Yanks Sweep Sox, Judge Still On 60

Four games, 34 innings, 4 Yankee wins -- 2 hits for Aaron Judge, neither of them home runs. He still has 60 home runs on the season.

The purpose of playing baseball is to win. Or, as Herman Edwards -- recently fired as head football coach at Arizona State University -- put it when he was running the New York Jets, "This is what the great thing about sports is: You play to win the game!"

The Yankees completed the sweep against the Boston Red Sox last night thanks in large part to the pitching of Nestor Cortes. In 6 innings, he allowed only 3 baserunners: A walk to Xander Bogaerts in the 1st inning, and a walk to Tommy Phan and a ground-rule double to former Yankee "prospect" Rob Refsnyder in the 4th, stranding all 3.

The Yankees also struggled to hit against Sox starter Bryan Bello. Oswaldo Cabrera led off the bottom of the 4th with a double, and was singled home by Jose Trevino. By the 6th, it was raining. Harrison Bader led off with a single. After 2 outs, Marwin González came to bat, and lifted a fly ball out to right field, where Refsnyder waited for it. Easy play. And he dropped it, allowing Bader to score.

The umpires let the inning finish, then ordered the tarp onto the field. After an hour and a half's rain delay, they called the game. Yankees 2, Red Sox 0. WP: Cortes (11-4). No save. LP: Bello (2-7).

So, the Yankees swept The Scum, 4 straight. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays, which eliminated them from the American League Eastern Division race. The Magic Number to eliminate the Jays, and thus to clinch the Division title, is 2.

And the Yankees now head to Toronto for 3 games. A win in any of them wins the Division. As of this writing, none of the games had either team's starting pitchers set yet.

After these 3 games, there is a day off on Thursday, then 3 home games against the Baltimore Orioles, followed by 3 games away to the Texas Rangers.

The Yankees are 6 games, 5 in the loss column, behind the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL, and thus home-field advantage all the way through the AL Playoffs, so we can probably forget about overtaking those Chicken Fried Cheaters. Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll lose their Division Series, and we won't have to face the prospect of winning a Game 7 in their Faux Fenway bandbox.

*

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 1, tomorrow afternoon, at 2:00 PM New York time, away to Saudi Arabia. They are already in the Middle East to acclimate themselves to the weather, in time for the World Cup. Their 1st match in that tournament will be on its opening day, November 21, at 2:00 PM New York time, against Wales, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: 4, this Friday, at 7:00 PM, home to Sayreville, a local rival. We're gonna be 0-5...

Days until the next Arsenal match: 5, this Saturday, at 7:30 AM New York time, at home at the Emirates Stadium, against arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur, making it a North London Derby.

Days until the next North London Derby: 5, on Saturday, October 1, at 7:30 AM New York time, at the Emirates Stadium. 

Days until the next Rutgers University football game: 5, this Saturday, at 3:30 PM, away to Ohio State, the Number 3 team in the country. We're all gonna die...

Days until the next New York Red Bulls game: 5, this Saturday, at 7:30 PM, away to the Columbus Crew.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: Unknown. There are only 2 games left in the regular season. New York City FC and the Philadelphia Union have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, so there's a chance the Red Bulls could face one of them.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 17, on Thursday, October 13, away to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: See the previous answer.

Days until the next elections for the U.S. Congress and for the Governors of most States in the Union, including New York and Pennsylvania: 43, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 54, on Saturday, November 19, at 12:00 noon, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Under 8 weeks.

Days until the next World Cup opens: 94, on Monday, November 21, 2022, in Doha, Qatar. Exactly 8 weeks.

Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 256, on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the next Women's World Cup opens: 287, on Friday, July 10, 2023, jointly held in the neighboring nations of Australia and New Zealand. Under 10 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge game: Unknown, since we won't know the 2023 schedule for months. It could be as soon as Friday, September 1, which would be 340 days. A little over 11 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 669, on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Under 2 years, or a little under 22 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 771, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Under 2 1/2 years, or under 26 months.

Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 1,135, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Under 3 1/2 years.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 1,229, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Under 3 1/2 years.

A Hero One Day and a Bum the Next

"That's baseball: You're a hero one day, and a bum the next." -- Babe Ruth 

The Yankees played the 3rd game of a 4-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox last night, with the momentum of 2 hard-hitting wins behind them.

Jordan Montgomery was once again a victim of insufficient run support, and you simply can't do that at Fenway Park and expect to win the game. He went 5 2/3rds innings, allowing 2 runs, including a home run by former Yankee prospect Rob Refsnyder, on 5 hits and a walk. He was backed by a leadoff home run in the 5th inning by Aaron Hicks.

In the 6th, the Yankees got a single from Gleyber Torres, an RBI double from Anthony Rizzo, and an RBI single from Josh Donaldson. It was 3-3 after 9 innings. With an "MVP!" chant saluting him from the many Yankee Fans in attendance, Aaron Judge doubled home ghost runner Jose Trevino. Rizzo doubled Judge home. It was 5-3 Yankees.

But Rizzo made a big mistake, and tried to steal 3rd base, and was caught. Then Giancarlo Stanton struck out. He was 0-for-4 with 3 K's on the night.

Having already used Michael King and Clay Holmes, the latter blowing a save for the 1st time all season, and not wanting to risk Aroldis Chapman in thwt ballyard, Aaron Boone sent Wandy Peralta out to pitch the bottom of the 10th. The ghost runner was Jarren Duran. Refsnyder struck again, although his single wasn't long enough to get Duran home. Peralta got Christian Vazquez to fly out, and that didn't get Duran home, either.

Then came a name you would never have expected in a Red Sox uniform. Jeter Downs. Yes, he's a shortstop, 23 years old, born in Colombia but raised in Miami. He singled Duran home. Peralta got the dangerous Xander Bogaerts to hit a grounder to 3rd, which looked like a game-ending double play. But Donaldson dropped it. His only play was to 1st, and the grounder moved Refsnyder to 3rd and Downs to 2nd. And Alex Verdugo singled them home with the tying and winning runs.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 5. WP: Jake Diekman (4-0). No save. LP: Peralta (2-2). The Yankees were 1 out away from taking 3 of the 1st 4 in Fenway. It would have been a good series even without the last game. But Donaldson, the hero the previous 2 nights, was the goat last night.

The Red Sox and their fans celebrated like they just won the World Series.

The win brings them to within 15 games of the Yankees.

The series concludes tonight, on ESPN. Jameson Taillon starts against Nick Pivetta. Let there be heroes for the Yankees, and keep the potential for bumhood to a minimum.

Swept By Jays, Yanks Take Makeup With Tigers

I may have mentioned this before, but I don't like the Toronto Blue Jays. This week, at the Rogers Centre, those pesky Blue Jays swept the Yankees. That's 5 out of 6 this season.

Unacceptable.

On Tuesday night, CC Sabathia pitched 6 solid innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. But Joe Girardi blew it by talking him out after throwing 80 pitches.

But did it really matter that Dellin Betances let in 2 more runs in the bottom of the 7th? No, because the Yankees, again, did not hit. Indeed, the 1 run they scored game on a groundout, not a base hit or even a sacrifice fly.

Blue Jays 4, Yankees 1. WP: Joe Biagini (3-1). SV: Antonio Osuna (12). LP: Sabathia (3-4).

*

Then on Wednesday, Toronto completed the sweep. Don't blame Masahiro Tanaka: Like CC, he was terrific for 6 innings away to the defending Division Champions. He allowed 2 runs (only 1 earned) on 7 hits and 1 walk.

But Girardi panicked as usual, and saw a pitch count of 104, and took him out. And put it Kirby Yates. Who completely imploded.

But can you really put all of this one on Girardi's shoulders? No, because, again, the bats did not produce.

Brian McCann drew a leadoff walk in the top of the 2nd inning. Mark Teixeira grounded into a forceout. Didi Gregorius singled. Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran singled in the 3rd. Alex Rodriguez doubled in the 4th. Brett Gardner walked and Beltran singled in the 5th. Ronald Torreyes and Ellsbury hit back-to-back singles in the 7th. That's 10 baserunners. Scored? Exactly none.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 0. WP: Aaron Sanchez (5-1). No save. LP: Tanaka (3-1).

As the late, great Yogi Berra would say, It's getting too late to say that it's still early out there.

*

So, yesterday, the Yankees received proper punishment for their miserable performance in Toronto: They went to Detroit. They had to play a rainout makeup against the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Michael Pineda, who has been a source of worry this season, got the start. He was much better: 5 2/3rds innings, 1 run, 7 hits, but no walks, and 8 strikeouts.

Of course, they still had to score runs. At first, it didn't look like they would. Tiger starter Matt Boyd got halfway to a perfect game. Until Chase Headley walked with 2 outs in the 5th, the Yankees didn't get a single baserunner. Through 5, the Yankees trailed 1-0 and had no hits.

But just as they won a game last week on only 1 hit, a home run by Starlin Castro, the Yankees found a way to win anyway. Rob Refsnyder led off the top of the 6th with a double, breaking up the no-hitter. Aaron Hicks' flyout got him to 3rd. Ellsbury flew to center, and that sac fly scored Refsynder to tie the game.

Alex Rodriguez (Remember him?) singled to lead off the top of the 7th. Headley singled. Austin Romine grounded into a forceout to eliminate A-Rod. Refsnyder singled home Headley to give the Yankees the lead. Tiger manager Brad Ausmus took Boyd out, and replaced him with former Met Bobby Parnell. As you can probably imagine, this was a mistake. Hicks singled home Romine. Ausmus then replaced Parnell with Kyle Ryan. (Does Ausmus have his own version of Girardi's infamous binder?) Ellsbury socked a triple to right field, scoring Refsnyder and Hicks.

"The three-headed monster" was a little shaky: Betances allowed a run in the 7th, Andrew Miller allowed one in the 8th, and Aroldis Chapman one in the 9th. But the Tigers didn't find the tying run.

Yankees 5, Tigers 4. WP: Betances (2-2). SV: Chapman (8). LP: Boyd 0-1.

*

With Toronto and Detroit in their rearview mirror, the Yankees are about to begin a 3-game weekend series in Baltimore against Buck Showalter's Orioles.

Let's hope the Yankees score more than the U.S. soccer team does in tonight's Copa America opener against Colombia at the new San Francisco 49ers stadium!

Yanks Finally Beat Sox, Finally Clinch Postseason Berth

It's about freakin' time. Last night, for the 52nd time in their remarkable 115-season history -- slightly under a rate of every other season -- the Yankees clinched a berth in Major League Baseball's postseason.

It was also the 10,000th win in club history.

CC Sabathia started, and showed flashes of the old Big Fella. He only went 5 innings, the minimum for a starter to be officially named the winning pitcher, but allowed just 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks. Adam Warren pitched 3 scoreless innings, and Dellin Betances finished it off.

The way the Yankees have been hitting lately, a fan who did not see the game and is reading this to find out what happened could be excused for wondering if the Yankees got at least 2 runs to get the win.

They did. Carlos Beltran led off the bottom of the 2nd with a home run, his 19th of the season. After Chris Young followed him by flying out, John Ryan Murphy drew a walk, Greg Bird lined out to short, and Didi Gregorius drew a walk of his own. Brendan Ryan singled Murphy home, and it was 2-0 to the Pinstripes.

The Sox pulled a run back in the 5th, and CC ended the inning having thrown 96 pitches, which set off Joe Girardi's pitch-count alarm, leading him to bring Warren in for the 6th, 7th and 8th.

With 1 out in the 7th, Bird launched a home run, his 11th of the season. Between Bird and the man for whom he has so admirably filled in, the out-for-the-season Mark Teixeira, the Yankees have gotten 41 home runs and 115 RBIs from their 1st basemen this season, and there's still 3 games to go (in the Baltimore bandbox, no less -- and Bird's a lefty, hitting to that nice close right-field wall). Teix and Bird combined should get the American League Most Valuable Player award. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

Rookie 2nd baseman Rob Refsnyder showed general manager Brian Cashman just how stupid he was to insist upon the use of Stephen Drew all season long, but hitting his 2nd career home run to lead off the 8th, putting the cherry on the sundae.

Betances struck out John Rutledge to end it, and to give the Yankees' their 1st postseason trip in 3 years, an eternity by Yankee standards. Yankees 4, Red Sox 1. WP: Sabathia (6-10). SV: Betances (9). LP: Rich Hill (2-1).

In the locker room, the champagne was finally opened. The players celebrated more than the Yankees normally would have, even though many of them have been there before, as follows:

* Alex Rodriguez: 2000 Seattle Mariners; 2004, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10, '11 & '12 Yankees.
* Carlos Beltran: 2004 Houston Astros, 2006 Mets, 2012 & '13 St. Louis Cardinals.
* CC Sabathia: 2001 and '07 Cleveland Indians; 2008 Milwaukee Brewers; 2009, '10 '11 & '12 Yankees.
* Brian McCann: 2005, '10, '12 & '13 Atlanta Braves.
* Andrew Miller: 2006 Detroit Tigers, 2013 Red Sox, 2014 Baltimore Orioles.
* Chase Headley: 2007 San Diego Padres.
* Chris Young: 2007 & '11 Arizona Diamondbacks.
* Stephen Drew: 2007 Diamondbacks, 2012 Oakland Athletics, 2013 Red Sox.
* Jacoby Ellsbury: 2007, '09 & '13 Red Sox.
* Mark Teixeira: 2008 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; 2009, '10, '11 & '12 Yankees.
* Brett Gardner: 2009, '10, '11 & '12 Yankees.
* Brendan Ryan: 2009 Cardinals.
* Ivan Nova: 2010, '11 & '12 Yankees.
* Adam Warren: 2012 Yankees.
* Chris Capuano: 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers.
* Andrew Bailey: 2013 Red Sox.
* Justin Wilson: 2013 & '14 Pittsburgh Pirates.

If you looked carefully, you noted that, of those, only A-Rod, CC, Teix, Gardner, Nova and Warren -- 6 players -- had previously made it with the Yankees. And A-Rod and Gardner are the last 2 players on the roster who played home games at the old Yankee Stadium.

Bird is so new to locker-room celebrations that he didn't know that champagne stings your eyes. Why did he think players, at least in the modern era, wear goggles? He thought it was to protect your eyes from flying corks.

Part of the celebration included several of the newer players dressing up as 1980s hip-hoppers -- despite the '80s being the worst decade for the Yankees since the 1910s. Note that Bryan Mitchell, Nick Goody and Bird are dressed as the Beastie Boys, who were Met fans; and that Refsnyder is wearing that blasphemous Boston team jersey because he's supposed to be Erik Schrody, a.k.a. Everlast, a.k.a. the leader of the House of Pain, an act redeemable only when you remember that Everlast also tends to call himself Whitey Ford.

*

So the last 3 games of the regular season, away to the Baltimore Orioles, are meaningless to the Yankees. Good thing, because Hurricane Joaquin could be a factor. As I write this at around 2:00 on Friday afternoon, it has been raining all day long in Central Jersey. At first, it looked like Sunday was going to be the worst day of the hurricane for Baltimore. Now, it looks as though the worst of it for New York will be on Tuesday morning, about 12 hours before the scheduled first pitch of the Wild Card play-in game.

In other words, the Yankees' next 4 games are all major question marks at the moment.

But at least we know that there will be a 163rd game -- even if any of the 160th, 161st and 162nd games are postponed or outright canceled.

There may not be a Game 164, Game 165 or Game 166. But there will be, if the Yankees win Game 163.

And there will be a Game 163. Whether that's on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or even later, remains to be seen. But it will happen, barring a literal disaster or a national tragedy.

Robinson Cano Strikes Back

So yesterday, I mentioned how ex-Yankee Robinson Cano was struggling this season. I didn't mention it was because he, a lefthanded hitter, no longer had that short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium to use as a target, as Safeco Field isn't kind to hitters, especially lefties. (Ask Ken Griffey Jr.)

Me and my big mouth. (Big fingers? After all, I typed it rather than saying it out loud.)

Yesterday, Cano went 3-for-4, including 2 home runs, driving in all the Mariners' runs. The rest of the Seattle team combined got only 4 hits and 3 walks. In other words, Michael Pineda was fantastic -- for 8 of the 9 batters.

Brian McCann hit a 2-run homer in the 4th, but that was all the Yankees got until the bottom of the 9th. Trailing 4-2, Mark Teixeira led off with a double, and there was hope, as the Mariners traditionally have a problematic bullpen.

But Carson Smith struck out McCann and Chase Headley, although a wild pitch on the 3rd strike against Headley got Teix to 3rd and Headley to 1st. Now the tying runs were both on.

Garrett Jones grounded to short, getting Teix home to make it 4-3 and send Headley to 2nd. Now the tying run was a hit away, and the winning run at the plate. But Didi Gregorius grounded to 2nd to end it.

WP: Hisashi Iwakuma (2-1). SV: Smith (7). LP: Pineda (9-6).

The series concludes this afternoon, with CC Sabathia (no longer the great ace) starting against Felix Hernandez (still called "King" even though he's never thrown a pitch in the postseason).

Also, Carlos Beltran has come off the Disabled List. To make room for him, the Yankees sent Rob Refsnyder back down.

That's like dropping Jennifer Lawrence from your movie to make way for Madonna.

*

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 2, this Tuesday night, at 6:00, against Jamaica, in the Semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The U.S. men seem to be following the amazing path of the U.S. women, who didn't look great in the Group Stage of the recent Women's World Cup, but they plowed through the knockout rounds like the other teams owed them money. The U.S. slaughtered Cuba in last night's Quarterfinal in Baltimore, 6-0, with Clint Dempsey scoring a hat trick. (As far as I know, none of the Cubans have defected.)

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 2, this Tuesday afternoon, at 4:00, against the Philadelphia Union, in the Quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup, America's version of the FA Cup.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 22, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The next game against D.C. United will be on Sunday night, August 30, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 16, on Tuesday, August 4, at 7:00 PM, at Yankee Stadium II. A little over 2 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play again (in a competitive match): 21, on Sunday afternoon (8:30 in the morning our time), home to East London club West Ham United. Just 3 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 46, on Thursday night (why?), September 3, away to Woodbridge. Under 7 weeks.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 48, on Saturday afternoon, September 5, home to Norfolk State.

Days until the Devils play again: 82, on Friday, October 9, home to the Winnipeg Jets. A little under 12 weeks.

Days until the Islanders' first home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: 82, also on Friday, October 9, against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Or, to put it another way, "82 Sleeps Till Brooklyn." Until then, despite having definitively played their last competitive game in the Nassau Coliseum, even with their 4 straight long-ago Stanley Cups, they're just a Small Club In Hempstead.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 93, on Sunday, October 18, away to the Rangers.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 111, on Saturday, November 7, at the Emirates Stadium. Under 4 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 1360 on Thursday morning, November 26, at 10:00 AM, at EB. A little over 4 months.

Days until the Copa América Centenario begins on U.S. soil: 320, on June 3, 2016. Under 11 months. The tournament will be between teams from the North American, Central American and Caribbean region (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL, which is celebrating its 100th Anniversary). Although it's a member of CONCACAF rather than CONMEBOL, the U.S. is the host nation, and thus qualifies automatically, as it does for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Days until Euro 2016 begins in France: 327, on Friday, June 10.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 383, on Friday, August 5, 2016. A little over a year.

Days until Alex Rodriguez's Yankee contract runs out: Officially, at the end of the 2017 season. Game 7 of that year's World Series could turn out to be on Halloween, so, for the sake of this entry, let's say October 31, 2017, which would be 1,200 -- a little over 2 years. Of course, the Yankees could release him before then, but I don't think the House of Steinbrenner wants to take the financial hit from buying him out.

Days until the next World Cup begins in Russia: 1,420, on Friday June 8, 2018. A little over 3 years.

Duke Refsnyder and A-Rod Lead Yanks to 2 of 3 Over Boston Red Scum

To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars (you know: Episode IV: A New Hope):

Fenway Park. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

On Friday night, Michael Pineda took the mound in the little green pinball machine off Kenmore Square, pitched into the 7th inning, and allowed 1 run on 7 hits and no walks, striking out 6. The only run was a solo home run by Mookie Betts in the 5th inning.

(That was when Lisa Swan of Subway Squawkers said she came in and turned on the TV. I'm not saying she's a jinx... but she sometimes says it about herself.)

So the Yankee pitching gave the Yankee hitting the chance to win the game. They did. Alex Rodriguez hit a home run in the 1st inning. Naturally (if you'll pardon the choice of words), the Sox fans chanted, "Ster-oids!" at him, and then wildly cheered David Ortiz, who took the collar: 0-for-4. A small piece of what would serve him right.

The Yankees scored 3 more runs in the 4th, with help from a game-ending injury to Sox starter Clay Buchholz, an error by Sox 2nd baseman Brock Holt (sounds like the name of either a naive soap opera character or an unscrupulous law firm), and a bases-loaded walk by emergency reliever Robbie Ross. Ex-Chowdahead Jacoby Ellsbury singled home another run in the 8th, and the Yankees had taken the opener of the series.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 1. WP: Pineda (9-5). No save. LP: Buchholz (7-7).

*

In spite of how poorly the Sox are doing this season (again, a small piece of what would serve those bastards and their bastard fans right), I don't think anyone expected the Yankees to sweep this series. Beating the Red Sox is tough enough, especially in the pinball machine.

But this was Ivan Nova's 3rd straight disappointing game after his triumphant return from over a year on the Disabled List. He got into the 7th inning, and didn't walk a batter, so it wasn't an issue of control. But he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits. His ERA is 3.42, which is respectable. But in these last 3 starts, he's 0-3, with an ERA of 4.76, which is not good.

It didn't help that, in relief of Nova, Adam Warren and Chasen Shreve faced 6 batters and only got 1 of them out, adding another run to the Sox' total.

A-Rod hit another home run, his 18th of the season; and Ellsbury, remembering how much he likes hitting at Fenway, hit his 2nd. He singled in the 8th, and Brett Gardner doubled him home.

Rob Refsnyder made his much-awaited major league debut on Saturday night. Batting 9th, wearing Number 64 (surely, he'll get a lower one, possibly even this season) and playing 2nd base, he grounded out to 2nd off Eduardo Rodriguez in the 3rd, lined out to right field off Rodriguez in the 6th, and popped up to 1st off Junichi Tazawa in the 8th.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3. WP: Rodriguez (5-2). SV: Koji Uehara (22). LP: Nova (1-3).

*

So yesterday afternoon was the rubber game, and the last game before the All-Star Break. There wasn't really a "must-win" vibe around the Yankees. The Sox needed the game a lot more.

Kim Jung-Tae was born on March 24, 1991 in Seoul, Korea. At the age of 5 months, he was adopted by an American couple, and given the name Robert Daniel Refsynder. He grew up in Laguna Hills, Orange County, California. That's Angels territory, and he grew up as an Angels fan.

His father, a former small-college basketball player, took him to the Los Angeles Lakers' annual Christmas Day game every year. He played quarterback for his high school football team, but went to the University of Arizona on a football scholarship. He switched to baseball, and he helped them with the 2012 College World Series.

There was a to-do about Brian Cashman keeping Refsnyder in Triple-A while Stephen Drew's bat was pathetic. At age 24, and doing very well at Scranton, he should have been up, at the minimum, in May. If not last season. After yesterday's game, it will be impossible for a reasonable man to ignore Refsnyder. We'll see if Cashman is going to be reasonable.

Brian McCann hit one out in the 2nd inning, his 14th homer of the season, making it 2-0 Yankees. But the Sox came back with 3 off Nathan Eovaldi in the 3rd. But McCann led of the 5th with a double, Chase Headley singled him over to 3rd (McCann can do lots of things, but running isn't one of them), and Wade Miley committed a balk to send McCann home with the tying run.

Brett Gardner led off the 6th with a single, and A-Rod doubled him home. After Mark Teixeira lined out, Chris Young doubled home A-Rod. McCann grounded out, but Headley doubled home Young, to make it 6-3 Yankees.

The Sox took a run back in the bottom of the 6th, but Refsnyder led of the 7th with his 1st major league hit, a single to center off Tommy Layne. In the 9th, with Headley on 2nd, Refsnyder came to bat against Alexi Ogando, and crushed a pitch over the Green Monster for a home run.

If you're keeping track at home:

Career Home Runs
Alex Rodriguez 673
Rob Refsnyder 1

Naturally, we were wondering what broadcaster John Sterling's call was going to be. It turned out to be, "Refsnyder has soul!" A play on his birthplace of Seoul. Lame, John. The least you could have done was call him "Duke Refsnyder," a play on the old Brooklyn Dodger center fielder Edwin "Duke" Snider, a.k.a. "the Duke of Flatbush."

(Snider was called Duke as a boy because he seemed to have a very noble bearing. Like Refsnyder, Snider was a quarterback in high school before becoming a major league slugger. Like Venus and Serena Williams, he was, literally, straight outta Compton, though he usually called neighboring Los Angeles his hometown.)

But the rookie sensation giveth, and the rookie sensation taketh away. He committed an error in the bottom of the 9th, and Andrew Miller's shakiness after coming off the DL continued. The Sox tagged him for 2 unearned runs, before he got Shane Victorino to pop up to end the game.

Yankees 8, Red Sox 6. WP: Eovaldi (9-2). No save. LP: Miley (8-8). That's 2 out of 3 against The Scum, in Scum Town.

Ortiz did not play in this game. According to Sox manager John Farrell, he has "an upper respiratory infection." Could that be code for that time-honored Sox activity, choking? Farrell said that Ortiz was "taking fluids." What kind of fluids, Johnny? Performance-enhancing fluids? Same New England, always cheating.

*

So, with 15 out of the season's 26 weeks in the books, the Yankees are 48-40, a pace for 88 wins. Not enough to win the American League Eastern Division? Perhaps not, but, for the moment, in 1st place. They lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 1/2 games (5 in the loss column), the Baltimore Orioles by 4, the Toronto Blue Jays by 4 1/2 (6 in the loss column), and the Red Sox by 6 1/2 (7 in the loss column).

If the current standings hold until the end of the season, the Playoff teams will be as follows: The Yankees, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Minnesota Twins and the surprising Houston Astros in the AL; the Washington Nationals, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and another surprise, the Chicago Cubs, in the National League. The Mets? Despite all their injuries and their pathetic hitting, they're just a game (2 in the loss column) behind the Cubs for the 2nd NL Wild Card.

The All-Star Game is tomorrow night, in Cincinnati. A-Rod, Teix, Gardy and Dellin Betances will represent the Yankees.