run by Carlos Santana (no, not the guitarist) in the 2nd inning. David Robertson pitched the 6th and 7th Innings, and Dellin Betances pitched the 8th, in each case without any further damage.

In the top of the 8th, inning Chase Headley hit a home run, his 6th of the season, to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Girardi sent Aroldis Chapman out to pitch the bottom of the 9th and close it out. Just 9 months ago, Chapman pitched there in Game 7 of the World Series, and nearly blew it for the Cubs against the Indians. Now, he nearly blew it for the Yankees against the Indians.

Michael Brantley led off with a single, bringing the winning run to the plate. But Chapman dug in, battled, and got Jose Ramirez to fly to left (with Gardner making a diving catch), got Edwin Encarnacion to pop up to 2nd (with Ronald Torreyes making a great play), and struck Santana out looking for the final out.

Whew. Yankees 2, Indians 1. WP: Robertson (5-2). SV: Chapman (14). LP: Zach McAllister (1-1).

The series concludes this afternoon. Luis Severino starts for the Yankees, and Carlos Carrasco for the Indians.

Sonny's Day Was a Gray Day

Last night, Sonny Douglas Gray -- yes, "Sonny" is the name he was born with -- made his Yankee debut, taking the mound at Progressive Field in Cleveland, wearing Number 55.

#YankeesTwitter used the "Sonny Day" theme. It turned into a Gray Day instead.

First, Bradley Zimmer led off the game for the Cleveland Indians, and reached on an error by Chase Headley, who, for reasons known only to Joe Girardi, was playing 1st base. Francisco Lindor grounded to 2nd, but that got Zimmer to 2nd. Then Michael Brantley hit a grounder to Tyler Wade, who, for reasons known only to Girardi, was playing 2nd base. Another error.

Then Jose Ramirez singled to right field, scoring Zimmer. Brantley made it to 3rd. Clint Frazier fielded the ball in right field, and then Can't Miss Clint missed 3rd base with his throw, allowing Brantley to score.

Sonny Gray had faced 4 batters, and had gotten only 1 out, and the runner had advanced on the play anyway. He was down 2-0 before he even got a 2nd out, and none of it was his fault.

I was reminded of another Sonny, Santino Corleone, the heir to the organized crime empire in The Godfather, played by James Caan, who got whacked in his car with a baseball game on the radio. His father, Don Vito, played by Marlon Brando, sees his bullet-riddled son in the funeral parlor, and says, "Look how they massacred my boy!"

Except, in The Godfather, while there were traitors in the Corleone family's midst, it wasn't their own people who rubbed Sonny out. In this game, while having the best of intentions, it was the Yankee fielders who doomed Sonny Gray.

Gray settled down, and cruised into the 6th, then allowed 2 more runs, and the game was essentially over. Chasen Shreve pitched the 7th and the 8th, allowing another run, but it was pointless.

It was pointless because Corey Kluber pitched a complete game for the Indians. Because his manager is Terry Francona, who trusts his starting pitchers, not Joe Girardi, who trusts his damn binder.

In spite of his error, Can't Miss Clint got a hit, a double. Gary Sanchez and Ronald Torreyes each hit singles. And Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk. That was all that the Yankees got: 4 baserunners.

Indians 5, Yankees 1. WP: Kluber (9-3). No save. LP: Gray (6-6).

The Yankees are now 2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division, 1 game behind them in the loss column.

The series continues tonight. Hopefully, Jaime Garcia's Yankee debut won't be ruined by bad fielding as Gray's was. He starts tonight, and Trevor Bauer goes for the Indians.

Headley Chases Tigers

The Yankees closed out July by opening a home series with the Detroit Tigers, and the news of the Sonny Gray trade. Gray, who wore Number 54 in Oakland, worn here by Aroldis Chapman, has been given 55. Jaime Garcia, who wore 54 in Atlanta and 24 in his brief stint with Minnesota, has yet to be assigned a number.

Luis Severino was the starting pitcher, and he struggled, but he won his struggle. When Joe Girardi pulled him after 5 innings -- and 116 pitches -- he'd given up 4 hits and 3 walks, but only 1 run.

The game was scoreless going into the 4th inning, but the Tigers took a 1-0 lead. It didn't last long: Aaron Judge led off the bottom of the 4th with a walk, Gary Sanchez reached on an error, and Matt Holliday drew a walk to load the bases. Cliche alert: Walks and errors can both kill you -- or, in the Yankees' case, save you.

Chase Headley nearly hit one out, settling for a double that scored Judge and Sanchez and got Holliday to 3rd. Todd Frazier singled home Holliday and Headley, and that was pretty much all the Yankees needed.

Judge added a home run in the 5th inning, his 34th of the season. The Yankees got 2 more runs in the 7th, and while the Tigers talled in the 6th and the 9th, the Yankee bullpen was up to the task. Yankees 7, Tigers 3. WP: Severino (8-4). SV: Chapman (13). LP: Michael Fulmer (10-9).

The Boston Red Sox also won, so the Yankees remain a half-game in front. The Magic Number to win the AL East is 56.

The series continues tonight. CC Sabathia starts against Anibal Sanchez. Then a matinee tomorrow, with Masahiro Tanaka starting against Jordan Zimmerman.

Another Gardner Walkoff Keeps Yanks in 1st

The Yankees head toward the trading deadline, and into the heart of the season, on fire, with wins galore, some of the walkoff variety.

This is in spite of the starting pitching difficulties that forced Joe Girardi to go the musical chairs route on the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. He gave rookie Caleb Smith his 2nd major league start, and allowed him to go only 3 1/3rd innings, 71 pitches. He was shaky: 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks.

Then it was Adam Warren to pitch the rest of the 4th inning and all of the 5th, Dellin Betances the 6th, Tommy Kahnle the 7th, David Robertson the 8th, and Aroldis Chapman the 9th.

Gary Sanchez hit his 16th home run of the season in the 4th, and Chase Headley hit his 5th of the year in the 6th. It was 4-3 Yankees in the 8th, but David Robertson did the one thing we most needed him to do: Not pitch like Tyler Clippard. He allowed a game-tying home run.

For the 2nd straight game, Lucas Duda, whom the Rays acquired from the Mets, hit a home run in the 8th inning. It didn't matter the day before, because the Yankees had a big lead. This time, the game was tied.

And tied it remained into the bottom of the 9th. Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in Brad Boxberger, and he had a meltdown. Cliche alert: Walks can kill you. He issued a leadoff walk to Headley. Girardi sent the speedy Jacoby Ellsbury in to pinch-run for the slow-as-molasses Headley. Ellsbury did what we needed: He stole 2nd. This turned out not to be necessary, as Todd Frazier was hit with a pitch. Then Ronald Torreyes bunted to move the runners over, and beat the throw at 1st base, and now the bases were loaded with nobody out.

Cash had seen enough of Boxberger, and brought in Dan Jennings to evit the apparently inevitable. But, as he was on Thursday night, the walkoff hero was Brett Gardner. No home run this time, just a single to center field, but that was enough to bring Ellsbury home. Yankees 5, Rays 4. WP: Chapman (4-1). No save. LP: Boxberger (2-3).

The Boston Red Sox won last night, so the Yankees remain a half-game up on them in the American League East.

The series concludes this afternoon. Jordan Montgomery starts for us, Jacob Faria for them. Then, the Detroit Tigers come into Yankee Stadium.

Tomorrow is the trading deadline. Rumors about bringing in pitcher Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics are all over the place. At this point, I'm less concerned about what he can do for us than I am about what we'll have to give up. Because, as you know, I don't trust Brian Cashman any further than I can throw him.

Cliche Alert: And with my bad knee, Ed, I shouldn't be throwing anybody.

Tanaka Backed By Runs, Yanks Beat Pesky Blue Jays

The Yankees reached the halfway point of the season, Game 81, in the opener of a 3-game home series with those pesky Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium II last night. And they got off to a good start. With 1 out in the bottom of the 1st inning, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez singled, and Didi Gregorius walked to load the bases.

Jays starter Marcus Stroman was rattled, and he hit Chase Headley with a pitch, to force home a run. Then he walked Jacoby Ellsbury, to force home another run, before ending the threat by getting Ronald Torreyes to ground into a double play. Still, 2-0 Yankees.

Masahiro Tanaka seems to have gotten straightened out. He was fantastic, going 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk, with 8 strikeouts. Most surprising: Joe Girardi allowed him to throw 111 pitches. Dellin Betances pitched the 8th, allowing a walk but no hits, and stranding the runner.

The Yankees got insurance runs in the 8th. Judge singled, Sanchez doubled, and Gregorius walked to load the bases with nobody out. Headley doubled home Judge and Sanchez. Ellsbury struck out, but Torreyes got Gregorius and Headley home. 6-1 Yankees.

Then Aroldis Chapman decided to launch a few fireworks a night early. He was very shaky in the 9th inning, turning a non-save situation into a situation that was too close for comfort. He did finish it off, though. Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3. WP: Tanaka (7-7). No save. LP: Stroman (8-5).

The Boston Red Sox won, so the Yankees remain 3 games out of 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, 2 in the loss column.

The series continues this afternoon in a holiday matinee -- not a holiday doubleheader as in days of yore. CC Sabathia starts for America's team, J.A. Happ starts for Canada's team. U! S! A!

Sabathia's Injury More Worrying That Girardi's Latest Idiocy

The Yankees went into last night's game with the Los Angeles... aw, screw it. In Anaheim with a 6-game winning streak.

But you win games with good pitching and good hitting. The former, we got. The latter, not so much.

CC Sabathia started, and after 4 innings, had allowed 1 run (unearned) on 3 hits and a walk, with 4 strikeouts. So far, very good.

Then CC left the game. A painful hamstring. Oh no.

He'd pitched to a 0.99 ERA in his last 6 starts, including this one. If he's unavailable, especially long-term, that's a serious problem in the bid for Title 28. We already need 1 starting pitcher, since we can't be sure that Masahiro Tanaka is straightened out. We don't need to need another.

Joe Girardi gave the ball to Yeovany Gallegos. Yankee Fans everywhere said, "I can't look... " but he was fine, allowing just 1 baserunner in 2 innings. Adam Warren: Same, but he pitched a scoreless 7th inning.

A Brett Gardner single in the 5th brought home a run, and Chase Headley hit a home run in the top of the 7th, his 4th homer of the year. Going to the bottom of the 8th, it was 2-1 Yankees.

Unfortunately, instead of using his brain, Girardi used his binder, and brought Tyler Clippard in to pitch the bottom of the 8th. The 1st batter was Eric Young Jr. of Piscataway, son of Eric Young Sr. of New Brunswick. Each was one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Middlesex County, New Jersey. Eric Jr. hit a home run to tie the game. Nice move, Girardi.

Headley got to 2nd base in the 9th, but was stranded. Girardi burned another pitcher by bringing in Jonathan Holder, but he got through it, and the game went to extra innings. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 10th. Girardi burned another pitcher by bringing in Chasen Shreve. He barely got out of a jam.

Then came the top of the 11th. With 1 out, Gary Sanchez drew a walk. This is where we should have had the cliche alert that walks can kill you. Didi Gregorius doubled to deep right. Sanchez should have scored, but he couldn't. It was 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.

Headley was intentionally walked, so that the Angels could face Chris Carter. Chris Carter, who led the National League with 41 home runs last season. Chris Carter, who is batting .207 in the American League this season, on-base percentage .298.

He led the NL in homers last season. This season, Chase Headley is being intentionally walked to face him. Chase. Headley.

Carter could have made Angels manager Mike Scioscia look very foolish. All he had to do was get the ball out of the infield. A decent fly out would have gotten Ronald Torreyes home.

Oh yeah: Girardi was the manager who looked very foolish, because he didn't put Torreyes in as a pinch-runner for Sanchez until Carter came up. Why didn't he do that after Sanchez' walk? It would probably have won the game.

Carter popped up. So did Gardner. End of threat. Bottom of the 11th, Shreve proved that, yes, walks can kill you, especially leadoff walks. Walk, flyout, stolen base, groundout moves runner to 3rd, walk, and Young hurt the Yankees again with a grounder to short, and Gregorius had no play anywhere.

Angels 3, Yankees 2. WP: Kenyan Middleton (2-0). No save. LP: Shreve (1-1), although the loss should be charged to Girardi -- at the very least, to Clippard.

Losing CC is quite a worry. The Yankees have until his next scheduled start, on Sunday, to decide whether to put him on the Disabled List (retroactive to today). He says he feels better today. We'll see, but we may not want to see.

Sunday is also when Aroldis Chapman could come off the DL. He pitched a simulated game in Tampa yesterday, and was fine. Not that he would have made much of a difference last night, as Girardi would have either not pitched him at all (the "You don't pitch Mariano in a tie game" rule, which is in no book, except maybe the damn binder), or pitched him for 1 inning and then put out Shreve or some other lesser pitcher.

The series concludes tonight. Michael Pineda starts against Matt Shoemaker. Then, the Yankees go up the Coast to Oakland.

Loss to Sox Gives Yankees Big Decisions to Make

Last night, the Yankees began a 3-game home series against the Boston Red Sox. If you're going to have a bad game, against The Scum at Yankee Stadium is not the game in which to have it.

But it looks like Masahiro Tanaka doesn't have it at all anymore. Like Matt Harvey of the Mets, he was once, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball, let alone in New York, but now can't win to save his life.

He pitched 5 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, 3 of them home runs, although he did walk only 1 batter. His ERA for this season is now 6.55. It's not that he has no control, he's just getting hit hard.

The bullpen did its job: Between them, Tommy Layne, Chad Green (most of it, 3 1/3rd innings) and Chasen Shreve pitched 4 shutout innings, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk. But the Yankee bats couldn't quite back him up.

At the top of the order, Brett Gardner and Gary Sanchez went 0-for-9 between them, although Gardner did draw a walk. After a great run late last season, Sanchez is now batting .248. Chase Headley went 0-for-3 with a walk, dropping his batting average to .225 and his on-base percentage to .300.

Chris Carter hit a home run in the 5th, his 5th of the season. But he's another guy who's really dropped off: He hit 41 home runs for the Milwaukee Brewers last season, to lead the National League; but, in the American League this season, he's batting .183 with a .278 on-base percentage.

Don't ever again tell me the NL is the better League: The AL is a lot harder.

Carter's home run was a grand slam, but it provided all the Yankee runs last night. The Yankees stranded a man on 1st with 2 out in the 1st inning and again in the 3rd, a man on 1st with 1 out in the 2nd and again in the 4th, a man on 2nd with 2 out in the 5th and again in the 7th, a man on 3rd with 1 out and 1st & 3rd with 2 out in the 8th, and blew men on 1st & 2nd with nobody out with a double play in the 6th. And, needing 1 run to send the game to extra innings, they went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th.

Final score: Red Sox 5, Yankees 4. WP: Drew Pomeranz (6-3). SV: Craig Kimbrel (17). LP: Tanaka (5-6).

With Chance Adams pitching very well at Triple-A Scranton, much-hyped prospect Gleyber Torres getting off to a good start while playing 3rd base there, and Greg Bird now there as he works he way through injury rehab, the Yankees have decisions to make soon. Adams to replace Tanaka in the rotation, at least for a while? Torres to replace Headley? Bird to replace Carter?

Meanwhile, we have 2 more games with The Scum this week. Tonight, CC Sabathia starts against Rick Porcello. I saw a stat a few minutes ago that says that CC is 5-0 this season after a Yankee loss. That's starting to sound like 1978 Ron Guidry. Except that CC weighs twice as much as Guidry: 320 as opposed to 160.

Then again, he pitches better when he eats well, so let the big dog eat, and let's get some runs! Beat The Scum!

Here Come Da Judge, There Go Da Ball

The Yankees' 8-game winning streak was broken by the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, they made the Pale Hose pay for that.

The Yankees jumped out early. Brett Gardner opened the home half of the game with a double, and reached 3rd base on an error. That may have shaken ChiSox starter Dylan Covey, because he gave up a 423-foot home run to center field. To Chase Headley.

That's Headley's 3rd home run in the season's 1st 15 games. He's on a 30-homer pace now. He was awful last year. He has come back so strong, I'm tempted to see if we can get a similar comeback from Stephen Drew.

(Uncle Mike ducks to avoid thrown objects.)

The 2nd inning resulted in more scoring. Aaron Judge led off with a single, Greg Bird hit a double, Austin Romine singled home Judge, and a Ronald Torreyes groundout brought Bird home. 4-0 Yankees.

The White Sox got a run off Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the 5th, but that was his only bad inning. The Yankees immediately struck back. Covey got the 1st 2 outs in the inning, but Matt Holliday and Jacoby Ellsbury both singled to center. Then came back-to-back home runs to left: Starlin Castro going 405 feet (his 3rd homer of the season), and Judge with an absolute blast, 451 feet (his 5th). Here come da Judge, there go da ball. Aaron Hicks added a short-porcher in the 8th (his 4th).

Bryan Mitchell pitched a perfect 8th, and got the 1st out in the 9th, before Joe Girardi needlessly brought in another pitcher to get the last 2 outs. Tommy Layne did get those outs. Yankees 9, White Sox 1. WP: Tanaka (2-1). No save. LP: Covey (0-1).

The Yankees are 10-5, after starting out 1-4. They went from a pace for 130 losses to a pace for 108 wins. Maybe this really is 1998 all over again.

The season is less than 1/10th old, but I have to say I like the way things are shaping up. The American League Eastern Division is currently tight: The Baltimore Orioles are 10-4, with the best record in the major leagues. The Yankees are 10-5, and the Boston Red Sox are 10-6. All 3 are officially within 1 game. The Tampa Bay Rays are 9-8, just 2 1/2 back. And the Toronto Blue Jays, well, they're as bad as the Yankees looked the 1st week, 3-12, easily the worst record in the major leagues.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a roadtrip with a 3-game weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The Buccos come in at 6-9. Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 7:05: CC Sabathia vs. Tyler Glasnow.

* Tomorrow, 4:05: Michael Pineda vs. Jameson Tallion.

* Sunday, 1:35: Jordan Montgomery vs. former Yankee Ivan Nova.

The Yankees will be off Monday, and then, on Tuesday night, begin a 3-game series against the Boston Red Scum at Scumway Park in Scumtown.

Come on you Bombers! (Can't call 'em "you Pinstripes," because they're on the road.)

Yanks Hold Off Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals fans like to talk about being "the best baseball fans in America," and their city being "the best baseball town in America."

Per capita, that may be true, as St. Louis is a lot smaller than New York. But, as Yankee Fan George Costanza (Jason Alexander on Seinfeld) would say, "Don't insult me, my friend. Remember who you're talking to."

The Cards came into Yankee Stadium for a weekend Interleague series. By a quirk of the scheduling, every other MLB team (all 28 potential opponents besides St. Louis) had been to The Bronx since their last visit. It was 2003, and it included the game in which Roger Clemens won his 300th game and notched his 4,000th strikeout.

Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees, and still hasn't fully shaken off the wear of the World Baseball Classic where he pitched for Japan. But he was better, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. Included in that was a 1st inning home run to Matt Carpenter.

But Starlin Castro countered in the bottom of the 1st, with a homer, his 2nd of the season, off Cardinal starter Michael Wacha, driving Brett Gardner home ahead of him, and making it 2-2. Austin Romine added his 1st home run of the season in the 2nd. A Chase Headley double in the 5th made it 4-2 Yankees.

Tyler Clippard got Tanaka and the Yankees out of a jam in the 7th, leaving the score at 4-3, and Dellin Betances struck out the side in the 8th. The 9th seemed to be going smoothly as well, as Aroldis Chapman got the 1st 2 outs. Then he issued a walk to Randal Grichuk, and then a double to Jose Martinez. Luckily, Grichuk could only get to 3rd base, but suddenly a single could well have given the Cards the lead.

Fortunately, Chapman got Dexter Fowler to ground to 2nd to end it. Whew. Yankees 4, Cardinals 3. WP: Tanaka (1-1). SV: Chapman (3). LP: Wacha (1-1).

That's 5 straight wins, after starting the season 1-4. If you had told me on Opening Day that the Yankees would start the season 6-4, I would have taken that, given the bad starts that have plagued us pretty much every season since 2007.

The series continues this afternoon. CC Sabathia starts against Carlos Martinez.

*

If the Rangers lose this series to the Montreal Canadiens, they will have lost it last night, when they choked away a 3rd period lead in Montreal, and lost in overtime.

Red Bulls vs. DC United. Come on you Boys In White!

Pineda Nearly Perfect as Yanks Win Home Opener!

This afternoon, the Yankees played their home opener at Yankee Stadium, against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was perfect baseball weather. In fact, it was unseasonably warm for April 10. Monument Park honorees Willie Randolph, Joe Torre and Tino Martinez shared the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first balls, and we were underway in The Bronx.

Michael Pineda took the hill for the Pinstripes, and Big Mike (not to be confused with yours truly, Uncle Mike) did some serious dealing. He had a perfect game going through the 1st 6 innings, and that "no-hitter buzz" began going around.

But you gotta back your pitcher up with runs. The Yankees stranded 2 runners in the 1st inning, and blew a leadoff walk with a double play in the 2nd, before tallying in the 3rd. With 1 out, Rays starter Alex Cobb thought he had struck Brett Gardner out, but strike 3 was a wild pitch that got away from catcher Derek Norris, and the speedy Gardner was safe at 1st base. Jacoby Ellsbury was up next, and he nearly hit one out, settling for a double that scored Gardner. Aaron Judge added a home run in the 4th, his 2nd of the season, to make it 2-0 Yankees in the 6th.

Pineda finally cracked with 2 out in the 7th, allowing a double to Evan Longoria. Since it was still only 2-0 Yankees, now there was the concern that the Yankees might blow the lead. But Pineda struck Brad Miller out to end the threat. Chase Headley led off the bottom of the 7th with a home run, his 2nd, making it 3-0.

Joe Girardi led Pineda start the 8th. With 1 out, he gave up a home run to Logan Morrison. Girard probably should have taken him out there, instead of taking him out after he got another out. Pineda struck out 11, with no walks. Girardi brought Tyler Clippard in, and he finished off the 8th with the score at 3-1 Yankees.

It was hard to believe that Cobb outlasted Pineda. But Gardner again benefited from a fielding miscue, grounding to 2nd, and reaching on Miller's error. With Ellsbury up, he stole 2nd. Ellsbury lined out. With Matt Holliday up, Gardner stole 3rd. Holliday doubled him home.

After a pitching change, Chris Carter hit a triple, scoring Holliday. Starlin Castro hit a home run, his 1st, also scoring Carter. Headley and Judge singled. Austin Romine grounded to new pitcher Austin Pruitt, who tried to throw Headley out at 3rd, but couldn't. Ronald Torreyes grounded to 3rd, and Judge was out, but Headley scored.

With emergency catcher Kyle Higashioka coming in for his major league debut, to replace Romine, Chasen Shreve came in to relieve, and got the last 3 outs. Yankees 8, Rays 1. WP: Pineda (1-1). No save. LP: Cobb (1-1).

Mr. Sinatra, if you would, please: HIT IT!

The series takes a day off tomorrow, the usual failsafe for a home opener's rainout, and resumes on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 PM. Luis Severino starts for the Yankees, Blake Snell vs. the Rays.

Columbus Clippard and Girardi's Dumpster Fire Bullpen Management

Well, the Yankee bullpen's perfect record couldn't last a full 162 games, could it?

But did it have to end as a dumpster fire?

Luis Severino made his 1st start of the season, in the opener of a 3-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Going into the bottom of the 5th inning, the Yankees had staked (or should that be "stoke"?) him to a 5-1 lead. Matt Holliday singled home a run in the 1st inning, and home runs were crushed by Holliday in the 3rd and Gary Sanchez in the 5th. (For each, it was his 1st of the season.)

But Sevy fell apart in the bottom of the 5th, allowing a 3-run homer to Manny Machado, to make it 5-4 Yanks.

Jonathan Holder and Tommy Layne combined to pitch a perfect 6th. Memo to Joe Girardi: It does not take 2 men to get 3 outs. If the 1st reliever with whom you start an inning gets 2 outs without allowing a baserunner, you don't take him out. Relieving Severino after the 5th inning was understandable; relieving Holder after he'd faced 2 batters and gotten them both out was just plain stupid. Or, as any Yankee Fan knows, "typical of Girardi."

Naturally, Girardi burned another pitcher to start the 7th: Tyler Clippard. Here are Clippard's career stats for every team in the major leagues except the Yankees: 41-31, 2.84 ERA, 1.208 WHIP. Very good. And here are his career stats for the Yankees, counting last night: 5-5, 4.47 ERA, 1.417 WHIP.

Maybe we should call him "Columbus Clippard," because he gives the Yankees performances worthy of being sent back down to AAA ball, even though the Columbus Clippers haven't been the Yankees' AAA farm team since 2006.

The leadoff hitter was Jonathan Schoop, and Clippard got him to hit what looked like a harmless little grounder to 3rd base. But Chase Headley, one of the few Yankees to hit well in the opening series at Tampa Bay, had a mare, as they say in English soccer. (I'm presuming that's short for "nightmare," not "mare" as in "adult female horse," a variant of, "Don't have a cow.") Headley went 0-for-4, and capped it with a throwing error that allowed Schoop to go to 2nd.

Maybe Betty Everett was right that it's not in his arm, Schoop, Schoop.

J.J. Hardy bunted Schoop over to 3rd, so the tying run could score without a hit. But that didn't matter, because Clippard, who clearly works at an Italian restaurant in the off-season, served a nice juicy meatball up to Seth Smith, who hit a home run to make it Orioles 6, Yankees 5.

That would be the final score, thanks to the 1st 2 runs the Yankee bullpen allowed, after 33 1/3rd scoreless innings. WP: Donnie Hart (1-0). SV: Zach Britton (2). LP: Clippard (0-1).

The Yankees fall to 1-3, with the 1st game this season that Girardi's bullpen blundering has lost.

The worst part of Girardi still being the Yankee manager is that Don Rickles is no longer alive to call him, "You hockey puck!"

The series continues this afternoon, a 4:05 PM start. Masahiro Tanaka, who really needs to rebound from his Opening Day start, the worst start of his North American career so far, starts against Kevin Gausman, who usually pitches well against the Yankees.

If Tanaka doesn't go at least 7 innings, and Girardi has to play musical chairs with the bullpen again, this could be a football score.

Yankees and Carolina Recover, Ewing Hired

Torreyes is listed as being 5-foot-8 and 151 pounds.

Judge is listed as being 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds.

Yet it was Torreyes who hit the home run here.

After starting the season with a stinker in Tampa Bay, the Yankees needed to get off the deck and do what the Yankees, classically, do: Power hitting and power pitching.

They got both. In the top of the 3rd inning, Ronald Torreyes, filling in at shortstop because Didi Gregorius is expected to be out until May with an injury, hit the 1st Yankee home run of the new season, driving in Aaron Judge ahead of him. Later in the inning, Matt Holliday hit a 2-run double that made it 3-0 Yankees, and essentially ended the game. Chase Headley hit a solo home run in the 6th inning, and the Yankees added a run in the 8th.

As for the pitching: CC Sabathia, now 36 years old, took the hill, and the Big Fella was dealing, partying like it was 2009. He went 5 innings, allowed no runs on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2. He probably could have gone longer, but with a 5-run lead, testing him further wasn't necessary, and I can't hold it against Joe Girardi that he took him out after 5.

The rest of the bullpen was good. Bryan Mitchell pitched a perfect 6th inning, Tyler Clippard pitched a perfect 7th, Jonathan Holder and Dellin Betances ran into a little trouble in the 8th but worked out of it, and Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect 9th.

Yankees 5, Rays 0. WP: Sabathia (1-0). With a 5-run lead, there was no save opportunity. LP: Odorizzi (0-1).

The series concludes tomorrow night at 7:10 PM. Michael Pineda starts for the Bronx Bombers, and Alex Cobb goes for the Rays.

*

Elsewhere in sports, last night, the University of North Carolina beat Gonzaga University, 71-65, to win college basketball's National Championship at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

It was North Carolina's 6th NCAA Title, their 7th National Championship overall if you count pre-NCAA titles: 1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2017. They lost a heartbreaker to Villanova in last year's Final, but didn't fold this time.

Roy Williams has now won 3 of those titles, surpassing his mentor, Dean Smith. Carolina's rivals, Duke University, have won 5 NCAA titles, all under 1 coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

This win may not put Roy past Coach K, but it does put the Tar Heels past the Blue Devils by any measure.

Kennedy Meeks was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kennedy? Let the word go forth, from this time and place: He led the Tar Heels to the Moon. Meeks? He has inherited the Earth.

Meeks, holding the trophy

As for Gonzaga, the "mid-major" Catholic school from Spokane, Washington has long been a lot of people's "second school," but, having reached a National Final, no one can ever again call them a "plucky underdog." They are now, officially, a college basketball power.

The Bulldogs may not be up there with Carolina, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, UCLA, or Kansas. Or even Michigan State, Louisville or Florida. But now, they can be expected to make big tournament runs. They have proven that they belong.

Georgetown University has fired John Thompson III, son of their legendary coach, and hired the elder John Thompson's greatest player, giving him his 1st head coaching job after several years as an assistant in both college and pro ball: Patrick Ewing.

Patrick Ewing is perhaps the greatest underachiever in the history of American sports. All that talent at Georgetown in the 1980s, 3 National Finals, only 1 win. All that hype about him on the Knicks, and the question wasn't if he would lead them to an NBA title, it was how many. The answer: None. They got to as many NBA Finals with him injured and unable to play (1, in 1999) as they did with him (1, in 1994). True, he did win Olympic Gold Medals in 1984 and 1992. But that's not how success is measured in American hoops.

We shall see if he can get the Hoyas back to the top. John III got them to a Final, but only that 1 Final Four, and the last 2 seasons, he got them to a losing record. Can ol' Number 33 get it done? Stay tuned.

My Yankees Gave to Me

On the 12th day of Christmas, my Yankees gave to me...

12 Chase Headley
11 Brett Gardner
10 Phil Rizzuto
9 Roger Maris
8 Yogi Berra
7 Mickey Mantle
6 Joe Torre...

5... Joltin' Joe!

4 Iron Horse
3 Babe Ruth
2 Captain Clutch...

...and 1 little brat named Billy!

*

Days until The Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow morning at 10:00 (afternoon at 3:00, their time), "Boxing Day" in Britain, at home at the Emirates Stadium, in a Premier League match against Birmingham-area club West Bromwich Albion.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 20, on Saturday night, January 14, against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. By a quirk in the schedule, the New York Islanders, a team they usually play several times a season, don't show up on the slate until Saturday night, February 18, 2017, at the Prudential Center. The next game against the Rangers is on Saturday, February 25, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 35, on Sunday, January 29, 2017, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time (1:00 local), at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, a friendly against Serbia, designed to warm each team up for their respective continental World Cup Qualifiers. It will be the team's 1st match in the 2nd run as manager for Bruce Arena, now that Jurgen Klinsmann has finally been fired. We next play on Friday, March 24, 2017, home to Honduras, at a venue and time TBA, in a CONCACAF Qualifying Match for the 2018 World Cup.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 59, on February 22, 2017, in the 1st leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal, home to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The 2nd leg will be on March 2. The winner will face the winner of the Quarterfinal between 2 Mexican teams: Mexico City-based Pumas de la UNAM, and Monterrey-area team Tigres UANL.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown. We may not see the full 2017 MLS schedule for weeks, so we don't know when we'll next play New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution. The 1st MLS game of the season will be on Sunday, March 5, 2017, 70 days from now (10 weeks), away to expansion club Atlanta United (their 1st competitive match ever).

Days until the Yankees' 2017 season opener: 98, on Sunday, April 2, at 8:00 PM, away to the Tampa Bay Rays. A little over 3 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2017 home opener: 106, on Monday, April 10, at 1:00 PM, home to the Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 121, on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next North London Derby: 125, on Saturday, April 29, 2017, at White Hart Lane. A little over 4 months. It could be moved to the next day, Sunday, April 30, to accommodate the TV networks. It is also possible that Arsenal could face Tottenham again sooner than that, through an FA Cup pairing.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 251, on Saturday, September 2, 2017, home to the University of Washington. A little over 8 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, as the 2017 schedule hasn't been released yet. If history is any guide, it will be on Friday night, September 15, which would be 268 days from now. 

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 317, on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. A little over 10 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 321, on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 333, 11 months, on Thursday morning, November 23, 2017, at 10:00, and thank God it's at home at Jay Doyle's grove, rather than at the purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 536, on June 14, 2018. A little under a year and a half, or 18 months. Now that Klinsmann has been fired, our chances have improved, but did he already ruin them?

Days until the next Congressional election: 681, on November 6, 2018. Under 2 years, or a little over 22 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 757, on January 9, 2019. A little over 2 years, or 24 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 1,109, on January 8, 2020. A little over 3 years, or 36 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,307, on July 24, 2020. A little over 3 1/2 years, or just 43 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,440, on November 3, 2020. Under 4 years, or a little over 46 months.

Yanks' Momentum Screeches to a Halt

This past Saturday, the Yankees made it 7 straight wins, 4 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the American League Eastern Division lead, and tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the 2nd AL Wild Card slot.

Playing the last-place Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium II, they got another great performance from Masahiro Tanaka: 7 1/3rd innings, 1 run, 5 hits, no walks, 10 strikeouts. The game was scoreless until the 6th inning, when home runs by Jacoby Ellsbury (his 8th) and rookie phenom Gary Sanchez (his 13th), put 3 runs on the board.

Yankees 5, Rays 1. WP: Tanaka (13-4). No save. LP: Chris Archer (8-18, although he's pitched better than that for a bad team this year, and doesn't deserve to become a 20-game loser, as now seems likely).

*

But on Sunday, the Yankees' momentum came to a screeching halt. Luis Cessa started, and was shaky, not getting out of the 6th inning. Luis Severino, Tommy Layne and Blake Parker pitched 3 1/3rd scoreless innings out of the pen, but, aside from a Chase Headley home run (his 15th) in the 5th, the Yankees couldn't touch the Rays' 4 pitchers.

Rays 4, Yankees 2. WP: Matt Andariese (7-7). SV: Alex Colome (32). LP: Cessa (4-1).

*

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Dodgers came to town. Due to the Interleague Play schedule, this was the 1st time in 3 years that the Bronx Bombers had faced the former Brooklyn Bums. And their manager is no longer former Yankee "legend" Don Mattingly (who now manages the Miami Marlins), but Dave Roberts -- the man whose pinch-run stolen base turned the 2004 AL Championship Series around, and allowed the cheating Roid Sox to go on the postseason run of all time.

There were fans chanting, "Let's go, Dodgers!" at Yankee Stadium. I'll bet you any money you like, none of them were from Brooklyn. To paraphrase the line from The Sandlot, Heroes get remembered, but grudges never die!

(What, you thought I was gonna say, "Yer killin' me, Smalls"?)

The color is distorted, due to the picture

coming from a Dodger fan website.

Nevertheless, this abomination actually happened.

Bryan Mitchell, who had been so good in his last start, got pounded: He allowed 6 runs, although he was betrayed by his defense, as only 2 of those runs were earned; and didn't get out of the 3rd inning.

Starlin Castro (his 21st) and Aaron Judge (his 4th) hit solo home runs, but that was all that starter Jose De Leon gave up in 5 innings, and 4 relievers allowed only 3 baserunners the rest of the way.

Alex Rodriguez did nothing last night... Sorry, force of habit. Of course, he did nothing: He's retired.

Dodgers 8, Yankees 2. WP: De Leon (2-0). No save. LP: Mitchell (1-1).

*

So here's where we stand, going into tonight's action: The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 5 games for the Division, and the Orioles by 2 games for the 2nd Wild Card slot.

There are 19 games left:

* Tonight and tomorrow afternoon, at home against the Dodgers. CC Sabathia pitches against Julio Urias (at 20, the youngest player in the majors) tonight, and tomorrow at 4:05, Michael Pineda goes against Clayton Kershaw, who might be the best pitcher in baseball when healthy but is now coming off the Disabled List. Maybe we can get a split of those 2.

* Thursday through Saturday, away to the Red Sox. A repeat of the 1978 4-game series at Fenway Park known as the Boston Massacre may be too much to ask for, but if we take 3 out of 4 from The Scum, it will blow the AL East race wide open. From this series onward, starting pitchers have not yet been projected.

* The following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, away to the Rays. We should be able to take 2 out of those 3.

* The following Friday through Monday, away to the Toronto Blue Jays. If we could sweep them 3 straight in Toronto just a few days ago, 3 out of 4 in this series isn't too much to ask for.

* The following Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, home to the Sox. Should be able to take 2 out of 3.

* And the final series of the regular season, home to the Baltimore Orioles. Another 2 out of 3 is called for.

We can take 14 out of 18? If we can do that, winning the Division is still possible. Even if we only take 11 out of 18, the Playoffs should be possible.

Come on you Pinstripes! #ChaseFor28

Yanks Salvage Finale In Baltimore

The Yankees needed to take at least 2 out of 3 in their weekend series against the Orioles in Baltimore to stay in the American League Eastern Division race, and to strengthen their place in the Wild Card race.

It didn't happen.

The Friday night game was an outright disaster. Chad Green started, but was hurt, had nothing, and had to leave the game in the 2nd inning, having already allowed 4 runs. Nick Goody allowed 2 more before the inning was over, and Kirby Yates allowed 2 more.

But our starter could have been fine, and pitched very well, but it wouldn't have mattered. Here's what Oriole starter Dylan Bundy allowed in 5 2/3rds innings: A single (and a pickoff) and a walk by Brett Gardner, a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, a walk by Mark Teixeira, a walk by Chase Headley, and a walk by Gary Sanchez. Here's what relievers Donnie Hart, Vance Worley and Tommy Hunter allowed in the remaining 3 1/3rd innings: No baserunners at all. Not one Yankee batter even reached 2nd base.

Orioles 8, Yankees 0. WP: Bundy (8-5). No save. LP: Green (2-4). Worst game of the season, and at a very inopportune time.

Green went on the Disabled List. We probably won't see him again until Spring Training.

*

The Saturday night showed what happened when you get good pitching, but not good hitting. CC Sabathia started, and went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. That should have been enough. But the home run he gave up to Adam Jones turned out to be all the O's needed.

Because Kevin Gausman can now be put into the category of "Pitchers Who Drive the Yankees and Their Fans Nuts." He went 6 innings and allowed 2 hits. Between him, Mycal Givens, Brad Brach and Zach Britton -- again, 4 pitchers, but 4 completely different pitchers than the ones who shut the Yankees out the night before -- they allowed only the following: Singles by Sanchez, Headley, Starling Castro and Brian McCann; walks by Ellsbury and Aaron Judge; and Didi Gregorius was hit by a pitch.

The Yankees loaded the bases as a result of the Didi HBP, but Gausman worked out of the jam. That was the only time in the 1st 2 games the Yankees got a man to 2nd base, let alone to 3rd.

Orioles 2, Yankees 0. WP: Gausman (7-10). SV: Britton (40). LP: Sabathia (8-12).

*

So as you prepared to watch the Sunday afternoon game, you could have been forgiven for thinking that, with Michael Pineda starting, the Orioles would complete the sweep.

But the Yankees scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning, on an RBI single by Headley and a 2-RBI single by Austin Romine. Headley beat out an infield single in the 3rd, allowing a run to score. And a Gardner sacrifice fly in the 9th brought an insurance run.

Joe Girardi really juggled the pitching staff. Pineda didn't pitch badly over 4 innings -- 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks -- but Girardi took him out, seeing he'd already thrown 87 pitches. (That damn binder again.) He let Luis Severino pitch the 5th and 6th innings, and he allowed 2 walks, but no hits, and no runs. Tommy Layne, Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and Dellin Betances got the remaining outs. Aside from a single given up by Clippard, they were perfect.

Yankees 5, Orioles 2. WP: Severino (2-8), because the rule says that a starting pitcher must pitch 5 innings to qualify for the win. If he doesn't, then the win is granted to another pitcher at the discretion of the official scorer. SV: Betances (8). LP: Wade Miley (8-12).

*

So here's where we stand. There are 4 weeks left in the regular season, with 27 remaining scheduled games -- in other words, only 1 day off.

The Yankees are 70-65, 6 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East, 6 in the loss column. The Boston Red Sox trail the Jays by 1 game, the Orioles by 3. The O's and the Detroit Tigers are currently tied for the 2nd AL Wild Card slot, and the Yankees trail by 3 1/2, 3 in the loss column.

Today, the Yankees begin their most important series of the season, home to those pesky Blue Jays. Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Today, first pitch scheduled for 1:05 PM (a Labor Day matinee): Masahiro Tanaka vs. R.A. Dickey.

* Tomorrow, 7:05 PM: Luis Cessa vs. Aaron Sanche.

* Wednesday, 7:05 PM: Severino vs. Marcus Strohman. Although, with Sevy having pitched 2 innings yesterday, I don't think he's going to end up starting on 2 days' rest. Unless Girardi wants to play musical chairs with the bullpen again. (With September roster callups, it might be possible, but that doesn't necessarily make it recommended.)

If the Yankees want to make the Playoffs, or even win the Division, they must take 2 out of 3 from the Jays.

This is the season, right here.

Was 2 of 3 from O's Enough? Not Really

If the Yankees were really in the thick of the American League Eastern Division race, taking 2 out of 3 games of a home series with the Baltimore Orioles would be good news.

But we're not in the thick of it. We're on the thin outer edge of it. We needed a sweep, and we didn't get it.

On Friday night, the Yankees scored a lot of runs in support of rookie starter Luis Cessa. A 6-run explosion in the 2nd inning settled it. But none of the 3 home runs the Yankees hit on the night were in that inning: Mark Teixeira hit one in the 1st (it was his 11th of the season), Chase Headley in the 4th (his 12th), and rookie sensation Gary Sanchez in the 5th (his 10th).

Yankees 14, Orioles 4. WP: Cessa (4-0). No save. LP: Yovani Gallardo (4-6).

*

Saturday was the high-water mark of the Yankee season this far. Again, there were lots of runs, much more than were needed. Sanchez hit another homer (his 11th), Starlin Castro hit one (his 18th), and Aaron Hicks hit one (his 7th). The latter 2 came in a 4-run 5th inning, but that was too late for Chad Green: He'd already been knocked out, and replaced by Tommy Layne, who ended up as the winning pitcher.

Yankees 13, Orioles 5. WP: Layne (1-1). No save. LP: Dylan Bundy (7-5) -- and that's not the Florida serial killer (Ted Bundy), the idiot from Married... with Children (Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy), or the even bigger idiot on that ranch in Nevada (Cliven Bundy). The Yankees were 6 games over .500.

*

Yesterday, as is so often the case, the Yankees needed a few runs from recent offensive explosions, and couldn't transfer them. Kevin Gausman pitched brilliantly for Baltimore, going 7 innings, allowing no runs, 7 hits, and no walks, striking out 9. Sanchez and Ronald Torreyes each hit doubles, while those 2, Teix, Hicks, Brian McCann and Didi Gregorius each hit singles, but that was it.

In contrast, CC Sabathia allowed only 2 hits and a walk over the 1st 5 innings, but a home run by Steve Pearce gave the O's a 1-0 lead in the 6th. CC tired in the 7th, and Joe Girardi brought in Adam Warren to replace him, because he could no longer bring Dellin Betances in for the 7th, Andrew Miller for the 8th and Aroldis Chapman for the 9th, because Brian Cashman had stupidly traded Miller and Chapman.

Instead, Warren (brought in the trade for Chapman) and Ben Heller (brought in the trade for Miller, and his 2 major league appearances thus far, both for the Yankees, have been horrible) turned a redeemable 1-0 deficit into a pathetic 5-0 performance.

Brian Cashman, this one is on you: Orioles 5, Yankees 0. WP: Gausman (6-10). No save. LP: Sabathia (8-11), who really deserved a better fate.

*

There are 5 weeks left in the regular season -- 33 games. In the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays lead the Boston Red Sox by 2 games, the Orioles by 3, and the Yankees by 6 1/2. The Yankees trail the O's by 3 1/2 for the 2nd AL Wild Card.

It is beginning to look bleak for the Division, and I'm not sure we deserve the Wild Card. Well, we do, but Cashman doesn't, and Girardi probably doesn't, either.

Tonight, we begin a series in Kansas City, away to the Royals. The defending World Champions, the 2-time defending Pennant winners have not done well, either, but they're also in the Wild Card race.

Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 8:15 PM (7:15 local time): Michael Pineda vs. former Met Dillon Gee.

* Tomorrow, 8:15 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Edinson Volquez.

* Wednesday, 8:15 PM: Cessa vs. former Yankee Ian Kennedy.

Come on you Bombers... please! We don't have any more games to waste.

The Yankees are making me a nervous wreck again. With the death yesterday of the great comic actor Gene Wilder, I'm reminded of his scene in Blazing Saddles, as Jim, the Waco Kid. He holds out his right hand, and Cleavon Little, as Sheriff Bart, says, "Steady as a rock." But Jim holds out his left hand, and it's shaking like crazy, and he says, "But I shoot with this hand!"

It's been that kind of season for the Yankees. The movie had a happy ending. But this isn't Hollywood.

R.I.P., Gene.

Yanks Survive Nate Injury, Beat Sox!

If I had told you before last night's game, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, that Nathan Eovaldi would leave the game due to injury after only 1 inning, you might have guessed that manager Joe Girardi would have gone through the entire bullpen, and we would have lost badly.

You would have been half-right.

Chasen Shreve and Blake Parker -- a.k.a. "Why him?" and "Who's he?" -- each allowed a run, and it was 2-0 Sox after 4 innings. The Yankees got a run in the 5th, and Nick Goody pitched a scoreless 5th, but Tommy Layne allowed 2 runs in the 6th, to make it 4-1 Boston. Not terrible, and at the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay, hardly impossible. But, at the rate the Yankees have hit for almost 4 full years now, a 3-run deficit looked insurmountable.

Then Sox manager John Farrell removed starter Clay Buchholz, who had put together the best start of what has been a terrible season for him, for Fernando Abad. Big mistake. Didi Gregorius led off with a single. Gary Sanchez, who may have been a big find as a successor to catcher Brian McCann, followed with another. Austin Romine singled Didi home. 4-2.

Girardi sent Alex Rodriguez up to pinch-hit for Aaron Hicks. In what might be his next-to-last game, the New England crowd gave this player that they long hated a nice reception. He flew to right, and Brett Gardner struck out. Two out, and it looked like a nice little rally was over.

It wasn't. Ex-Red Sock Jacoby Ellsbury singled home Sanchez. 4-3. Chase Headley singled home Romine. 4-4. Farrell removed Abad for Junichi Tazawa, best known for giving up a walkoff home run in the 15th inning in his big-league debut in 2009. Another mistake. Tazawa walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Starlin Castro doubled home Ellsbury and Headley. 6-4 Yankees.

In the 8th, Sanchez hit his 1st major league home run. Romine drew a walk. Farrell replaced Tazawa with Robbie Ross. Rob Refsnyder singled. A wild pitch moved the runners over. Ross got Gardner to fly out, but walked Ellsbury. He threw another wild pitch, to bring home Romine. He got Headley to pop up, but he threw a 3rd wild pitch, bringing home Refsnyder.

Between them, Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren and -- a 5-run lead is never safe at Fenway, so Girardi did the right thing by bringing in his closer -- Dellin Betances pitched 3 scoreless innings to nail down the win. Yankees 9, Red Sox 4. WP: Clippard (3-3). No save. LP: Abad (1-6).

The series concludes tonight. Michael Pineda started against knuckleballer Steven Wright. Then, tomorrow, the Yankees return home to face the Tampa Bay Rays, and to play A-Rod's last game.

Come on you Bombers!

Girardi Lets Starter Pitch 7 Innings, Yankees Win

Looks like I was wrong: Maybe Joe Girardi will let his starters pitch 7 innings after all.

The Yankees began a series away to the Houston Astros, the team that beat them in last year's American League Wild Card game, against the pitcher who won that game and the AL's Cy Young Award. (And, as I suggested last November, should have gotten the Most Valuable Player award as well.)

Michael Pineda, who'd been shaky this season, had his 2nd straight strong start. He was, indeed, allowed to go 7 innings, and throw 103 pitches, allowing 1 run -- a home run by George Springer in the 1st inning -- on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 8. This is in Minute Maid Park, formerly known as Enron Field, nicknamed Ten Run Field because it's such a good hitter's park.

With 2 outs in the top of the 5th, Didi Gregorius hit a double, and Chase Headley singled him home to tie the score. Headley led off the 8th with a single, and Austin Romine doubled him home to give the Yankees the lead.

Dellin Betances pitched a perfect 8th, striking out the side. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 9th. Yankees 2, Astros 1. WP: Pineda (5-9). SV: Miller (8). LP: Keuchel (6-10).

So the Yankees won without needed a reliever in the 7th inning. Maybe the stupid Aroldis Chapman trade wasn't so stupid after all.

But if Adam Warren ends up being the reason the Yankees don't make the Playoffs, I will remind everyone that I told you so.

But what I also told you so is that good things can happen if you trust your starting pitcher when he's pitching well.

The series continues tonight. CC Sabathia starts against Doug Fister. Come on you Bombers!