Game Three (Rain Shortened): Boston 3 Yanks 0

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — An epic lightning flash transformed the Bronx evening into broad daylight for a split second, and on both benches at Yankee Stadium, an accompanying thunderclap prompted players to instinctively leap with fear for their safety.

After three rain delays, that was the moment that the Yankees realized they probably wouldn’t be coming back onto the field Sunday night. The final score stands as it did in the home half of the sixth inning, crediting the Red Sox with a 3-0 victory.

“That was the loudest thing I’ve ever seen; the brightest thing,” catcher Austin Romine said. “It was daytime for a second. It kind of scared us all. I think [Brett] Gardner jumped in my lap. We took off and we were out of there.”

The loss was New York’s seventh in eight games, coming on an evening in which Jose Iglesias and David Ortiz homered off Hiroki Kuroda and the Yankees managed just two hits against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz.

Ichiro Suzuki and Romine had the only hits for the Yanks, who were unable to move a runner past first base and fell to third place and three games back of their rivals. The Yankees have been held to one run or less in five of their last seven contests.

“I think that’s part of baseball,” designated hitter Travis Hafner said. “You’ll have ups and downs throughout the year, but there’s just too much talent here and it’s just a matter of time before things get rolling again.”

Play was suspended for good at 11:25 p.m. ET with the Yankees about to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, one half inning after Ortiz launched a tape-measure solo blast into the right-field bleachers off Kuroda, flipping his bat at home plate.

There were earlier stoppages as well, including a phantom 45-minute delay before the first pitch that had no rain. The umpiring crew also halted play at 10:44 p.m. and resumed 37 minutes later, only to call for the tarpaulin again four minutes later after the completion of the top of the sixth.

“We were going to try to go as quick as we could,” manager Joe Girardi said. “That’s why we went and played those two outs [in the sixth], but we got hit pretty quick.”

Romine said that the Yankees couldn’t complain about any of the delays.

“I’m not a weatherman, so I’m not going to try and predict anything,” Romine said. “We’re just trying to get the game in. We started when we started, and unfortunately the rain came down hard.”

The Yankees were blanked through five innings by Buchholz, who made his first start since May 22 and held New York to just two singles and a walk in a 71-pitch outing……….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game Two: Red Sox 11 Yanks 1

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — The fingers waggled from the Yankees’ dugout and Phil Hughes obediently followed instructions on the mound, tossing four wide ones to David Ortiz to load the bases and take his chances with Mike Napoli digging in.

Hughes lost that third-inning gamble as Napoli blasted his fifth career grand slam to right field, and it turned into a rout from there as the Red Sox trounced the Yankees, 11-1, on Saturday night, handing New York its sixth loss in seven games.

“Tonight really was just one pitch I’d like to have back,” Hughes said. “I feel like if I can find a way to get Napoli out there, that’s really a momentum shifter.”

On their way to producing a season-high 18 hits, the Red Sox scored all five of their runs off Hughes in that third inning, with Napoli’s ninth home run of the season serving as the big blow.

“It was a good feeling,” Napoli said. “It’s my job to be his protection, and something like that happens, it feels good to come through. I like protecting him and maybe giving managers another thought of doing that.”

Manager Joe Girardi said that he intentionally walked Ortiz to load the bases with one out because he thought Hughes had a better shot of striking out Napoli than Ortiz, but Hughes couldn’t sneak a 94-mph fastball past the slugger with a 2-2 count.

“I don’t want to start putting people on base, but you’re looking at trying to shut down an inning,” Girardi said. “When you get in that situation, I’m going to do what I think is the best thing to do, and I thought the best thing to do was to try and get Napoli. It didn’t work.”

Girardi further defended his move, pointing out that Napoli had struck out much more (78 times in 207 at-bats) than Ortiz (just 16 times in 138 at-bats) entering play on Saturday. Hughes didn’t argue with the logic, also noting that Ortiz had hit him hard coming into Saturday’s action (9-for-20, two homers).

“Ortiz has had a lot of success off me in the past, so I think with a base open it’s the obvious move,” said Hughes, who has now allowed at least one homer in his last five starts. “Whether it’s the third inning or the ninth inning, every run counts.”

Mike Carp also had a run-scoring single off Hughes, who lasted 4 1/3 innings and permitted seven hits with seven strikeouts. After two solid outings on the road, it was another rough outing in the Bronx for Hughes, who was chased in the first inning by Seattle during a seven-run nightmare on May 15.

“It wasn’t his best stuff, but I thought he had good enough stuff to go deeper in the ballgame than he did,” catcher Chris Stewart said. “Unfortunately, that big hit by Napoli set the tone and he couldn’t really escape that.”

Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront looked like he might be headed for an early exit when he burned through 49 pitches in the first two innings, but the Yankees left four men on through those frames and gave Doubront time to settle down.

The Yanks went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position against Doubront, scoring just one run on a sacrifice fly by Stewart, who then left with symptoms of dehydration after the fourth inning.

Doubront scattered six hits with three walks and six strikeouts, winning for the first time since April 27 against the Astros, a span of four starts…….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game One: Yanks 4 Red Sox 1

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — CC Sabathia said that he needed to help the Yankees out of their troubled patch and get the team back onto a winning track. His teammates appreciated that, but they’re also thrilled that the big left-hander is pitching like an ace again.

Sabathia may have found the answers to his lingering problems in a sharp 10-strikeout performance, winning for the first time in more than a month as the Yankees snapped their five-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

“I always feel like it’s my responsibility when I’m out there to give this team a chance to win — go out and pitch well enough to try to win,” Sabathia said. “With us having a tough week, getting swept by the Mets, you want to go out and have a good game. I was lucky enough to do that tonight.”

The left-hander had not won since April 27, a span of five starts, and he said that his biggest struggles were coming in the departments of command and aggressiveness.

One start after lamenting that he was no longer helping the team, Sabathia was happy to showcase his good stuff on a steamy night in the Bronx, outpitching Boston’s Jon Lester by completing 7 1/3 innings with a power fastball and his best slider of the season.

“CC was really good. When you have two aces out there, you just want to give them a few runs,” said Mark Teixeira, who was activated from the disabled list on Friday. “Once we got that lead, you could just tell he wasn’t going to give it up. He was upset at himself for giving up one run. That’s how good he was tonight. He was pretty dominant.”

Sabathia’s 10 whiffs tied his season high set on May 14 against the Mariners, and marked the first time as a Yankee that he had recorded 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk.

“You don’t really expect anything less from him,” Lester said. “I know he hasn’t really pitched well — or probably up to his standards — the past couple, so you knew coming in with us being here he was going to step it up and throw a good game, and he did that tonight. He threw the hell out of the ball tonight.”

While Sabathia credited his improved command, his velocity also seemed to jump a tick, as manager Joe Girardi noted that the hurler seemed to sit at 92-94 mph instead of the 89-91 mph radar gun readings they’d been seeing.

“I felt a little better, but I couldn’t really tell,” Sabathia said. “I definitely felt like I got a couple swings and misses on my fastball and a couple guys were late, so it was definitely coming out a little better.”

So did the Yankees’ lineup, which at least looked more like the one envisioned this spring. Teixeira went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored in his first game of the season, and Kevin Youkilis went 1-for-4 with an RBI single — coincidentally, playing in his first big league game since Sabathia’s last victory……Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Four: Mets 3 Yanks 1

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — The final flicker of life that the Yankees’ slumbering lineup produced in this year’s Subway Series came in the third inning on Thursday with Robinson Cano’s line drive into the field-level seats in right.

From that point on, it was all Mets, all the time — which is exactly how this edition of the Subway Series will be remembered. The Mets broke out the brooms and completed their season series sweep in the Bronx, peeling off a 3-1 victory that sent the Yankees to their season-high fifth consecutive defeat.

“You know there’s a competitive edge in all of those guys in that room,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s hard when you lose to your crosstown rivals; you don’t want to be part of a team that gets swept by your crosstown rivals. Over time, it’s going to happen, but you don’t want to be the team that it happens to.”

That was evident in the way the Yankees quickly shuffled out of their clubhouse, with most dressing and departing without offering a word of analysis. Perhaps there wasn’t much to be said; after Cano’s third-inning homer, Mets pitchers retired the next 20 Yankees, 15 of them by winning pitcher Dillon Gee.

“I can’t speak for other guys’ at-bats; I didn’t see much on TV or video,” Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said. “[Gee] didn’t leave a whole lot of balls over the middle of the plate. Robbie and I took advantage of some pitches to hit in the first inning, we didn’t get anything out of it and from there, he had his way with us.”

The Yankees were shut out in the season series by the Mets for the first time since Interleague Play began in 1997, and it is the first time in franchise history that the Mets have swept a season series of four or more games from any opponent, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s fun to play these guys, just because the fans get to see us play,” Mets closer Bobby Parnell said. “It means a lot to us. But any four games mean a lot to us. We needed to start winning some ballgames.”

Now that the intracity competition is in the rearview mirror, the Yanks must focus on the arrival of their division rivals, as the first-place Red Sox visit New York on Friday to begin a three-game weekend series.

Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are expected to be in the Yankees’ lineup on Friday, activated after their respective two-game Minor League rehab stints for Double-A Trenton, and Girardi hopes their return will spark his overexposed lineup.

“The bottom line is, they’re very good players and it could,” Girardi said. “You hope they come back when they come back and they feel really good and are productive and continue to help us win games.”…..Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game Three: Mets 9 Yanks 4

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — Critical eyes are everywhere these days, scanning every corner of the Mets’ clubhouse, evaluating everything. The Mets have reached a crucial juncture of their season and are finally starting to win — Wednesday’s 9-4 victory over the Yankees, their season-high fourth straight, was merely the latest example.

Now, they are trying to determine the roster composition that will best help them continue.

“Winning’s fun,” manager Terry Collins said after his team clinched a home-and-away Subway Series victory for the first time in five years. “That’s why we show up. When you start winning games … a lot of things happen.”

So the Mets evaluated Jeremy Hefner, whose six solid innings at Yankee Stadium kept him ahead of Dillon Gee on the organizational depth chart — significant, considering one of those two is ticketed for Triple-A Las Vegas once uber-prospect Zack Wheeler arrives. And of course they evaluated first baseman Ike Davis and shortstop Ruben Tejada, who responded with mixed results.

It was Tejada’s leadoff single that sparked a five-run rally in the first inning against starting pitcher David Phelps, who faced eight batters and recorded only one out. Daniel Murphy followed Tejada’s hit with an RBI double, which John Buck followed with a run-scoring single, which Marlon Byrd followed with an RBI fielder’s choice. Though Byrd’s ball might have resulted in an inning-ending double play, third baseman Jayson Nix’s fielding error allowed the carousel to continue.

Next up was Davis, whose massive slump has consumed the Mets for the better part of May. Fresh off a late-night meeting with team officials, in which Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson gave him and Tejada ultimatums to produce, Davis lashed a two-run single into left-center field to chase Phelps from the game.

“I don’t like playing bad, so the fire’s been lit for a while,” said Davis, who worked earlier this week on standing taller in the batter’s box to increase his athleticism. “I know I’m a better player. I get really frustrated when I don’t play good.”

From there, the rout was on. Byrd’s opposite-field homer off Adam Warren gave the Mets a six-run lead, which they extended to eight on Lucas Duda’s two-run double in the fourth. Davis added a second opposite-field single in the fifth inning, finishing 2-for-5, while Tejada mustered a 1-for-5 night…….Read More 

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game Two: Mets 2 Yanks 1

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — Mariano Rivera was invited to toss the first pitch of the night on Tuesday at Citi Field, a rare celebration of a Yankees player in Queens that came as much for his standing as the all-time saves leader as for his dominance over his crosstown rivals.

The evening ended with Rivera throwing the final pitch as well, but surely not as anticipated. Rivera blew his first save of the season and the Mets rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth, pulling off a Subway Series stunner and celebrating a 2-1 victory.

“We don’t want that to happen, but it happened,” said Rivera, who had been perfect in his first 18 chances of the year. “Hopefully, it’s the last one, God knows. But at the same time, what can I say? It was a great game until I got into the game.”

The Yankees were in position to lock down a victory thanks to Lyle Overbay’s sixth-inning RBI single off electric phenom Matt Harvey, who struck out 10 over eight strong innings but left trailing thanks to Hiroki Kuroda’s seven innings of scoreless four-hit ball.

Rivera had been 22-for-24 in save opportunities against the Mets, including the postseason. His final appearance against them in Queens will be tucked into that rarest group of misfires, securely filed on this side of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge alongside the Matt Franco classic from the summer of ’99.

“You knew at some point it would probably happen,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “Very seldom do you see a closer go through the whole year without blowing a save. It’s not an easy job to do and Mo has been so good at it. He’s been so good at it this year. Tonight happened to be that night.”

Rivera didn’t record an out in the ninth — the first time he has ever done so in a save opportunity — surrendering three straight hits.

“He’s human,” Brett Gardner said. “As much as people might not like to think so, it’s not impossible to beat him. He’s human just like the rest of us.”

Daniel Murphy started the trouble with a ground-rule double to left field and David Wright followed with a game-tying single, sliding into second base safely as Gardner’s throw from center field skipped past catcher Chris Stewart.

Stewart said that he thought Gardner’s throw would bounce more and that it squeaked under his glove, but Rivera never made it behind the plate to back up and blamed himself for the miscue.

“I should be back there, but I wasn’t. It was my fault,” said Rivera. “That allows David to get to second base. It happened quick. There wasn’t time to do anything else. It happened.”

Rivera’s final career pitch against the Mets in Queens shattered Lucas Duda’s bat, but Duda muscled the ball into shallow right-center field to drive home Wright with the winning run as the Mets stormed the field in raucous celebration…..Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game One: Mets 2  Yanks 1

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — The Yankees thought they had their player of the game picked out the moment Brett Gardner’s back crashed into the padding of the outfield wall, his glove soaring over the 385-foot marker to reel in a sixth-inning drive.

From his vantage point on the mound, Phil Hughes said he’d witnessed the best play ever made behind him. Daniel Murphy got his revenge later, though, lacing a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning that stunned the Yankees with a 2-1 defeat in Monday’s Subway Series opener at Citi Field.

“I did a terrible job out there,” said losing pitcher David Robertson, who left a cutter up that Murphy laced into center field. “I kept falling behind in the count, couldn’t throw a breaking ball for a strike, and when you make mistakes like that against a good team, they make you pay for it.”

After Gardner stole a two-run homer from Murphy with his terrific play in the sixth inning, the Mets tied the game with David Wright’s long homer off Hughes in the seventh, then moved runners to second and third in the eighth as they pounced on an ineffective Robertson.

Second baseman Robinson Cano sharply threw home to cut down Mike Baxter at the plate on a Ruben Tejada fielder’s choice, but Robertson allowed the go-ahead hit to Murphy, giving the struggling Mets their first lead of the evening.

“It’s been a little bit of a frustrating time for us,” Murphy said. “And to battle like that, to just absolutely battle, it felt like it was a big moment. I was really excited.”

Hughes cruised through six scoreless innings before challenging Wright with a fastball in the midst of a tough at-bat in the seventh. The Mets’ captain got him with a long blast to left, but Hughes still was able to feel good about his outing.

“I thought my fastball was pretty good at the start and it got better as the game went along,” said Hughes, who allowed just four hits with no walks and six strikeouts. “Obviously, it would’ve been much different without Gardner making that catch. That was unbelievable.”

Girardi said there should be no shame for Hughes in getting beat by Wright, who crushed his seventh home run of the season but just his first at Citi Field.

“David Wright is a perennial All-Star and a very good player,” Girardi said. “He’s put up big numbers for a long time and he got the best of Hughesie in that at-bat. He’s a superstar and he put a superstar at-bat on him.”…….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Three: Rays 8 Yanks 3

MLB.com recap:

ST. PETERSBURG — The doors to the visitors’ clubhouse at Tropicana Field swung open 10 minutes after the final out on Sunday, and CC Sabathia was still sitting at his locker, deep in a conversation with pitching coach Larry Rothschild that dripped with frustration.

Sabathia declined to go into details about his chat, saying that the contents were private, but it is no secret that the left-hander is looking for answers after being rocked for seven runs in the Yankees’ 8-3 loss to the Rays.

“I’m hurting the team,” Sabathia said. “I’m not helping the team out. I just need to get better.”

Sean Rodriguez and James Loney homered off Sabathia, who will finish the month of May winless in five starts. The Rays have also been a nemesis for Sabathia, who has won just three of his 20 starts against Tampa Bay in a Yankees uniform.

“We know what kind of player he is,” second baseman Robinson Cano said. “He’s going to go now and figure out what’s wrong, what he’s not doing. Most of his pitches were over the plate, but I know he’ll figure out what’s wrong. That’s the last guy I worry about.”

The Yankees had few answers for right-hander Alex Cobb, who limited New York to a pair of singles over the first seven innings — Jayson Nix’s disputed infield hit in the third and Cano’s ground-ball single in the seventh — before surrendering a solo homer to Brett Gardner in the ninth.

Ichiro Suzuki legged out an eighth-inning triple but was stranded there by Cobb, who walked none and struck out eight in the dominant effort.

“That kind of team, it’s tough to have one certain approach against them,” Cobb said. “They make such good adjustments, and that’s why they’re [tied for] first right now. These big games, I love to have them, and they really make me focus a lot more.”

Such ace-caliber results have been difficult to come by for Sabathia, who said that his fastball command has been lacking, and cited an inability to make important pitches with two strikes.

“Look, this is a guy that has a lot of pride and has pitched really well for us, and he’ll pitch well again for us,” Rothschild said. “It’s some inconsistencies. He’s missing some spots at times, and he’s not getting away with any pitches. I think you’ll see that all modify itself and take care of itself.”

Sabathia’s velocity has been a popular talking point, but he did touch 94 mph in Sunday’s effort while sitting at mostly 91 mph or 92 mph with his fastball. Rothschild said that it is Sabathia’s inconsistency, not his velocity, that has affected him.

“In this league, if you have velocity and not location, you’re going to get hit,” Rothschild said. “You get away with more pitches at higher velocities, but I think the thing that I focus on is, we have to execute those pitches consistently.”

As the Yanks mounted a rally in the ninth, with David Adams just missing a grand slam and settling for a two-run double off the left-field wall, Sabathia burned about how the late push would mean little.

“With this crew, this team that we have, we battle to the end,” Sabathia said. “We did it tonight. I just didn’t give us a chance. I’m just not able to keep the game close and give these guys a chance to feel like they can come back and win the game.”….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game Two:  Yanks 4 Rays 3

MLB.com Recap:

ST. PETERSBURG — Lyle Overbay can’t be sure of how much longer his services as the Yankees’ starting first baseman will be needed, but he is certainly going to force the ballclub into making a tough decision.

Overbay crushed a long home run in the 11th inning off Josh Lueke, two innings after working a key walk that helped topple closer Fernando Rodney, as the Yankees stunned the Rays with a 4-3 victory on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

“It felt good,” Overbay said. “I’d just been missing fastballs all day. It was good to just get on top of one instead of being late and underneath them. It was exciting to do that. Usually that’s what happens when you put a good swing on it.”

Mariano Rivera slammed the door in the bottom of the 11th for his 18th save in 18 opportunities, preserving the victory for Ivan Nova after he’d wriggled free of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th.

On a road trip where the Yanks have toppled Orioles closer Jim Johnson and now sent Rodney to his Major League-leading fifth blown save of the season, the events have served as a reminder of how important a weapon like the ageless Rivera truly can be.

“It’s pretty nice,” said Brett Gardner, who tied the game with an RBI single off Rodney in the ninth. “It’s something we definitely take for granted. He’s been lights out for us.”

The Yankees were down to their final out in the ninth inning when Overbay — who may have less than a week remaining before Mark Teixeira returns from the disabled list — worked a six-pitch walk from Rodney.

Brennan Boesch — called up late Friday night from Triple-A to replace the injured Curtis Granderson — sent Overbay racing home with an opposite-field double, trimming the Yankees’ deficit to one run.

“This kid’s done some things in his career, and he has been in some tough situations,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Boesch. “He knows how to play.”

Gardner then rapped a changeup into center field, bringing Boesch around with the tying run ahead of catcher Jose Lobaton’s tag.

“After we tied it, you have to feel good about your chances,” Gardner said. “You know the momentum is on our side, but we’re still playing on the road and they’ve got the last shot at it.”

Overbay said that he has been able to savor these moments because, as he put it, “I could be sitting at home right now.” Slapped onto the roster at the end of the spring, Overbay now hopes there can be a place for both him and Teixeira on the team.

“I want him back. I’ve always said, ‘He’s real good and he’s going to give us a good chance,’” Overbay said. “I just hope that I can co-exist with him. We’ll soon find out.”

With the game tied, Ichiro Suzuki made a terrific catch in right field on Yunel Escobar’s liner to right field, helping David Robertson send the game to extra innings.

“Amazing,” Girardi said. “I heard some people in the stands close to the dugout say, ‘There it is.’ They thought the game was over. He’s been a great defender for a long time.”…Read More

Box Score

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Game One: Yanks 9 Rays 4

MLB.com Recap:

ST. PETERSBURG — The Yankees have excelled at playing with a short-handed roster this season, but there was a belief they were about to get most of their big stars back in the picture. Instead, there’s a new problem to handle.

Curtis Granderson suffered a left hand fracture and will miss a minimum of four weeks, a loss that soured the celebratory mood of the Yankees’ 9-4 victory over the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field.

“I think our team has had a lot of practice at it this year, so they’re prepared for this, unfortunately,” manager Joe Girardi said. “These guys know how to deal with it. They know you have to come out and play every day.”

The Yankees have had 13 players on the disabled list this season, and Granderson will be back on the shelf by the time the club takes the field on Saturday afternoon. Robinson Cano said that even though the Yankees are in first place, they’d still like to feel whole again at some point.

“This is something that I don’t think that you’re ever going to be used to,” Cano said. “The last thing you want is to see your teammates go down, especially a guy like Grandy. He worked back here, missed Spring Training, and then to get hurt like that — you just feel bad.”

The Yankees survived another late injury scare as starter David Phelps, pitching a career-high 7 2/3 innings, hung a curveball and was smoked by a Ben Zobrist line drive on his 98th and final pitch of the game.

Phelps spiked his glove to the artificial turf around the mound and was led off the field, but precautionary X-rays showed just a bruise and the right-hander is expected to be ready to make his next turn in the rotation.

“I was just mad. It’s the first time I’ve ever been hit in the upper body,” Phelps said. “It’s one of those things that is frustrating because of what’s been going on with our team with everyone getting hurt. I was like, ‘I don’t want to be the next guy.’”

Even without Granderson, who exited shortly after being drilled by Cesar Ramos’ 90-mph sinker in the fifth inning and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks, New York’s lineup thumped Tampa Bay pitching for nine runs and 11 hits in the victory.

The Yankees pounded Roberto Hernandez for five runs in four innings, a good head start toward winning for just the fourth time in their last 17 games at Tropicana Field. Brett Gardner slugged a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, and both Lyle Overbay and Jayson Nix drove in a pair of runs…..Read More 

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Three: Orioles 6 Yanks 3

MLB.com Recap:

BALTIMORE — Hiroki Kuroda said that his early exit from Wednesday’s game was precautionary and that he could have continued to pitch. That was good news for the Yankees, who have been elated by the right-hander’s success so far this season.

Unfortunately for the Bombers, Kuroda was hit hard in more ways than one, serving up two homers before leaving in the third inning with a bruised right calf. The Yanks never recovered, suffering a 6-3 defeat to the Orioles at Camden Yards.

“I wasn’t really too worried that it’s a serious injury, but I worried that it could affect him,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I just don’t think he was able to push off like normal.”

Kuroda was charged with five runs in two-plus innings after being struck by Manny Machado’s second-inning liner. He recovered to finish the frame and began the third inning, but Girardi pulled him after he saw him trying to stretch the calf on the mound.

“It’s a little difficult to move my feet,” Kuroda said through an interpreter. “If I had to push myself, I could have continued to pitch. It’s not too bad.”

Girardi said he would be “shocked” if the injury forces Kuroda to miss a turn in the rotation, guessing that Kuroda will simply be sore for the next day or two. Kuroda also expects to be ready for his next outing.

“It will depend on how I feel tomorrow, but for me, I’m going to make that start,” Kuroda said.

After Kuroda exited, rookie reliever Preston Claiborne surrendered a homer to Matt Wieters with Adam Jones and Chris Davis aboard, the first runs Claiborne allowed in his brief Major League career.

“It happens. I didn’t execute the pitch, and if I had put it where I wanted it, then I would have more than likely got a good result out of it, just like I did the night before,” Claiborne said.

Kuroda, who had been the Yankees’ most effective starter going into the evening, also served up homers to Nick Markakis and Davis — his American League-leading 14th — among the season-high eight hits he allowed.

“He made some mistakes,” Girardi said. “He made some mistakes with his slider; it was kind of flat to Markakis. He just made a few mistakes in the first inning, and they jumped on [them].”

Davis, who finished the night 4-for-4, said the Orioles fine-tuned their approach against Kuroda, who went into the start 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore, including an April 14 shutout in the Bronx.

“I think we had a little bit better plan this time,” Davis said. “I think we were a little bit more patient today; we made him throw strikes. He’s really tough when he’s down in the zone. It obviously helped to get him out of the game early, but I thought we had some good swings on him early.”…..Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game Two: Orioles 3 Yanks 2

MLB.com Recap:

BALTIMORE — Vidal Nuno allowed the first run of his Major League career on Tuesday, and it came at a most inopportune time for the Yankees.

Nate McLouth pounced on the rookie left-hander’s inviting cutter to deliver a game-winning home run in the 10th inning, lifting the Orioles to a 3-2 victory over New York at Camden Yards.

“It was just a little bit off, and he took advantage of it,” said Nuno, who was making his third big league appearance. “That’s all — one pitch, and it cost us the game. But I’ve got to forget about it, work hard tomorrow and get ready for my next outing.”

Nuno had entered the game after starter Phil Hughes and four relievers held the Orioles to two runs through the first nine innings. A surprise contender to make the Yankees this spring, Nuno had tossed eight scoreless big league innings before McLouth’s drive.

“It hung for just a second, just long enough for him to get a good swing on it and put it in the seats,” said reliever David Robertson, who struck out three in a scoreless eighth. “I’ve had it happen to me, too. It stinks whenever you make a mistake like that and lose a ballgame.”

For the first time this season, the Yankees lost a game in which they scored first, falling to 19-1 in those contests. New York’s 19 such victories to open the season established a new American League record.

All three of the Orioles’ runs came on homers, as Chris Dickerson cleared the fences twice against Hughes — once in the third inning and again in the fifth, marking the first multihomer game of his career.

The veteran outfielder spent the last two seasons in the Yankees organization, appearing in 85 big league games and hitting three homers in 64 at-bats, and he said he relished the chance to dig in against his old team.

“It feels great,” Dickerson said. “You know, as soon as I saw the lineup card I was already fired up just to get the opportunity to start against them. But to go out there and have that result is awesome.”

Those were the only blemishes on Hughes’ outing, as he rebounded from the shortest effort of his career — last Wednesday’s nightmare against the Mariners in which he recorded just two outs — by holding the Orioles to five hits over six innings.

“For the most part, I thought my stuff was pretty good and gave us a chance to win the game,” Hughes said. “So obviously, it was a lot better than last time. It’s progress, so I’ll build off this one.”……Read More 

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game One: Yanks 6 Orioles 4

MLB.com Recap:

BALTIMORE — The first two months of the Yankees’ season have been dedicated to exceeding expectations and silencing doubters, and now they’re adding a new ingredient to the recipe: exciting late-game comebacks.

Travis Hafner crushed a game-tying home run in the ninth inning off closer Jim Johnson, and Vernon Wells delivered a go-ahead ground-rule double in the 10th, helping lift the Yankees to a 6-4 victory over the Orioles on Monday at Camden Yards.

“Those are fun ones. Those are the ones we act like little kids in the dugout,” Wells said. “You’ve got Johnson on the mound and he’s one of the best there is; I don’t care if he’s going through a rough patch or not. He’s one of the guys you’d love to have on the mound when you have a lead.”

With the Yankees down to their final two outs, Hafner caught up to a 94-mph fastball and drove it over the left-center-field fence, sending Johnson to his third consecutive blown save after converting a club record 35 straight.

Winning pitcher David Robertson retired the O’s around a single in the ninth, and Ichiro Suzuki opened the 10th inning with a double before scoring on Wells’ hit. Hafner added insurance for closer Mariano Rivera with an RBI single off Brian Matusz, sending Baltimore to its sixth straight loss.

“I think the main thing is just winning ballgames, and we’ve gotten off to a good start here,” Hafner said. “We’re building chemistry really well and everyone on the team gets along well. We play really well as a team. We’d like to keep that going.”

Rivera retired the Orioles in the 10th inning, notching his 17th save in as many opportunities. Despite seeing starter CC Sabathia cough up a one-run lead in the seventh inning, the Yankees maintained a perfect 19-0 record in games where they have scored first.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is an all-time American League record, and since 1900, only the 1990 Reds (20-0) have fared better in such contests.

“I won’t say [I'm] amazed, because we’re all professionals,” Rivera said. “We are capable to do that and we show that we are capable. That’s the way we’re playing the game. We know we’re not going to score so many runs, but we’re scoring enough to win games and pitching good. We have to continue doing that and the rest will be OK.”

The Yankees hit four solo homers in the contest, with Robinson Cano and rookie David Adams mashing the first two while building a quick lead against former teammate Freddy Garcia, who allowed just three hits in six innings…..Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Two: Yanks 7 Blue Jays 2

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — Every day, the spotlight that follows the Yankees seems to be trained on the players who aren’t with the team. But that changed Saturday, when Robinson Cano, the lone regular in an infield decimated by injuries, hit two home runs to lead New York to a 7-2 win over Toronto.

Cano, the only Yankees hitter this season to have a multihomer game, went deep twice off Toronto starter Brandon Morrow, accounting for four of New York’s seven runs. Cano, a quarter of the way into the season, leads the Yankees in batting average (.295), home runs (12) and RBIs (31).

And while that production may not be surprising, the circumstances might qualify as a shock. Established stars like Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have yet to play a game this season, but Cano is batting .362 (34-for-94) with seven home runs as New York’s No. 2 hitter.

“I’m glad that’s not a moving part,” said manager Joe Girardi. “Robbie’s so important to us. Offensively, defensively, his presence in the lineup. He’s not someone you can replace.”

Cano also posted a multihomer game on April 8, and he’s about a month ahead of the torrid pace he set last season. New York’s second baseman set a personal best with 33 home runs last year, but he didn’t hit No. 12 until June 17, when the Yankees were playing their 65th game of the season.

The Yankees used Cano as a No. 3 or cleanup hitter most of the time last season, but he’s moved up higher in the batting order as a reaction to the team’s patchwork lineup. Cano is batting .320 (49-for-153) in his last 37 games, and he leads the team in runs scored (25) and extra-base hits (23).

“Any place you put him, he’s going to be successful. You can move him around,” said Girardi. “He’s done a nice job adjusting to the two-hole for us. He’s got 31 RBIs, and he’s hit second a lot for us. It doesn’t really matter where he hits. He’s going to get his numbers. And that really helps us out that he has that versatility. … He makes everyone better around him. That’s the type of player he is.”…..Read More

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Game One: Yanks 5 Blue Jays 0

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — The Yankees of 2013 were expected to be an old story, not one rehashed and retold, but one with wrinkles, one that prompted observers to count the rings in the trunk and gray hairs on their heads. Aged to perfection was 2009. This season was merely about age, too much of it. The Yankees were the appropriate age to fall and not get up and to finish among the also-rans in the American League. And when injury visited them and then became guilty of felony piling on, the adjusted assessments were for an even more bleak season.

At the same time, the Blue Jays of 2013 were expected to move north in the standings, one year after the fall of the Red Sox and simultaneous with the decline of the octogenarians in the Bronx.

Now, 42 games into their seasons, the Yankees are in first place in the AL East, the Jays are in last, nine games back. And the status of each is due, in large part, to the Yankees’ dominance of the team from Canada.

The Yankees had their way with the Jays again Friday night. Their 5-0 victory was their seventh win in eight games against John Gibbons’ disappointing team. This one was a byproduct of wonderful pitching by 38-year-old Hiroki Kuroda and the exploits of a couple of kids who have yet to earn their (pin)stripes.

Kuroda contributed eight innings of two-hit pitching, and 20-somethings David Adams and Austin Romine, each an understudy for an understudy, made significant contributions to an offense that overcame Mark Buehrle. Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis and Francisco Cervelli are baseball-incapacitated. But the kids are all right.

Adams, in his third game in the big leagues, produced two hits and scored twice; Romine, now a veteran of eight games, had two hits, one RBI and one run scored. Kuroda and the kids had some help, but they were primarily responsible for the Yankees’ eighth victory in 11 games — also the Jays’ first loss in five.

Make no mistake, these are kids, if not by calendar, then by resumé or appearance. In the afterglow of this one, a Yankees minion slipped a parking pass on the stool in front of Adams’ locker. “Proof you’ve made it,” the rookie third baseman was told. “I don’t even have a car here,” he said. Some wondered whether he were old enough to have a license.

Vernon Wells, the veteran who measures time by Yankees injuries — “Three injuries ago, we yada, yada, yada” — noted that the young players seem quite comfortable in their new surroundings then reasoned, “They should because they were all together down there.”

Adams turned 26 this week. Romine is 24. The two had combined for 19 at-bats, all Romine’s in 2011, before April 27. And there was Romine catching a pitcher 14 years his senior…….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte became the latest victim of the Yankees’ season-long injury rash, forced to leave in the fifth inning and later saddled with the loss as the Mariners defeated New York, 3-2, on Thursday.

Pettitte appeared to wince after throwing his 79th pitch of the evening, a swinging strikeout of Kyle Seager, and left the field after a brief discussion with Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

The Yankees announced that Pettitte left the game with a tight left trapezius muscle in his upper back.

The veteran left-hander allowed two runs and four hits over 4 2/3 innings, having permitted a run-scoring double to Dustin Ackley in the second inning and a run-scoring infield single to Brendan Ryan in the fourth.

Pettitte pitched out of trouble in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded, and finished having walked three and struck out five with a wild pitch. Yankees reliever Shawn Kelley struck out five in two innings of work, but also served up a long solo home run to Michael Morse in the sixth inning.

The Yankees managed an unearned run in 4 1/3 innings against right-hander Hector Noesi — making a spot start for Aaron Harang, who was scratched with back stiffness — as rookie David Adams collected his first Major League RBI with a double to right-center field that drove in Curtis Granderson in the second inning.

Noesi limited his former team to three hits with a walk and four strikeouts before yielding to Oliver Perez, who provided 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Robinson Cano’s infield single in the seventh inning facing left-hander Lucas Luetge brought in New York’s second run, but Carter Capps got Vernon Wells to pop out on the first pitch he threw, leaving two men aboard and spoiling a key opportunity……Read More  

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Game Two: Mariners 12 Yanks 2

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — There were still paying customers filtering into Yankee Stadium’s seating areas by the time Phil Hughes slumped onto the dugout bench, his night’s work cut short and the top of the first inning still incomplete.

The Yankees right-hander spent all of 17 minutes frantically trying to adjust to his situation on Wednesday, but it wasn’t to be. The Mariners batted around for seven runs and chased Hughes in the first inning, coasting to a 12-2 blowout victory in the Bronx.

“It seems to go by pretty quick,” Hughes said. “Everything kind of speeds up. You’re just trying to find something, and next thing you know, you’ve got two outs and seven runs are in. It’s tough.”

Raul Ibanez homered twice and collected six RBIs, including a grand slam off Hughes in a disastrous first inning that saw 11 Seattle players come to bat, 10 of them against Hughes. Kyle Seager later slugged a three-run homer off rookie Brett Marshall as the Mariners set a new season high in runs scored.

Hughes was left holding the bag after his shortest career outing, lasting just two-thirds of an inning. Generally a fly ball pitcher even on his good days, Hughes was constantly up in the zone while hitting the fat part of the plate, and the Mariners gleefully took advantage.

“Obviously there too many balls in the middle of the plate, and he didn’t locate enough pitches,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “And he got hurt.”

The start was the shortest by a Yankee since Bartolo Colon allowed six runs and also recorded two outs on July 14, 2011, against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Hughes said that he tried his changeup, slider and curveball, to no avail.

“Hopefully, this is a 1-in-100 type thing,” Hughes said. “I remember I’ve had bad nights where I’d get 12 outs or something, but I don’t think I can remember having an outing like this before.

“It’s tough to swallow, but it happens to everybody. No one’s going to feel sorry for you, so I have to throw my bullpen in two days and move on.”

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart said that the pivotal at-bat was Ibanez’s; if Hughes could’ve coaxed a double-play grounder in that spot, he might have escaped with just two runs on the board and then settled in to provide a decent outing.

“I think it happens to a lot of guys,” Stewart said. “They struggle the first inning, come in and settle down and figure out what they were doing out there and make a change. But we couldn’t get him through that.”

For Ibanez, the display conjured memories of his sensational hot stretch last September and October in pinstripes; even in a different uniform, Yankee Stadium’s dimensions still agree with the professional hitter…….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

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Game One: Yanks 4 Mariners 3

MLB.com Recap:

NEW YORK — The Yankees are deeper than they were on Monday, and they haven’t lost any of their trademark resilience. New York welcomed Curtis Granderson back to the fold against Seattle on Tuesday, and then it employed a patient wait-and-see approach against Felix Hernandez.

The Yankees couldn’t solve Seattle’s ace — a common cause celebre among American League teams — but they took advantage of his early exit. Hernandez left with a two-run lead after six innings, and the Yankees used a key seventh-inning rally to earn a 4-3 victory over the Mariners.

Granderson went hitless in the victory, his first game after starting the season on the disabled list. The Yankees are still without injured regulars Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, but manager Joe Girardi loves the way that his team has met the challenge.

“I still think we have a lot of really good players,” said Girardi. “Maybe not the names of the guys we’re used to having here, but guys that have had big years. This group has worked really hard. As a manager and as a coaching staff, we appreciate what they’re doing. We’ve also got to applaud them because they’re playing extremely well. It seems to be a different guy every night finding a way to get it done for us. It’s been a good month and a half, but we know we have a long way to go.”

That philosophy will serve the Yankees (25-14) well in the turbulent AL East, and it even worked against Hernandez. Robinson Cano came through with the game’s big hit, a two-run double to the gap in right-center field, and he later scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Lyle Overbay.

“We were kind of battling,” Overbay said of the Yankees’ struggles against Hernandez. “His changeup is so late-breaking and it looks like his fastball. He doesn’t make too many mistakes. I think we fouled [some] off and had a couple of good at-bats to get him deep into the pitch count. Some days, it’s like, ‘Let’s see if we can get to the bullpen.’”

The Mariners, prior to that reversal of fortune, had owned the game’s momentum. Seattle used an error and a Kyle Seager double to score the game’s first run in the third inning. Three innings later, Raul Ibanez drilled a two-run homer down the right-field line to give Seattle (18-21) a three-run lead.

“He made a mistake to Raul,” Girardi said of starter CC Sabathia. “We got pretty accustomed to seeing [that] when you make a mistake to Raul, a lot of the time, he hits it out of the ballpark.”….Read More

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Two: Yanks 7 Indians 0

MLB.com Recap:

CLEVELAND — The Yankees’ pantheon of starting pitchers is chock full of legends such as Whitey Ford, Roger Clemens and Ron Guidry.

David Phelps, Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren have yet to etch their names into pinstripes lore. On Monday, though, the three young hurlers proved plenty capable in helping the storied franchise’s cause.

The trio of pitchers provided New York with quality efforts to help the battered, bruised and worn — yet surging — Yankees to a split of Monday’s doubleheader in Cleveland. Nuno delivered five stellar innings to guide the Yankees to a 7-0 win in the second tilt after New York dropped the opener, 1-0, despite 6 2/3 effective frames from Phelps.

“Coming into a doubleheader, you think about an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Warren said, “but we got some good innings out of our starters, which made it easier on our bullpen guys.”

The performances by Phelps, Nuno and Warren — who earned his first career save with four scoreless innings of relief in Game 2 — prevented the Yankees from overworking an already-taxed bullpen. With closer Mariano Rivera and setup man David Robertson unavailable for either contest, the Yankees had only four viable bullpen options for the first tilt and five for the second. Between games, the club promoted Brett Marshall to the big league squad…….Read More 

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Game One: Indians 1 Yanks 0

MLB.com Recap:

CLEVELAND — The Yankees are in it for the long haul, and that means manager Joe Girardi must preserve his players’ health and energy levels.

So for Monday’s doubleheader in Cleveland, the skipper opted not to press his veterans into extra duty. As a result, a patchwork Yankees lineup struggled to solve Indians right-hander Justin Masterson, and New York dropped the first tilt of a twin bill, 1-0.

David Phelps submitted a strong effort to spare the Yankees’ shorthanded bullpen. The right-hander logged his second quality start in as many outings, limiting the Indians to one run on four hits over 6 2/3 innings. He threw a career-high 115 pitches, eclipsing his previous season high of 87. The righty surrendered a home run to Jason Kipnis — the second batter he faced — to account for the only scoring in the contest.

“Early on, I didn’t really have fastball command at all, and it showed,” Phelps said. “It was a battle out there. … They made me work.”

In an effort to keep his players as fresh as possible during a stretch of 17 games in 16 days, Girardi kept Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay out of the starting lineup, though each served as a pinch-hitter late in the game. Corban Joseph made his Major League debut at first base and drew a walk in his first career plate appearance.

Outside of loading the bases in the second inning, the Yankees never pieced together much of a scoring threat. No New York batter hit a ball out of the infield until Chris Stewart flied out to right field in the fifth.

“Our lineup has been scoring runs for us,” Phelps said. “It hasn’t been a problem for us. We have a great group of guys in there, guys that have done it and have had great careers and are still having great careers. They’re going to go out and battle, just like we [pitchers] are going to go out and battle. There are going to be games where they’re going to pick us up and games where we’re going to pick them up. We just ran into a guy who was really on his game, and you have to tip your cap to him.”….Read More  

Box Score and Highlights:

Game Three: Yanks 4 Royals 2

MLB.com Recap:

KANSAS CITY — Robinson Cano said that as he stands at home plate, the swirling winds and distant outfield gaps of Kauffman Stadium make it a challenging location to collect home runs.

Cano and Vernon Wells didn’t seem to have much trouble on Sunday, blasting back-to-back blasts to lead the Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Royals, securing a series sweep and their fifth consecutive win.

“I just go to the plate with a [mindset] that I’m trying to go there and get a pitch that I can make good contact,” said Cano, who owns a team-leading 10 home runs. “This is a tough place to hit homers.”

Hiroki Kuroda pitched into the eighth inning to win for the third time in four starts, and Wells stroked three hits while homering in consecutive games as the Yankees improved to 10 games above .500 at 23-13.

It would be fair to say that the Yankees are pleased by the way they have exceeded expectations thus far, considering how many injuries they have absorbed, but Wells said that they also recognize there is plenty of time left on the clock this season.

“I think you like being in this situation, but at the same time, this game has a funny way of slapping you across the face at any point in time,” Wells said. “We’ll go out and have the same mentality — to continue to get great starting pitching and score enough runs to support those guys.”

Royals starter Ervin Santana permitted four runs in 6 1/3 innings. Using a pink Mother’s Day bat, Cano blasted a two-run shot over the right-field bullpen in the third inning, and Wells followed by clearing the left-field wall with his ninth home run.

Wells tacked on a fifth-inning RBI single to support Kuroda, who improved to 5-2 with a 2.31 ERA as he completed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

The right-hander said that he didn’t have his best stuff because his slider and split-fingered fastball were not as effective as he would have liked.

“I don’t feel like I was particularly good today, but as always, [Chris] Stewart called a great game,” Kuroda said through an interpreter.

Alex Gordon connected for a first-inning sacrifice fly, and Alcides Escobar logged an eighth-inning RBI groundout against Kuroda, who scattered six hits while walking one and striking out one.

“I thought he was pretty good,” Stewart said. “He wasn’t spot on, but other than that, I thought he was pretty good. He was throwing his two-seamer really well in the zone, getting a lot of ground-ball outs, throwing his offspeed when he needed to.”…..Read More  

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Game Two: Yanks 3 Royals 2

MLB.com Recap:

KANSAS CITY — Upon further review, which consisted of scanning two starts worth of video footage and absorbing quite a few tongue-lashings from himself, Andy Pettitte has decided his cutter was actually not as bad as advertised.

The Royals certainly won’t disagree. Pettitte recaptured his important swing-and-miss pitch in a seven-strikeout performance, and Vernon Wells hit a key two-run homer as the Yankees won their fourth straight game, posting a 3-2 victory on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

“I threw a lot of good cutters in the last few games, it’s just that I made a lot of mistakes with it,” Pettitte said. “I feel like I actually blew it way out of proportion, to tell you the truth. I had good angle on the ball today and I was glad I was able to give us a good start.”

Pettitte had allowed 11 runs (10 earned) over 9 1/3 innings in his previous two starts against the Astros and Athletics, but he limited Kansas City to a Lorenzo Cain RBI groundout and Billy Butler’s solo homer over seven innings of five-hit ball.

The Royals were, as usual, the right opponent for Pettitte to snap a three-start winless skid. He improved to 15-3 lifetime against the Royals and is undefeated against Kansas City dating back to a win on Sept. 4, 2000, a span of 14 starts.

“I really don’t believe he’s forgotten how to pitch, forgotten how to throw a cutter or locate a fastball, any of that,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I always say, when you’re old or overweight — and you don’t want to be both — and you’re struggling, people are ready to say, ‘Is there something wrong?’ No, it’s baseball. Everybody struggles.”

David Robertson struck out three batters in a scoreless eighth inning to set up Mariano Rivera for his 14th save in as many opportunities.

Salvador Perez reached Rivera for a two-out double and Mike Moustakas made a bid to tie the game with a deep drive to left-center field, but the wind held the ball up long enough for Wells to run it down — right in the general area of Kauffman Stadium where Rivera’s season ended last May.

“I had a feeling,” Wells said. “Sometimes you’re in the outfield and reading things that go on, and he took some good swings. I knew that the only place he’d most likely be hitting that ball was in the gap. I kind of shaded that way a little bit. I was in the right place.”

It marked the 70th victory that Rivera has saved for Pettitte, further extending the all-time Major League record for win-save combinations between any two pitchers. Yankees relievers haven’t allowed a run in their last 14 1/3 innings.

“We’re letting Mo get into the game in each city that we go to. So far, so good,” Wells said.

Pettitte said that he felt some relief in chalking up the victory, which he said came on “a trying day for me,” since Pettitte believed that Elliot Johnson fouled a third-inning ball off his foot that was ruled an infield single before coming around to score…..Read More

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Game One: Yanks 11 Royals 6

MLB.com Recap:

KANSAS CITY — When Lyle Overbay first walked into the Yankees’ clubhouse, he knew the desperation was thick for a temporary fix at first base. That was just fine to him, since he might have been 72 hours away from spending a summer on his living room couch.

Overbay may have been a last-minute addition slapped onto the Yankees’ roster, but he has proven to be an invaluable pickup. The veteran hit a two-run homer, had four hits and drove in five runs as the Yankees outslugged the Royals, 11-6, on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

“It’s been a fun ride. I’m just enjoying it,” Overbay said. “Three days before that, I was going to be going home. I didn’t want to try to do too much and put pressure on myself. I just wanted to kind of enjoy it.”

Overbay was released by the Red Sox late this spring before latching on with the Yankees. He said that working with hitting coach Kevin Long has helped his approach at the plate, which included his sixth homer of the season on Friday; a good jump after Overbay hit just two homers all of last season.

The bottom of New York’s lineup was responsible for most of the heavy lifting as the Yankees pounded out 16 hits against Kansas City pitching. Ichiro Suzuki also slugged a two-run homer among three hits as the Yanks collected five doubles and a triple, lifting Joe Girardi to his 500th win as Yankees manager.

“I’ve been blessed to have this opportunity,” said Girardi, who thanked the late George M. Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman. “As a child, you dream about playing in the big leagues. I don’t know if you dream about managing, but as I got older, it was something I really wanted to do. I got a great opportunity.”…Read More 

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