About Chien-Ming Wang

Full Name: Chien-Ming Wang
Born: 03/31/1980
Birthplace: Tainan, Taiwan
Height: 6'3" Weight: 225
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
College: Taipei Physical Education College
MLB Debut: 04/30/2005

Notes: Pettitte bumped to Monday

Notes: Pettitte bumped to Monday

Left-hander given regular rest as Clemens continues to rehab

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Flying back from an unexpected trip home to Houston this week, Andy Pettitte was placed on notice that he might have one more regular-season Yankee Stadium start after all.

So when the Yankees tabbed the left-hander -- and not the ailing Roger Clemens -- to pitch Monday's regular-season home finale, Pettitte said he had prepared for the assignment, coming on his normal fifth day of rest.

"I'll just do whatever I have to do to get ready to pitch when they want me to," Pettitte said.

The last-minute switch was another move made out of caution for Clemens, who tweaked his left hamstring while performing distance running on Thursday's off-day.

Clemens was scratched from Saturday's start and reassigned to Monday before the Yankees decided to push him back one more game, tentatively shooting for Tuesday at Tampa Bay. Yankees manager Joe Torre waited until Pettitte threw a bullpen session on Saturday before announcing the switch prior to New York's 12-11 victory over Toronto in 10 innings.

"It was all about giving [Clemens] as much time as we can without disrupting anything," Torre said. "The fact that Andy was on his fifth day made it easier to do."

Clemens said that he has been encouraged by seeing some "spots" rise in the back of his left leg, which could be due in part to the amount of "digging" that trainers have done. Clemens threw in the bullpen for about five minutes on Sunday and reported no issues.

"I just need to get in game situations," Clemens said. "It's going to be completely different from what I'm doing out here. I've got to be honest -- we're at a real critical part of the season, and I don't want to go back. ... I just want this thing to feel the right way and get out there."

With the timing of Clemens' injury, it is possible that he could have just one more regular-season start before the Yankees open a potential American League Division Series series. Pettitte pointed to Clemens' 12-day layoff before a classic Sept. 16 effort at Fenway Park as one reason for optimism that the Rocket would pick it up in a big spot.

"He's shown he can take two weeks off and be very strong and throw a great game," Pettitte said. "That'd be a concern for me, personally, because I feel when I throw on my fifth or sixth day, I need to stay on my game. I feel like I struggle if I have too much rest.

"Roger is totally different. We just need to make sure he's as healthy as he can be going into the playoffs. The good thing is that I don't feel like we're in desperate need where we need to rush him out there."

As the playoffs near, the Yankees' home slate will conclude featuring Pettitte going for his 15th victory. Pettitte said that he has been surprised by how good his left elbow has felt, even deep into September, and credits the surgery that shortened his 2004 campaign with Houston for helping to restore his health.

"I've had to deal with my elbow, after my rookie season, for the eight years that I was here," Pettitte said. "It's just nice to feel like I don't have to eat anti-inflammatories the whole year."

100 grand: With a fifth-inning triple on Saturday, Hideki Matsui reached the 100-RBI mark for the ninth time in his professional career, including four times in the Major Leagues.

Matsui, who missed four months last season with a broken left wrist, said the milestone was notable considering his lengthy absence. Matsui entered Sunday's game batting .289 with 25 home runs and 102 RBIs in 138 games.

"I don't really get caught up in the numbers game, but the more the better, certainly," Matsui said through an interpreter. "At least I reached a number similar to what I had before I got hurt. In that sense, it was important."

Going to 'war: After Saturday's game, Torre spoke about how it might be needed to put an arm around rookie right-hander Edwar Ramirez and remind him about all the tough outs he'd recorded. Ramirez has allowed four runs in his last three appearances, including one home run, and got just one out in Saturday's appearance.

Then, in the middle of the clubhouse on Sunday morning, Torre did just that, enveloping the string-bean reliever in an embrace.

Ramirez said that he worked on a mechanical flaw in the bullpen on Sunday with pitching coach Ron Guidry and Triple-A coach Dave Eiland, trying to close his front shoulder and prevent flying open.

Bombers bits: The Yankees paid tribute to Phil Rizzuto in a pregame ceremony on Sunday, featuring speeches by Reggie Jackson and Bobby Murcer. ... Over New York's last 16 games entering play on Sunday, the club's starting pitchers were 8-1 with a 2.56 ERA and had not allowed a home run in 88 innings. ... Rookie reliever Joba Chamberlain turned 22 on Sunday.

Coming up: The Yankees will play home game No. 81 on Monday, with Pettitte (14-8, 3.79 ERA) making the start for New York opposite Toronto right-hander A.J. Burnett (9-7, 3.40 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network.

Mussina tops Jays for third straight win

Mussina tops Jays for third straight win

Righty's seven strong innings help Yankees gain on Red Sox

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees are almost certainly going to be in the playoffs, and Mike Mussina is almost certainly going to be a part of it.

Making his third start since returning to the rotation, Mussina moved closer to locking up a potential playoff start on Sunday, pitching seven strong innings against the Blue Jays to help the Yankees to a 7-5 victory, the 250th of Mussina's career.

The effort moved the Yankees to within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox in the American League East as they close in on completing a historic comeback. New York's magic number for clinching a playoff spot dropped to two, as the Yankees remained 5 1/2 games up on the Tigers in the AL Wild Card race.

"We're just playing baseball the way we wanted to play it from the beginning," said Mussina (11-10). "We had a lot of struggles in the beginning of the season, and now, with a week to go, we're in the position we want to be in. We're playing the game the way we want to play it. It's not anywhere close to the same team it was in April and May."

The Yankees have won 14 of 17 to improve to a season-high 25 games over .500. New York will complete its home schedule on Monday, making up an April 25 rainout, before playing its final six games on the road.

"This is the time of year that you want to play well, because the pressure is on," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "You have certain things that you need to accomplish. We've played well under pressure all year. The most important thing is to make sure we don't lose our edge."

Mussina, who had to be pulled from the rotation in late August after three consecutive horrid starts, has re-emerged in September to regain Torre's trust. With the exception of a three-run blip in the second inning, Mussina held Toronto scoreless in six of the seven innings he pitched on Sunday, including retiring nine straight to close out his start.

"I'm just glad [Torre] gave me a chance to go back out there and pitch," Mussina said. "He didn't have to. He made a decision and could have stuck with it. They let me get back out there and do it again, and I've thrown the ball pretty well since they let me back out there. It's the way the game works sometimes."

Mussina scattered seven hits and struck out five to move past Vic Willis for sole possession of 43rd place on baseball's all-time wins list, one shy of longtime Torre favorite Bob Gibson.

"It's nice to have been given a chance to go out there for that long a period of time, a chance to win 250 games," Mussina said. "To play with some of the talent and some of the people that I've had a chance to do it, it's been a lot of fun. It's been great, and I hope to go out there and win a few more."

After playing two extra-inning contests to open their series with the Blue Jays -- 25 innings of baseball that spanned nine hours and 45 minutes -- the Yankees were able to record Sunday's win in more efficient fashion.

Toronto starter Dustin McGowan was chased in the fifth inning, as Robinson Cano gave New York the lead on the final pitch from McGowan (11-10), ripping a run-scoring single to right. Facing reliever Brian Tallet, Doug Mientkiewicz nubbed a slow roller up the third-base line that Russ Adams could not barehand, allowing a second run to score on the hit.

Jose Molina then came through with a bloop single to left that brought home New York's sixth run, one of a season-high three RBIs in the backup catcher's three-hit game.

Molina opened the season with the Angels, now a possible playoff opponent, and has provided an upgrade over original backup Wil Nieves. After Jorge Posada caught all 10 innings of Saturday's arduous five-hour affair, Molina was able to offer a full day off and yet not hurt the team offensively -- he has hit safely in nine of his last 10 starts and 10 of 14 since joining the Yankees.

"I'm still adjusting," Molina said. "It's not easy. I've been on the West Coast for seven years, and coming to the East Coast, it's not easy, family-wise or personal-wise. You've just got to step up and do your job, no matter what the situation is. When you get home, you deal with those things."

The two clubs traded three-run innings in the second, as Mussina saw a string of 14 scoreless frames end. Adam Lind had a two-run double and Curtis Thigpen had a run-scoring single for the Blue Jays, but the Yankees answered with run-scoring singles by Molina, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter in the bottom half, providing Mussina with enough of a cushion to get back to work comfortably.

"He was great," Molina said. "He was hitting his spots. In the second inning, he gave up some runs, but those pitches were good. There wasn't anything bad at all."

Mussina also had strong defense and some fortunate play-calling. Molina picked off Alex Rios on a snap throw down to first base in the third inning, and Melky Cabrera, who preserved a tie game in the 10th inning on Saturday with an outfield assist, turned in another on Sunday to throw out Gregg Zaun at the plate on a questionable tag play ending the fourth inning.

Like on Saturday, the Yankees had to endure a bullpen crisis, but this time they had a magic answer. Before the game, Torre had indicated to reporters that rookie sensation Joba Chamberlain would be unavailable, but he reversed field after consulting with general manager Brian Cashman and pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras, the architect of the so-called "Joba Rules."

"We're on the move with this thing," Torre said. "A lot of it is going to be judged on pitch counts. The days off will vary. Certain situations have to be right for us to be in a position to use him, and unfortunately, it called for that."

Reliever Luis Vizcaino surrendered a two-run homer to Matt Stairs in the eighth, but Chamberlain -- pitching on his 22nd birthday -- was summoned to pitch out of a two-out, two-on jam, striking out Lind on a slider to end his inning. Since Chamberlain threw just five pitches to Lind in the eighth, the Yankees sent him back out for the ninth, when he set the Blue Jays down in order for his first career save.

"It's all fun," Chamberlain said. "It's all new experiences every time I go out there, so it's good."

Historic day for Yankees staff

Historic day for Yankees staff

Team uses team-record 10 pitchers in win over Toronto

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The next time you use the phrase "records are made to be broken," think back to Saturday's affair at Yankee Stadium. There are some that you might be better off not seeing shattered.

The Yankees set a franchise mark using 10 pitchers in Saturday's game, an afternoon matinee that was delayed for 92 minutes by rain before a marathon, 10-inning affair played out with the Blue Jays that lasted exactly five hours on the nose.

It created a memorable day at the ballpark, for certain, but nobody seemed to be too enamored with their unique date with the history books.

"It was no fun," Torre said. "That's the only thing I can tell you. It's no fun."

The nine relievers used behind New York starter Phil Hughes were just one shy of an American League record, set by the Mariners on Sept. 25, 1992, at Texas. For this weekend, though, it was the status quo: in the first two games of the series, the Yankees and Blue Jays have combined to use 33 pitchers, 18 by New York.

They're the kind of games that could have only taken place in September, with expanded rosters and a smorgasbord of relief options to whittle through. At times on Saturday, it appeared as though Torre was emptying his bullpen for open auditions, bringing out ghosts of Yankees relief past.

The afternoon came on a quick turnaround from a Friday night nailbiter, though that contest at least featured an ace-quality pitching matchup between Roy Halladay and Chien-Ming Wang before stretching into a 14-inning affair.

But with Toronto starter Shaun Marcum done after three innings with a sore right knee and New York's Phil Hughes exiting having allowed three runs in five innings, it was clear both teams would be in need of some relief. Neither got much.

"It's a tough day," catcher Jorge Posada said. "You wait for the game to start, then you start at [2:37 p.m. ET] and play five hours. It's tough but I'm just happy we got the win."

While Blue Jays manager John Gibbons had to call on seven relievers, including losing pitcher Josh Towers -- tagged with the defeat when Melky Cabrera came through with a 10th-inning single -- the Yankees were even quicker on the trigger, contributing 221 of the 423 total pitches thrown in the game. Of those, Hughes threw less than half (99).

Veteran Ron Villone and rookie Ross Ohlendorf combined to pitch a scoreless sixth inning before September callup Jose Veras, who had been making his case for the postseason roster, came undone in a five-run Toronto seventh that changed the course of the game, spoiling a 6-3 lead.

Veras had two outs with runners on second and third before uncorking a wild pitch, then throwing a passed ball charged to catcher Posada, before Aaron Hill came through with a run-scoring single.

"He almost came out of the inning," Torre said. "Then it turned ugly."

Edwar Ramirez, rescued from an independent league club in Edinburg, Texas, earlier this season, turned in his second shaky performance in two nights by serving up run-scoring hits to Russ Adams and Adam Lind, leaving Toronto with an 8-6 lead.

Though the Yankees fought back for three runs in the bottom half, regaining the lead, Kyle Farnsworth handily helped give it right back. Farnsworth, who was not expected to be available due to tightness in his right shoulder, faced five hitters and retired just one of them -- a hot Matt Stairs drive that looked as though it were headed for right field before first baseman Wilson Betemit snared it with a terrific diving catch.

"I left some balls up," Farnsworth said. "It's frustrating, but it's one of those things. I've just got to keep going. I felt fine, but I'm a little rusty, I guess. It [stinks]. I'm getting tired of that."

Farnsworth had entered to boos and the reception was even more vicious as he walked off, lifted for an out from Chris Britton and then the first Major League appearance by Japanese import Kei Igawa since July 26, beginning the "memory lane" portion of Torre's evening. Igawa surrendered a hit to Hector Luna, scoring one of the three runs charged to Farnsworth, before he too was just another name in the box score.

"It was so surreal," Torre said, "for me to watch this whole thing."

In the bullpen, seemingly spilling onto the field with regularity, players began to ponder what names might be summoned next.

"We were thinking about who's down, who's up," Karstens said. "You know Joba [Chamberlain] is down. We kind of figured [Luis] Vizcaino was down, because the phone rang a bunch of times and he wasn't in the game. I think we were just happy the way it turned out. We wanted to end it quick."

With the Yankees tying the game in the ninth, Mariano Rivera trotted in to "Enter Sandman" and helped get the game to extra innings, where Jeff Karstens -- who hadn't pitched in the big leagues since an ill-fated Aug. 14 start vs. the Orioles -- recorded three outs and became the winning pitcher when New York ended the arduous affair.

"It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done," Karstens said.

Cabrera's hit to center, plus his key outfield assist a half-inning earlier, clicked off the stopwatch on nine hours and 45 minutes of baseball played at Yankee Stadium over a 24-hour period. Informed that the 10 Yankees pitchers set a new club mark, Karstens laughed that he thought New York had just used "four or five," then smirked.

"It's nice to be part of a record," Karstens said.

Notes: Peace of mind for Posada

Notes: Peace of mind for Posada

Yankees catcher rests easily after tests come back negative

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

BOSTON -- Jorge Posada's pounding headache had disappeared and the results of a CT scan concurred, relaying that no ill effects remained from a vicious home-plate collision during Saturday's loss to the Red Sox.

For the Yankees catcher, who was broadsided by Boston's Eric Hinske on what was later deemed to be a "clean play" at the plate, such precautionary trips to hospitals have become commonplace.

Posada revealed that he has had the procedures, each requiring approximately 10 minutes, performed during each of the last three winters. The scans offer Posada peace of mind at a point when he can actually exhale and ponder the bruising he takes during the season -- a luxury neither he nor the October-contending Yankees can afford right now.

"You can't think about the negative, and you can't think about the stuff that could happen," Posada said. "You've just got to keep on hoping that everything is going to be fine and you can keep on playing the game.

"It could happen anywhere. It could happen walking down the street and you get hit by a car. You can't really worry about things that you can't control."

Posada believes that, through the course of his career, he has suffered "three or four" concussions. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital after Saturday's 10-1 loss at Fenway Park, and doctors took scans of the 36-year-old catcher's head and neck.

Though they proved negative and Posada said he slept well, the pounding of his headache quieting, Posada was offered designated-hitter duties, with backup Jose Molina assuming the catching role for Sunday's series finale.

Manager Joe Torre said he was concerned that Posada might have to deal with an assortment of foul tips off his mask, an inevitability that the manager would prefer to delay for another 24 hours.

"I need his bat in the lineup right now," Torre said. "We just decided to do the safe thing."

Torre said that he had been informed of Posada's medical status over dinner with the Yankees training staff on Saturday night. Somewhere along the line, Posada's regular trips for CT scans have also been topics of conversation, a personal decision that Torre said has proven wise.

"With what's gone on in football, talking about the cumulative effect of concussions, I think it's a great idea," Torre said. "It's a question no one can answer. I never thought about it until the football situation came up, the fact that there were so many. It's frightening."

Everyone's a comedian: Derek Jeter's immediate reaction concerning Posada's collision with Hinske displayed little concern. Standing in a tunnel outside the visitors' clubhouse at Fenway Park on Saturday, Jeter smirked and assured reporters, "He'll be all right. He's got a hard head."

Later, in a private conversation, Jeter apparently offered his good friend a little more heartfelt reaction.

"He makes fun of it, but he said he couldn't do what I'm doing," Posada said. "That's pretty encouraging."

Never forgotten: Doug Mientkiewicz found his way into the Yankees lineup on Sunday, taking over duties at first base after two days of questionable defensive play by Jason Giambi.

Mientkiewicz's season nearly ended here in June after a violent collision, when he was clobbered by Mike Lowell on a play at first base. Leaving the field on a stretcher, Mientkiewicz -- a member of the 2004 Red Sox who drew the fans' ire by briefly retaining possession of the final World Series out -- was given a standing ovation by the Fenway Park faithful.

They weren't quite as forgiving on Sunday, as Mientkiewicz took a verbal pounding from autograph seekers during batting practice.

"Give back the ball," Mientkiewicz said. "Yeah, I know. I've heard it before."

Torre said he selected Mientkiewicz over Giambi because Giambi's recent at-bats against Boston starter Curt Schilling have not been very good, not because of the hit-by-pitch Giambi suffered in Saturday's contest, apparent retaliation by Josh Beckett.

Rolling Thunder: Double-A Trenton secured the Eastern League championship on Saturday, posting a 10-5 victory at Akron to take the best-of-five series in four games.

The Yankees will recall two players from the Thunder, pitchers Tyler Clippard and Chase Wright, to join the club in New York. Both appeared and made starts for the Yankees earlier this season but are likely to be used only in emergency situations.

"They're champions," Torre said. "Maybe they'll rub off on our guys."

Bombers bits: Ross Ohlendorf, who made his second Major League appearance on Saturday, has made a quick impression on Torre. The Yankees manager likes Ohlendorf's power sinker and competitive attitude, calling him "intriguing." ... The Yankees plan to invite several Minor League prospects to New York to work out with the club and get a taste for Yankee Stadium, but the players will not dress or be added to the roster.

Coming up: Their nine-game road trip complete, the Yankees will return home on Monday to open a three-game series with the Orioles. Right-hander Phil Hughes (3-3, 4.91 ERA) will take on right-hander Daniel Cabrera (9-16, 5.37 ERA) on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on the YES Network.

Jeter's homer lifts Yankees at Fenway

Jeter's homer lifts Yankees at Fenway

Go-ahead shot off Schilling in eighth cuts deficit to 4 1/2 games

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

BOSTON -- Derek Jeter's go-ahead three-run homer on Sunday broke up a back-to-the-future pitchers' duel, lifting the Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox on a memorable night at Fenway Park.

Jeter's shot to the back row atop the left-field Green Monster came on a hanging eighth-inning splitter from Curt Schilling, who spent six frames entangled in a one-run fight with 45-year-old Yankees righty Roger Clemens in a rematch of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Making his first start at Fenway Park since the 2003 American League Championship Series and the 200th Yawkey Way start of his career, Clemens pitched nothing short of the gem he became so well-known for within the stadium's confines.

Clemens rolled back the clock in limiting the Red Sox to one unearned run and two hits over six innings, his first start back after receiving a pair of cortisone injections in his pitching elbow and missing one turn.

Boston got its only run off Clemens in the first inning, when Johnny Damon misplayed a Jacoby Ellsbury fly ball for an error. After a one-out walk to David Ortiz, Mike Lowell came through with a run-scoring single. That would be Boston's last hit until Lowell again singled with one out in the sixth, as Clemens was completing his successful 87-pitch return to Fenway Park.

Instead of Clemens, the victory would go to reliever Joba Chamberlain, who surrendered an earned run after 17 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Chamberlain pitched a scoreless seventh after a leadoff double to Eric Hinske but gave up a solo home run on a high 98-mph fastball to Lowell with two outs in the eighth, cutting New York's lead to 4-2.

Damon's fifth-inning home run over the Green Monster was all the Yankees mustered against Schilling before Jeter gave New York the lead. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth inning to help the Wild Card leaders take two out of three games in the weekend series, moving within 4 1/2 games in the AL East with 13 games to play.

Wang outdone by Beckett in Boston

Wang outdone by Beckett in Boston

Yanks' ace chased in sixth inning; deficit back to 5 1/2 games

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

BOSTON -- On an afternoon when Josh Beckett freely gassed batters with swing-and-miss stuff, the more soft-spoken Chien-Ming Wang was unable to make much of a statement.

While Beckett three-hit the Yankees over seven innings, Wang -- also a front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award -- had his troubles with the Red Sox, taking the loss in a 10-1 Yankees defeat on Saturday afternoon.

"You know, it wasn't one of his great days," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "What can I say? Beckett was great. He came at us and kept coming at us, and we couldn't mount any kind of offense."

Wang had heard some of the whispers about how his mid-September showdown in the creeping shadows at Fenway Park could help influence voting, but it is a postseason berth -- not awards -- that the Yankees must harbor the most concern about.

With five Boston runs home in 5 2/3 innings, it was a bad day to have a bad day.

"Sometimes, I lost my control," Wang said. "Other times, they got hits."

The Yankees can call a relatively steady 2 1/2-game lead their own in the AL Wild Card race, but they have insisted upon dangling heartier aspirations toward the division, making up some emotional ground with a miraculous comeback on Friday night that made some wonder if nothing was impossible.

Yet if that carrot was to be reached, a three-game New England sweep -- shades of last season's five-game Boston Massacre -- would have made New York's most damaging dent in the AL East deficit, which returned to 5 1/2 games.

"Certainly, it would have made it more reasonable," Torre said of a win on Saturday. "In this game, anybody is capable of losing three or four in a row, or winning three or four in a row. Things turn real quickly."

That much is certain. The Yankees' six-run eighth-inning rally on Friday created little carryover -- in this case, momentum only being as good as the way the offense could handle the next day's starting pitcher.

Beckett made that a difficult proposition. Allowing a solo home run to Derek Jeter in the top of the first but otherwise quieting New York in a seven-inning, seven-strikeout performance, Beckett became baseball's first 19-game winner this season and helped Boston to its largest margin of victory against the Yankees since a 14-3 drubbing last May 9.

"You have to get to him early and get some mistakes, because once he establishes strikes and starts throwing everything, he can work both sides of the plate," said Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi. "That's the biggest thing."

Meanwhile, Wang -- who usually showcases a diving sinker to induce opponents into pounding ground balls to his infielders -- again altered his game plan slightly for the Red Sox, mixing in more sliders and changeups.

But the tweaks didn't take hold, as Wang had slightly more run on his pitches than he wanted. Recording just six of 17 outs on the ground, Wang seemed unable to command the zone, surrendering runs in the first and fifth innings before losing control in the sixth.

"His stuff wasn't as good, as consistent," Torre said. "They're pretty patient, this ballclub. When [Wang] has trouble throwing strikes, a lot of times it's just that his stuff has a lot of movement. He just can't keep it in the strike zone."

Wang was lifted with two outs in the troublesome sixth inning, in which he allowed run-scoring hits to rookie Jacoby Ellsbury and a two-run double to perennial thorn David Ortiz -- hard hits in an inning that also featured a jarring home-plate collision between Jorge Posada and Boston's Eric Hinske, who was called out and left the catcher with a lingering headache that had him sent to Massachusetts General Hospital for precautionary reasons. CT scans taken of Posada's head and neck came back negative.

Posada's friend Jeter expressed little concern, saying that his buddy had a "hard head." Torre deemed the play clean, explaining that Hinske had gone in hard.

"That was just one of those bang-bangers," he said. "We had the infield playing halfway, just hoping we could get a ground ball. We didn't want to play all the way in, because we didn't want to cut down our chances to get an out."

Wang's nine-hit, three-walk performance also featured another potential chapter in the ongoing saga between New York and Boston, one that could have legs as the two teams finalize their 2007 regular-season slate on Sunday. Kevin Youkilis started the sixth-inning rally when one of Wang's 97 pitches inadvertently created a contusion on the first baseman's right wrist.

It was the sixth time in the last two seasons that Youkilis had been drilled by a Yankees pitcher, not including two near-misses by Joba Chamberlain in the teams' last New York meeting.

Both benches were warned by home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom in the seventh inning, when Beckett came back in and hit Giambi on the right elbow with a pitch -- viewed as retaliation for Wang's drilling of Youkilis earlier in the game, but by the Yankees, not as sound baseball judgment.

"You know what? We didn't hit Youkilis on purpose," Giambi said. "It was a 1-2 pitch, and you've got Papi [on deck] -- like he hasn't done enough damage against us. But I respect it. That's the way I play the game. I don't worry about it."

Boston tacked on three additional runs against the New York bullpen in the seventh, sending 10 men to the plate against five Yankees relievers, who let the game get out of hand. Coco Crisp greeted Brian Bruney with an RBI ground-rule double, and Ellsbury touched Sean Henn for a two-run single before rookie Ross Ohlendorf, making his second Major League appearance, walked in a run.

With just 14 games separating the Yankees from the final outs of the regular season, and just nine regulation innings left head-to-head with Boston, odds would appear to be overwhelming that New York's best chance of continuing its string of postseason appearances lies within the Wild Card.

Still, the Yankees don't appear ready to concede the division until the laws of mathematics insist they must.

"We're trying to win every day," Jeter said. "That's the approach we have to have. A couple weeks from now, we'll see what happens."

Kennedy stars, but Yanks' streak ends

Kennedy stars, but Yanks' streak ends

Right-hander holds Blue Jays to one hit in third big league start

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

TORONTO -- At this stage of Ian Kennedy's young career, every start is an opportunity to try out new approaches, test his limits and see what outcomes he might have to deal with.

No one was expecting Kennedy to throw seven innings of one-hit ball. Once he did, few would have predicted it would end up in a Yankees loss.

Frank Thomas' ninth-inning single off reliever Chris Britton scored Alex Rios with the winning run as the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees on Thursday, 2-1, snapping New York's seven-game winning streak and spoiling Kennedy's terrific third Major League start.

"The third game felt a lot more like I was pitching anywhere else, like anywhere in the Minor Leagues," Kennedy said. "With one run, you're not going to win too many ballgames, scoring one run."

As sharp as Kennedy was, Toronto starter A.J. Burnett brought a performance to match, scattering four hits over eight innings, striking out eight. He made just one glaring mistake: Johnny Damon tied the game in the sixth inning with his 11th home run, a soaring shot that landed in the second deck of seats in right field, beneath the restaurant windows.

"I was just fortunate to be able to tie up the game," Damon said. "The guy is one of the best pitchers around. We had some chances. ... It seems like every time he pitches, he's pretty good. Tonight, he was spotting his fastball inside, up and down. His curveball is one of the best, also."

After Luis Vizcaino recorded three outs in relief of Kennedy's seven-plus-inning gem, and Melky Cabrera grounded out with two aboard to end the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees turned to the right-hander Britton for the bottom half.

Most of Britton's action has come with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season, but the Yankees were unable to use Kyle Farnsworth due to a neck injury. Vizcaino had not pitched recently due to various injuries, and Joba Chamberlain was unavailable after throwing 35 pitches in Wednesday's victory.

Had the Yankees taken the lead in the ninth inning, manager Joe Torre said he would have gone to closer Mariano Rivera, but instead he chose Britton over September callup Jose Veras because of the former's strike-throwing ability.

Unfortunately for Britton, two of his strikes caught too much of the plate. Rios started the inning with a sharp single and stole second before Thomas ripped a bouncing ball up the middle, scoring Rios ahead of Cabrera's throw on a slide into the plate.

"It's very disappointing," Britton said. "Nobody wants to lose."

The tough defeat stained Kennedy's impressive performance, though only in finality. For the first seven innings, Kennedy shone, showing Toronto the full arsenal of talent that prompted the Yankees to make him a first-round selection in 2006 from the University of Southern California.

"They're a good fastball-hitting team, so I tried to throw a lot of changeups and curveballs," Kennedy said. "Mix it up. That's what I've got to do. I don't throw 97 [mph], like Burnett."

Kennedy permitted a first-inning run when Thomas doubled home Russ Adams, who had walked, with a drive to center field that eluded Cabrera near the wall.

After the Thomas double, Kennedy retired 15 batters in a row before issuing a two-out walk to Adams in the sixth, then continued to blank the Jays before leaving with one runner on in the eighth.

"He seemed pretty poised," Thomas said. "He wasn't afraid of the strike zone like most young guys. He didn't seem intimidated at all. He pitched his game, hit his spots in and out. He kept the guys off balance, and that's big league pitching."

Even the Thomas double, which Cabrera appeared to lose track of as he closed in on the padded blue fence, may have been catchable. Torre said that Cabrera has made similar plays before, and Kennedy thought the ball would be caught as well.

"I looked at the replay, and you could see the wall was right there as the ball was getting there," Torre said. "I'm sure he probably could have caught it, but I'm not saying he should have."

Yet the Yankees could not get anything going. Derek Jeter followed the Damon sixth-inning home run with a single and Bobby Abreu walked, but Hideki Matsui lined out to first baseman Lyle Overbay, ending the threat.

In the end, though, the lack of run support couldn't be blamed on Kennedy, who continues to exceed all expectations after a quick rise this season all the way from Class A Tampa. Kennedy's performance will create a pleasant but difficult set of problems for Torre and pitching coach Ron Guidry, who plan to meet in Boston to discuss -- among other options -- the concept of utilizing a six-man pitching staff that includes Kennedy.

With just 16 games remaining before the completion of the regular season, innings could grow tight, especially with Roger Clemens insisting that his right elbow is ready for duty and Mike Mussina all but begging for another chance to prove his revival.

Kennedy said he won't concern himself with such issues, preferring to leave any pondering over the difficult decisions to the Yankee brain trust.

"If I keep doing well, they hopefully will find a way to put me out there," he said. "I can't really think about that."

A-Rod the runaway favorite for AL MVP

A-Rod the runaway favorite for AL MVP

Heavy-hitting third baseman leads field of worthy candidates

By Tom Singer / MLB.com

In awards country, there are hotly contested campaigns. Then, there is the American League MVP race, where Alex Rodriguez is running virtually unopposed.

Made even more impressive by perspective, the New York third baseman has tendered one of the most devastating and dominating offensive seasons in recent memory. With the background of a 2006 season, in which he took both an emotional and physical beating, Rodriguez's focused rebirth is an admirable example of the power of a competitive spirit.

Never really letting up from his mythical start -- 14 homers in his first 18 games -- Rodriguez is lapping the league. At the moment, he has 33 percent more homers than the runner-up -- Carlos Pena -- and 79 percent more than the next on the list -- reigning MVP Justin Morneau.

Overall, it has been a top-heavy season for flag bearers in the AL. While no one has done it on quite as grand a scale, Rodriguez does have company on the pedestal from two other players who have been as conspicuous on their contending teams.

Magglio Ordonez, who is trying to compensate for not being the home run king by securing Detroit's first batting title in 46 years, is striving to carry the Tigers across the finish line on his back.

Once again, Vladimir Guerrero has had the big stick in the Angels' banjo-bat rack. He reminds you of the movies' "My Bodyguard," an intimidator who always shows up to quell peril and restore order.

There are other worthy candidates, some of whose merits are perhaps distorted by the prism of provincialism. There is little doubt that there is value everywhere. But when it comes to Most Valuable in 2007, there is no doubt.

THE FAVORITES

Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: A-Rod set an early tone with a walk-off grand slam in the season's fourth game, and has never looked back. Always a number-cruncher, he has buried a reputation for doing most of his damage when it counts the least by batting .325 with 16 homers and 83 RBIs with men in scoring position, and .344 in the seventh inning or later. Along the way, A-Rod has set a multitude of significant home run records, from being the youngest to reach 500 to a new high for third basemen. But this award isn't about personal highs but about team value, and no one has meant more than Rodriguez -- who is 29 homers and 46 RBIs ahead of his closest teammates.

Magglio Ordonez, Tigers: Ordonez has emphatically reclaimed his status as one of the truly under-appreciated monsters of the game, after two seasons of battling a knee injury and a third making gradual strides back. With 132 RBIs, Ordonez is within range of becoming the first Detroit player to drive in 140 runs since Hank Greenberg in 1940. He has produced 15 percent of his team's runs (RBIs plus runs minus homers) -- the same, it's worth noting, as has Rodriguez.

Vladimir Guerrero, Angels: Guerrero has an overwhelming presence in a lineup of otherwise little-ball people, but some will argue he has been less "valuable" to this edition compared to recent Angels teams -- Garret Anderson's revival and Chone Figgins' four-month fire have also helped fuel the West Division runaway. Still, Guerrero remains the most-feared man in that lineup, which affects how opponents approach everyone else. And his ability to carry a team for long stretches remains gospel. He is a few homers shy of his ninth 30-100 season.

THE CONTENDERS

Mike Lowell, Red Sox: Lowell has been Boston's steadiest hand all season, though somewhat lost in the considerable third-base shadow of A-Rod and the Nation shadows of Manny Ramirez and "Big Papi" David Ortiz. However, by leading the team in hitting and in RBIs most of the season, this "throw-in" in the Josh Beckett deal has established himself as one of the biggest steals in recent history.

Victor Martinez, Indians: With a chance for the hard-charging Indians to wind up with the league's best record, it seems reasonable for one of them to merit MVP consideration, and no one is more worthy than this versatile and dangerous player. The 28-year-old catcher is two homers shy of leading Cleveland in the Triple Crown categories, while seeing considerable action at first base in addition to behind the plate.

THE FIELD

Pena, Devil Rays; Curtis Granderson, Tigers; C.C. Sabathia, Indians.

Hughes keeps Yanks streaking

Hughes keeps Yanks streaking

Backed by Giambi's slam, rookie turns in six stellar frames

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

TORONTO -- Manager Joe Torre sat within a cramped, concrete office at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, allowing himself a smile of temporary content. Finally, his long-held personal goal of 20 games over .500 had been achieved.

That significant marker of October premonitions, voiced for months by Torre in dugouts across America under far bleaker circumstances, finally came to light.

Jason Giambi hit a grand slam, Jorge Posada also homered and Phil Hughes turned in six strong innings as the Yankees won their sixth straight, downing the Blue Jays, 9-2.

"We're in a situation where we have our fate in our hands," Torre said.

The fifth-inning grand slam, Giambi's first home run since Aug. 26, chased Toronto starter Shaun Marcum and opened up a six-run advantage for the American League Wild Card-leading Yankees, who remained four games ahead of the Tigers and moved six in front of the fading Mariners.

"You've got too many veteran players that have been through a lot of situations to start counting," Giambi said. "Guys just keep the ball rolling, and you want to carry it through, hopefully, to the postseason. Right now, we're playing great baseball, and you don't want to change anything."

That was easy for Giambi to say. The slugger's 13th homer snapped a personal 2-for-28 slide and relieved a hearty amount of self-inflicted pressure from the midst of an extended struggle.

Giambi jokingly referred to the 1982 movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" as he described his angst, wondering aloud what his fate might have been had he not come through in the bases-loaded, one-out situation.

The outcome of the game was still very much in question as Giambi stepped to the plate; not so much as he watched the opposite-field drive clear the wall, making the 360-foot trot on the same diamond where he suffered a torn plantar fascia in late May, costing him two months of at-bats but leaving him fresher for the playoff push.

"I've been taking good at-bats, but I haven't gotten a hit," Giambi said. "That was a big one to get off my back in a big situation. Hopefully, I go forward, because I've been swinging the bat decent and getting robbed here and there. After a while, it gets frustrating."

"Jason knows what to do," said Johnny Damon. "He's been in these situations many times leading teams to the postseason. With Jason in the seventh hole, that just makes our lineup so much better."

Giambi's fortunes, and the Yankees', turned once more as Marcum left a high fastball up, his 90th pitch and the one that wound up ending the right-hander's night after yielding eight runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Yankees' damage included a run-scoring wild pitch and Posada's home run -- his 20th, and his fifth this month, in what would be a candidate for the team MVP Award if Alex Rodriguez weren't far and away the runaway choice for league honors.

"It's all about adrenaline, this time of year. You're down inside 20 games to play and you've got something to play for."

-- Yankees manager Joe Torre

Later, in the eighth inning, Posada would need a two-minute breather as a foul ball wrenched the metal of his face mask. More typical respites would be preferable, but it's not as though there is ample time to rest.

"Nobody's fresh," Posada said. "You've just got to go out there and play these games. They mean a lot. You have to keep going out and doing it."

Damon had a two-run single in the second inning and also contributed a diving grab in left-center to aid the 21-year-old Hughes, who logged his first victory since Aug. 10 after battling early control problems.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning by getting Aaron Hill to hit back to the mound, thus escaping unscathed from two walks and a hit, Hughes flirted with trouble again in the second inning.

Vernon Wells appeared to have a big hit when he ripped a drive up the gap in left-center field, but Damon -- also running on fresher legs late in the season -- caught up to it, snaring the ball with a full-extension drive.

Hughes' luck would last just one more batter, as Russ Adams came through with a two-run single, but Hughes seemed to calm from there.

Acknowledging that he did not possess his best swing-and-miss stuff, Hughes focused more on pitching to spots and not trying to be too fine, inducing an array of grounders, popups and fly balls while striking out just one batter: Wells, the first he faced.

"I was still aggressive," Hughes said. "I wasn't going to try to nip every corner. I'm not going to change my approach just because my stuff isn't there. I'll still throw fastballs early in the count."

"He just settled in," Torre said. "He just seemed to relax. The last few innings were great."

Pitching well for the second consecutive start after taking a no-decision last time out vs. Seattle, Hughes threw 106 pitches. He allowed two runs (one earned), scattering three hits.

With the game well in hand, Edwar Ramirez recorded six outs -- five via strikeout -- and Ross Ohlendorf came on to make his Major League debut in the ninth inning, retiring Toronto in order while striking out the first man he faced, Lyle Overbay.

Ohlendorf, a starter who had recently been converted to a relief role, could be "very interesting" in the future, Torre said.

Indeed, it was a night for new beginnings. After taking nearly the entire season to get to the 20-games-over .500 mark, Torre said the new goal is now to fall beneath once more.

"It's all about adrenaline, this time of year," Torre said. "You're down inside 20 games to play and you've got something to play for."

A-Rod's 52nd helps Wang win 18th

A-Rod's 52nd helps Wang win 18th

Home run in fifth straight game contributes to sweep of Royals

By Conor Nicholl / MLB.com

KANSAS CITY -- Often overshadowed by his own teammates and several other high-profile starting pitchers, Chien-Ming Wang sometimes hasn't received due credit for his results. But Yankees manager Joe Torre said he considers Wang "one of the big guys," someone who is a true ace.

"But there is always somebody else that is going to get more attention than him," Torre said.

That may still be true after Sunday's performance, but Wang's results are necessitating as much publicity and discussion regarding the Cy Young Award as several of the American League's elite pitchers, including Johan Santana, Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia. Wang tossed seven innings of three-run ball on Sunday and earned the win in the Yankees' 6-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

"I think he is [one of the best]," catcher Jorge Posada said. "I think he has proven a lot. He gets better and better every time he goes out there. He is showing it and not saying anything about it.

"He is very low-key and very quiet about it, and I think that is why people are not giving him the credit that he deserves. I think he deserves all the credit in the world."

The win lengthened New York's lead to four games ahead of the Detroit and five ahead of Seattle in the AL Wild Card race. The Yankees have won five straight games, their longest streak since Aug. 3-7.

On Sunday, Wang's batterymate and his third baseman provided the help. Posada broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run double in the fifth inning.

Alex Rodriguez continued his assault on the record books with his 52nd homer of the season, his fourth of the series and his seventh in the Yankees' past five games.

Rodriguez has homered in five consecutive games, tying a career high. The long ball also gave him a Major League-leading 140 RBIs this season, marking just the fifth time a Yankees player has driven in 140 runs since 1939.

"What Alex has done in the short period of time is pretty amazing," Torre said.

The offense supplied plenty of support for Wang, who earned his 18th win this season and kept a tie for the Major League lead with Boston's Beckett, who also won his 18th on Sunday.

Wang also ranks second in the AL in winning percentage (.750) and lowered his ERA to 3.69, just outside of the top 10. New York is 8-1 in Wang's last nine starts.

"He is our horse," Posada said. "He is our No. 1. You try to get him some runs. ... He has been very, very key for us."

Wang, who missed time at the beginning of the season with a strained right hamstring, has the chance to become the first 20-game winner in the Major Leagues in the last two seasons. In 2006, Wang led the Majors with 19 wins and finished second in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award.

"He certainly hasn't done anything wrong," Torre said of Wang's Cy Young chances. "And any time you pitch with the urgency to win -- Beckett is doing the same thing, obviously -- it is pretty impressive. This kid -- how quickly he has turned into someone you count on, on a regular basis -- I think is very impressive."

Before the game, Posada approached Wang and told him to shorten his stride slightly. Kauffman Stadium's mound is flatter than most, and Posada wanted to make certain that Wang still kept his sinker down.

Wang was efficient, tossing just 25 pitches through three innings. He had some trouble in the fourth, when he permitted a three-run double to Alex Gordon on a sinker that was supposed to be away but was left in the middle of the plate.

But Wang quickly settled down and tossed scoreless innings in the fifth, sixth and seventh. He tied a season high with four walks but coaxed 11 ground-ball outs.

"I just forgot about it and slowed down," Wang said of Gordon's game-tying double.

Afterward, Torre said that Wang was a "little Jekyll and Hyde," but it's a testament to Wang that he didn't have his best stuff and was still able to produce a quality start.

"He can get away with stuff," Posada said. "He can get away with not having a sinker. He can get away with not having a changeup or a split-finger. He has been that effective."

Wang went at least six innings for the 18th time in his last 19 starts and the 25th time in 27 starts this season. While the injury short-circuited any chance the right-hander would have of leading the AL in innings pitched, few starters have consistently worked deeper into games. Wang has averaged more than 6 2/3 innings per outing, one of the top marks in the AL.

"He has been able to throw his slider for a strike and been able to expand the zone with his fastball," Posada said.

Wang received the necessary run support when Rodriguez hit his 52nd homer of the season -- and fourth this series -- off Zack Greinke in the first inning, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. A-Rod is the Majors' leader in runs scored (132), RBIs and homers.

"It's a magical season," Rodriguez said. "I am enjoying it. The reason I am getting pitched to is those guys behind me."

Four innings later, one of those guys behind him -- Posada -- broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run double off John Bale down the right-field line.

"We got some guys on base, and you want to try and stay in the middle of the field," Posada said. "You have a left-hander in there, and I got a great pitch to hit."

And that was all Wang needed for another quiet win.

Yanks' rookies surprised by transition

Yanks' rookies surprised by transition

Preparation, coaching, veterans make pitchers feel at home

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Sometime on Thursday, Ian Kennedy will board a charter flight bound for Kansas City, where a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium and his second big league assignment await. He won't have to carry his bags.

The 22-year-old rookie, making his first road trip since being summoned from the Minors, has compared life in a Yankees uniform to being treated like royalty. Not that he would cast aspersions on his dizzying path to the Bronx, but the experience has been better than even he thought it would be.

"I didn't expect it any other way, because the Yankees are always in a pennant race," Kennedy said. "It's nice to feel that every game counts. Even though I'm a rookie, I want to win every time I go out there."

Like relief stud Joba Chamberlain, Kennedy opened the year in front of sparse Florida State League crowds. His quick assimilation into the Yankees' fold is already well ahead of schedule, coming on the heels of a seven-inning, one-earned-run performance against the Devil Rays on Saturday.

"I thought I'd be in [Double-A] Trenton," Kennedy admits. "But you get a little greedy, and you want to go to the next level and the next level [after that]. It's not a trend, so I didn't know if I was shooting for the stars or if I was thinking about something that could actually happen."

It has happened more than expected in 2007.

Phil Hughes, just 21 years old, logged his best effort Wednesday after a three-start slide, the backstory to the Alex Rodriguez Show, and the identically aged Chamberlain unknowingly put himself in position to become the ninth Yankees pitcher to log his first victory in 2007 -- an unthinkable achievement, considering the track record of an organization that freely dispensed young talent in favor of veteran presence.

"It's exciting for me to be here as long as I've been here, and then all of a sudden you've got this crop of young arms that have come along," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "We're accelerating this stuff more and more these days, and giving the kids the experience at this level. It's working out more times than not."

One of Torre's favorite illustrations for the perpetual coming-of-age story that has become a welcome sidebar to the Yankees' highlight reel is his own experience. Torre's big league debut came in 1960 with the Milwaukee Braves, and he recalls looking at a fastball zip by. The baseball came from 60 feet and six inches, and it didn't behave differently just because the pitch had been delivered by a person in a Major League uniform.

"I can hit that," Torre recalls thinking.

In the cases of Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy, they can throw that. But maybe the most important figure for all three young pitchers, at least in recent days, has been the figure lurking in the shadows. Triple-A pitching coach Dave Eiland, who pitched parts of four seasons in New York from 1989-91, reassumed his old digs last week to help prepare Kennedy for Tampa Bay.

The 41-year-old Eiland has been kept busy, overseeing Kennedy's first Yankee Stadium mound session in an empty building -- thwack, the ball echoed off 55,000 seats as it met bullpen catcher Roman Rodriguez's glove -- before administering a few key tweaks during Hughes' most recent bullpen performance, resuming a relationship formed last season at Double-A Trenton.

"A lot of times, you don't really feel what you're doing wrong," Hughes said. "That's why it's nice having Dave here. He saw me a lot last year and this year in Trenton and Scranton. He really knows what I need to do."

"This game is set up for you to fail. I understand that's going to happen. ... When it does happen, you have to respond and understand that that's part of the game."

-- Joba Chamberlain

The time investment has been wise, considering the stakes. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre may be involved in a postseason series, but Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain -- all Triple-A Yankees at various points this season -- have much more at stake, assigned to figure out Major League life on the fly.

"If any of these young guys can handle it, they can, because of their makeup," Eiland said. "They stay under control of themselves, and they don't seem to get rattled. If they do, they hide it well. They're pros. They're mature beyond 21 and 22 years of age."

Physical gifts aside, the trio's most impressive trait has been their levelheadedness and professionalism, said Eiland.

Chamberlain may well be the most boisterous of the bunch, quickly gaining chutzpah as his 12 1/3 scoreless inning streak extended. Torre joked that the carefully protected Chamberlain shouldn't be allowed to give up a run until 2008, but Chamberlain cautions that this streak won't -- can't -- last forever.

"This game is set up for you to fail," Chamberlain said. "I understand that's going to happen. You've just got to go out and keep attacking the zone. When it does happen, you have to respond and understand that that's part of the game. That's going to be the big test."

So while Chamberlain still gets the oohs and ahhs as he wanders New York, unmistakable with his thick build and swagger, Hughes and Kennedy both own a quieter confidence.

Not that any of the three demand to be acknowledged or looked at. As Kennedy said, that makes him the lucky one: "Everybody knows Joba, but they don't know who I am. I don't mind that at all."

"Just being around them for a period of time, you see how they handle themselves," Eiland said. "It's not only on the mound, but in the clubhouse. They're not guys that are loud talking. They're always willing to learn and always asking questions."

Of course, it helps that there are voices willing to answer those queries. Kennedy -- who feared that the clubhouse would be an "off-to-yourself type of feeling" before he actually experienced it -- said that he hoped to spend some time picking the brains of Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina, particularly on the topics of how to deal with a young, scrappy Royals club.

Chamberlain's first Major League locker was issued a thin wall away from Roger Clemens' belongings, no chance assignment. And Hughes has benefited all season long from veteran presence, dating back to Legends Field, when he was deposited into Derek Jeter's clubhouse neighborhood.

Having that kind of support system has eased the transition for all involved -- for the Yankees, suddenly placing their trusts in a foreign youth movement, and for the players, who understand that the way things work now aren't necessarily the way they were just a few years ago.

"It's been positive," Hughes said. "When I got here [in August], Shelley [Duncan] was here, and then Joba and Ian. It's good to have that young blend in a locker room [with other] guys coming up. You don't feel like the one sole guy in the group. You can share the good and bad that come with being up here."

A-Rod smacks two homers in Yanks' win

A-Rod smacks two homers in Yanks' win

Taters highlight Bombers' eight-run seventh inning

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez insisted that he could play, even as his sprained and bruised right ankle had him limping through the Yankee Stadium clubhouse corridors.

And as manager Joe Torre searched into the All-Star's intense stare, looking for hints of uncertainty floating about the trainer's room, he listened. Good thing.

Rodriguez jumped out of an MRI tube and onto a pair of pitches in the Yankees' eight-run seventh inning on Wednesday, as his Major League-leading 47th and 48th blasts of the season comfortably helped the Yankees to a 10-2 victory over the Mariners.

"There's not much time left," Rodriguez said. "I guarantee you that if it was April or May, I probably would have taken a day, no question. Every game is so important."

Habitually one of the earliest reportees to the stadium for games, Rodriguez arrived on Wednesday ready to go through rigorous regimen paces, despite having injured his right ankle in a headfirst slide on Tuesday.

The Yankees, as cautious as would be expected with the probable American League MVP, had different plans. Instead of running sprints in the outfield and taking dozens of cuts in the underground batting cages, Rodriguez found himself grumbling his way to a Manhattan hospital, where tests revealed injuries that left him at an estimated 60 percent.

"You've got to be smart about it," Rodriguez said. "Going to the hospital at 5:15 [p.m.] is something that you're not very excited about. You want to play, you know your body, and you certainly don't want to get into an MRI machine."

While Rodriguez was in transit, Torre ripped up his original lineup card, on which he had optimistically filled in Rodriguez as New York's third baseman and cleanup hitter.

Another version briefly filtered through Torre's mind, showcasing Jorge Posada as the designated hitter and Wilson Betemit at third base, but Rodriguez wouldn't have it -- going through an abbreviated pregame workout at the stadium, he charged past reporters and into the trainers' room, where Torre asked him to prove that a third revision was necessary.

"I know you want to play, but are you going to be able to apply yourself and not be tentative?" Torre recalled asking Rodriguez.

"He wanted to look me in the eyes and make sure I wasn't lying to him," Rodriguez said.

The truth came through in the seventh, as Rodriguez -- the DH, batting fourth -- erased a one-run deficit by turning on a full-count Jarrod Washburn fastball, instantly spoiling six innings of work in which the Seattle left-hander had limited the Yankees to little but Jose Molina's solo homer.

After an error, the Mariners turned Washburn's game over to their September-swelled bullpen, and from there the Yankees took control, sending 12 men to the plate in the inning. After Rodriguez's homer, George Sherrill offered two walks before pinch-hitter Posada looked at a 3-1 Sean Green pitch to force home the go-ahead run. Johnny Damon bounced into a RBI fielder's choice, and Melky Cabrera singled through the right side with Damon in motion. Derek Jeter's two-run double off the wall in right-center preceded Rodriguez's second homer of the inning, a blast to left field that earned him a curtain call from the crowd of 52,538.

"I can't relate to it. It's unbelievable," said Jeter, who stood at home plate applauding Rodriguez's memorable feat. "I haven't seen anything like it in all my years playing. It's not that easy."

The home runs gave Rodriguez 512 for his career, moving him past Mel Ott and tying Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 17th place on the all-time list.

Even though Rodriguez said this is no time to ponder his place in history, Torre didn't hesitate to marvel once more.

"His whole career is something special -- the numbers he's put up at his age, and how he takes care of himself," Torre said. "Sometimes how important this game is to him gets in the way, because he needs to do so much. This year he's been a gamer."

The big inning left 21-year-old Joba Chamberlain in line to earn his first Major League victory, having pitched a scoreless seventh in relief of starter Phil Hughes. Chamberlain said that he didn't realize how the official scoring worked until Mariano Rivera congratulated him after the game; crediting Rodriguez with helping him get win No. 1 would be no problem.

"The man's incredible," Chamberlain said. "He's one of the best in the game, and he still works every day to become better. That's a tribute to him and his workout. He understands that it takes hard work. You can't get at the top and stay there. You have to work even harder."

Raul Ibanez reached Hughes for a two-run homer in the fourth, but otherwise the right-hander appeared in command, tying a career high with six strikeouts, and scattering five hits and walking two in a 97-pitch effort.

"Especially coming off three not very good starts, it's definitely one that I can work off of," Hughes said. "And it also feels good to know that I didn't just go out there and [not] know what I did differently. I know where I need to be right now, and that's a good feeling."

The outburst helped the Yankees bookend their nine-game homestand with high notes. A sweep of the Red Sox was followed by the doldrums of dropping two of three to the Devil Rays, a luxury the Yankees can ill afford. But picking up two wins against the AL Wild Card-contending Mariners provides a springboard to an important trip to Kansas City, Toronto and Boston.

"We have a lot of work to do here," Rodriguez said. "We've talked about how, from July on, every game for us is a postseason game. We just need to take small bites."

Minor injury scares for A-Rod, Wang

Minor injury scares for A-Rod, Wang

Slugger may sit out Wednesday; righty's stiffness 'not an issue'

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Yankees would prefer not to imagine what their roster would look like if they simultaneously lost the services of both their winningest pitcher and most prolific slugger.

And yet, in the span of one inning, they nearly found out.

Alex Rodriguez twisted his right ankle sliding headfirst into third base in the Yankees' seven-run seventh inning on Tuesday, en route to a 12-3 victory over the Mariners. A half-inning later, Chien-Ming Wang took the mound for the eighth inning but was pulled with lower-back stiffness.

Now for the exhale. Though he complained that his ankle -- rolled over by Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre -- was "a little sore," Rodriguez underwent X-rays that came back negative, taken on the premises of Yankee Stadium following the game.

Rodriguez left open the possibility that he may need to rest on Wednesday, as the Yankees wrap up their Wild Card-tinged series with the Mariners.

"A little scary," said Rodriguez, who hit his Major League-leading 46th homer in the victory. "But we'll see how it feels in the morning."

"I knew it was going to take me a long time to get to third base, and I didn't want bad news when I got there," manager Joe Torre said. "Then, when I saw him get up on his knees, it made me feel better. But that was scary, the way he went down. There's so many things that can happen."

The Yankees explained Wang's stiffness by pointing to the lengthy seventh inning, in which New York sent 12 men to the plate against three Seattle pitchers.

With a low pitch count and the Yankees having staked Wang to a large lead, the right-hander opened the eighth inning, throwing two pitches to pinch-hitter Jeremy Reed. Both offerings set off red flags in the mind of catcher Jorge Posada, who trotted to the mound and checked on Wang after Reed chopped to second base.

"He asked me if I was OK," Wang said. "I said, 'I'm OK.' I could not get loose."

That, Posada said, was enough to wave to the Yankees' bench for a coaching visit. Enough was enough.

"I was not going to let him pitch," Posada said. "It just didn't look good -- the two pitches he threw, something about it didn't look right. I just wanted to make sure he was OK. He told me he felt tight, and I told the dugout to come out.

"You don't want him to get hurt. He's too valuable. I just wanted to make sure he was OK."

Wang said he received only normal ice treatment on the back and that he was feeling better after the game. Since he will not pitch on seven days' rest with a long layoff upcoming due to two off-days in the schedule, the Yankees had little concern the issue would follow him.

Pitching coach Ron Guidry and Torre both blamed the stiffness on the lengthy preceding inning, since Wang opened the eighth at just 84 pitches.

"Sitting down for 45 minutes, that's it," Guidry said. "Most of the time, it's five minutes, 10 minutes. When you sit down for 40 or 45 minutes, your back gets tight, especially late in the game."

"You could see when he threw the first couple of pitches, he didn't bend his back," Torre said. "It was just stiffness. It's not an issue. I think it was just a long inning."

Asked if Wang perhaps should have admitted that his back was stiff before opening the eighth inning, the catcher shuffled the question off to the 27-year-old right-hander. With 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball in the books on the way to win No. 17, Wang could do little wrong.

"You don't want him to get hurt," Posada said. "He's too valuable. I just wanted to make sure he was OK."

Wang's 17th extends Wild Card lead

Wang's 17th extends Wild Card lead

Yankees righty pushes Mariners two back with 7 1/3 innings

By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- There's no denying how much the Yankees need strong pitching performances every night, and there's no cheapening how valuable an ace like Chien-Ming Wang can be.

But when the Yankees' offense is clicking, it's hard to imagine any of that mattering.

Wang allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings against the Mariners, guiding the Yankees to a 12-3 win and pushing their American League Wild Card edge back to two games. And while the Yankees needed that dominance early, they weren't quite as dependent on it later, after the offense awoke for three runs in the sixth inning and seven more in the seventh to blast open the game.

The Yankees drilled four home runs in all -- one each from Alex Rodriguez and Bobby Abreu, and two from Jorge Posada -- and tallied up 19 hits. Eight of those came in the seventh, when the Yankees sent 12 batters to the plate and scored more than half of them. By the time that rally was complete, every Yankees starter other than Hideki Matsui had collected at least one hit and one RBI, and Matsui reached base twice himself.

Abreu and Robinson Cano had four hits apiece, while A-Rod, Posada and Wilson Betemit also chipped in with multi-hit games. By the time Wang left the game in the eighth, the Yankees had already taken a 10-run lead and replaced a third of their regulars with reserves.

And in the end, all of that overshadowed Wang's brilliance. The right-hander needed only 86 pitches to cruise into the eighth, allowing just five hits and an isolated Adrian Beltre home run. He struck out only on7 but induced 17 ground-ball outs, leaving to a standing ovation.

The Yankees survived a scare in the seventh inning, when Rodriguez, attempting to go from first to third base on a Posada single, slid headfirst into the third-base bag. A-Rod rolled over and clutched his right knee in pain, but after a short delay and a visit from the training staff, he remained in the game. Alberto Gonzalez replaced him for his second at-bat of the inning, with the Yankees having already built a 10-run lead.

Yanks expect Clemens to miss start

Yanks expect Clemens to miss start

Veteran out after four innings with elbow pain; MRI pending

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens was lifted from his start against the Mariners on Monday with right elbow discomfort that will likely force him to miss at least one start.

Clemens told Yankees manager Joe Torre that his elbow was troubling him during the fourth inning of a 7-1 loss to Seattle in which he allowed three runs, including a two-run double to Yuniesky Betancourt.

"It didn't start bothering him until the fourth," Torre said. "In Roger's case, there are a lot of things that he deals with on a regular basis. I know we checked with him twice today before he went out."

The 45-year-old right-hander was sent for a MRI exam at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. In 16 starts plus one relief appearance for the Yankees, Clemens is 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA. He did not speak to reporters before leaving Yankee Stadium.

The elbow ailment, a grabbing sensation, is something that has bothered Clemens on and off this season, Torre said. Clemens dealt with the issue last season while pitching for the Astros, and Torre speculated that the pain could date as far back as Clemens' first go-round in pinstripes, which ended in 2003.

"It's happened earlier this year, too, the same type of thing," Torre said. "He's dealt with it and come back and pitched some gems. ... It's something that comes and goes. It doesn't mean it's debilitating. It just means it's muscular stuff."

Catcher Jorge Posada said that he did not have any conversations on Monday about Clemens' discomfort, though he acknowledged that the Yankees have known about the current condition for at least one start. Clemens limited the Red Sox to one run and two hits over six innings in his last effort.

"He had no limitations at all," Posada said. "I called every pitch like nothing was wrong. I didn't see anything wrong."

Because Clemens had been dealing with a variety of physical issues in the week following his start against Boston, including blisters on his right foot and general arm weariness, the Yankees were not even sure if he would make his scheduled start on Monday. Mike Mussina was dispatched to the bullpen for Clemens' warmup session just in case the Rocket had to be scratched, but Clemens insisted that he was ready for the ball.

"Roger certainly knows his body better than anybody else," Torre said. "Just from my experience, I don't think there's a pitcher around that doesn't take some kind of baggage to the mound. The guy has been around for a long time. I have to really trust him to the point of what he has to deal with. It's not uncharted waters for him."

Torre said that the Yankees are likely to pass over Clemens' next turn in the rotation, which could line up for Friday or Saturday at Kansas City, depending on how the Yankees deal with Thursday's off-day.

"I think for safety's sake, we're probably going to want to skip [Clemens] one time," Torre said. "Hopefully, that's all it is."

That start could go to Mussina, who pitched 3 2/3 innings of two-run ball in relief on Monday in his first appearance since being lifted from the Yankees rotation following three ineffective starting performances.

"I'll prepare for whenever it's going to be," Mussina said. "When you send somebody for a MRI, they tend to miss a turn. I might be pitching in Roger's turn the next time around. We'll wait and see."

Yanks drop finale against Rays

Yanks drop finale against Rays

Pettitte allows decisive three-run homer in seventh inning

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Working out of a bases-loaded jam with only one run scoring in the sixth inning deposited a flash of fire in Andy Pettitte's eyes, his firm glare telling the Yankees' bench to stand clear.

Unfortunately for Pettitte, Carlos Pena didn't obey. The first baseman slugged a game-changing three-run homer and the Devil Rays blasted out an 8-2 victory over the Yankees, snapping Pettitte's six-start winning streak.

For Pettitte, the Pena home run came on his 119th and final pitch of the afternoon. Though Yankees manager Joe Torre later admitted that the team had tried to grind toward a better outcome by having Pettitte start the new inning with 103 pitches, the left-hander had no regrets for taking on the seventh inning.

"They sent me back out there with a lot of pitches, and I wanted to be back out there on the mound," Pettitte said. "If you don't make a pitch late in the game after a guy has seen you four times already, if you accidentally hang something, they hurt you."

The damaging blow came on a lazy curveball to the biggest hitter in Tampa Bay's lineup, Pena, a Yankees Triple-A farmhand last season who tied a Devil Rays club record when his 34th homer landed in the right-field seats.

"Andy didn't do anything wrong," Torre said. "I may have pushed the envelope with him in that last inning, but as far as the way he battled it over six innings, it was another effective start for him. He was hell-bent on going out there for the seventh, and we weren't going to try to talk him out of it, that's for sure."

Pettitte (12-8) had won his last six starts and 12 consecutive decisions against Tampa Bay. He lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs and 11 hits while walking two and striking out seven.

Dioner Navarro's third-inning home run off Pettitte boosted Tampa Bay to a 1-0 lead, the Rays catcher's seventh of the season. Pettitte experienced more control troubles in the sixth, leading to the second Tampa Bay run. He issued a walk to Carl Crawford, who moved to second on an errant pickoff throw, then stole third as Pena worked the count toward a base on balls. B.J. Upton brought home the run with a sacrifice fly to right.

The Rays loaded the bases on hits to Delmon Young and Brendan Harris, but Pettitte came back to strike out Jonny Gomes and induced Josh Wilson to hit into a fielder's choice.

The Devil Rays put the game out of reach by blasting Edwar Ramirez for two homers in the eighth: deep drives by Wilson, his second home run, and Akinori Iwamura, his sixth, a two-run shot.

But long before that, the Yankees were victims of sleepy offense on what Pettitte termed a "lethargic" afternoon at the Stadium -- a sunny Sunday afternoon with crisp autumn air, but little noise coming from a sellout crowd of 53,957.

"You want to get the game going," Pettitte said. "It felt like we couldn't get the crowd into it or anything. It felt like it was a little lethargic day out there. That's the frustrating part, more than anything. You're out there battling your tail off."

Then again, with Jason Hammel throwing an effectively wild performance, maybe the fans just didn't have all that much to clap their hands about.

"[Pettitte] pitched well. He gave us an opportunity to win," said Derek Jeter, who went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and may be in the market for another day of rest. "He threw the ball pretty well, and we had a couple of opportunities. We didn't get the job done."

The loudest point of the afternoon may have been the yelp let out by Andy Phillips in the fifth inning, drilled by a Hammel fastball on the right wrist. Examined at first base after shaking his arm vigorously down the basepath, Phillips took out some aggression on the catcher Navarro, crashing into the backstop as he slid home on Melky Cabrera's run-scoring double to right.

After scoring, Phillips walked straight down the clubhouse runway and off to an area hospital, on his way for a precautionary MRI and CT scan. He may as well have taken the Yankees' offense with him; except for Bobby Abreu's run-scoring triple off Grant Balfour in the seventh, New York managed little, stranding two in the sixth, two in the eighth and going down quietly in the ninth against Gary Glover.

"We threatened," said left fielder Johnny Damon, who contributed an outfield assist to save a run in the fifth. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get that extra run in -- something that we've been pretty good at all year. We spoiled a good pitching outing by Pettitte again. We should have at least been able to push a few more runs across to make his job easier."

Hammel (2-4) scattered five hits in five-plus innings, walking none and striking out seven for the victory for the Devil Rays, who took two of three in the weekend series. The series was a bit of a dip in the slate for a Yankees club that cannot afford more of the same, particularly with the Wild Card-contending Mariners rolling to town Monday looking to snap their own malaise.

"I don't think it matters who we play. Every team is going to play us tough," Jeter said. "We have to execute to give us an opportunity to win. We've been playing pretty good -- [Tampa Bay] beat us two out of three here, but we come right back."