Best loss  of the season? Best loss of the season. I can’t believe I’m saying such a thing, but with everything already clinched, I have no issues with the Yankees losing a game so the Rays could tie the Red Sox for the wildcard lead with two games left in the season. This is pretty amazing, folks.

Don't worry Hector, you did good. (J. Meric/Getty Images)

Gassed

Hector Noesi has done a really nice job for the  Yankees this season, but the only problem is that the vast majority of his work has come in low-leverage relief spots. Because of that, it’s not much of a surprise that he looked completely gassed after his pitch count crept north of 40-45 or so. Noesi allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in two innings and change, throwing 59 pitches. Tough spot for the kid, but what can you do. His overall body of work has been encouraging this season.

Raul Valdes relieved him and retired two of the three lefties he faced. The one exception was Johnny Damon, who pulled an outside slider through the right side of the infield for a ground ball single. Good process, bad result. Since coming to New York, Valdes has faced a total of 14 left-handed batters, and he’s given up four hits (one double, the rest singles) and struck out five. There’s talk that he could make the postseason roster, but I have no interest in seeming them carry a second LOOGY in the playoffs unless it’s a legit shutdown guy (which they don’t have). Joe Girardi won’t be able to help himself with the matchups, and having an inferior pitcher (like Valdes) out there in a potentially big spot just because he happens to throw with the correct arm isn’t in the team’s best interests.

Back To The Bullpen

With his inflamed back keeping him out of action for the last two weeks or so, Phil Hughes returned to the Yankees as a reliever in this game. It’s hard, if not impossible to differentiate between what was rust and what was Hughes  being Hughes, but the end result is that he threw 36 pitches across 1.2 IP, allowing one hit (a double) and two walks against two strikeouts. His fastball velocity was in the 92-94 range, so no significant spike. Girardi indicated that Hughes might pitch again Wednesday, but I’m not sure that will happen after this pitch count. I bet Phil makes the ALDS roster, but he almost certainly shouldn’t.

(J. Meric/Getty Images)

Leftovers

The entire Yankees offense was basically Robinson Cano. He hit a first inning solo homer to dead center and then singled in another run in the third, going 2-for-4 on the day. The other ten hitters (counting a defensive replacement and a pinch-hitter) went a combined 4-for-27. Jamie Shields has been shutting the Yankees down all season, nothing was different in his final regular season start of 2011.

How about home plate ump Paul Schrieber showing up Russell Martin during that fifth inning ejection? No, you can’t argue balls and strikes, but Schrieber stopped play, walked in front of the plate, and got in Martin’s face. That’s definitely over the line. If you’re going to toss a guy, then toss him. Don’t make a spectacle out of it. I’m sure Schrieber will be disciplined in a timely manner. (nope)

Oh, and speaking of Martin, I sure hope someone gave him a stern talking to after he slid head-first into first to beat out an infield single in the second inning. Everything’s clinched already, why risk  some broken fingers? Playing smart > playing hard.

Get this, Jorge Posada made not one, but two nice defensive plays throwing runners out at the plate in the first three innings. He’s really going out with a bang; the game-winning hit in the AL East clinching game, the homer off Wakefield on Sunday, and now the two plays in this game. Neat stuff.

Obviously the Red Sox lost to the Orioles, allowing the Rays to tie them for the wildcard. In other out of town news, the  Tigers walloped Cleveland, so if the Rangers win tonight, they’ll remain one loss up on Detroit. If they lose, the two teams will have the same record. This is important because the Yankees will face whichever team finishes with the worse record in the ALDS. If they finish with the same record,  it’ll be Yanks-Rangers  because Detroit won the season series over Texas. The Rangers are playing the Angels out on the west coast right now, and you can follow that game here.

And finally: holy Desmond Jennings! When Derek Jeter doesn’t hit .300 this year, that will be why. What a catch.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Box Score

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerdy stuff, and ESPN the updated standings. You don’t really need to check them, the Yankees are still in first.

Up Next

The second to last game of the season, that’s what’s up next. Bartolo Colon will start against Jeremy Hellickson on Tuesday night. Another loss would not be upsetting. At all.

Two recaps for the  price of  one, eh? Some deal. Let’s start with the afternoon game…

• The story of game one was clearly A.J. Burnett. The perpetually shaky right-hander struck out six and allowed five hits across 7.2 IP, giving up just two runs on a pair of Jacoby Ellsbury solo homers. His game score of 65 tied his best since June 18th, a span of 18 starts (the other 65 came in Seattle two weeks ago). I still don’t think they should give him a playoff start,  but it was good to see A.J. finish his season on a  high   note. David Robertson relieved him, and recorded the final four outs of the game without incident (three strikeouts).
• After bunting and running their way to two runs off  Tim Wakefield in the first, the highlight of the  scoring was Jorge Posada clubbing a  no-doubt two-run homer in the third. Joe Girardi did a classy thing by batting Jorge cleanup in his last regular  season start at Yankee Stadium, and he responded with the bomb that made it 4-0. Pretty awesome  stuff.
• Here’s the box score and  FanGraphs stuff.

That about sums it up for the first game, so let’s dive into  the second game…

• Once upon a time, many innings before the game ended, Mark Teixeira gave the  Yankees a quick three-zip lead when his double off the top of  the wall turned into a makeshift inside the park homer. A throwing error by the catcher sure helped out as well. That was basically it for the offense though, they scored another run in the seventh on a sac fly, but they had just two hits in eleven innings after the second inning.
• Ivan Nova started strong, but really gave up some rockets the second and third time through the order. The end result was four runs in 6.1 IP, coming on eight hits. The bullpen behind him was really good (Boone Logan, Rafael Soriano, Mariano Rivera, Raul Valdes, Cory Wade, and Aaron Laffey combined for seven scoreless innings), at least until Scott Proctor came in and promptly put two guys on base and served up a three-run homer to Ellsbury in the 14th inning. You just knew it was over as when Proctor came in.
• The Yankees had their chances to win, of course. Austin Romine struck out with the bases loaded to end the ninth, and Brett Gardner struck out to end the 13th with men on second and third. Oh well. Alex Rodriguez, Russell Martin, and Derek Jeter remained glued to bench after playing the day game, understandably.
• Here’s the box score, FanGraphs stuff, and updated standings.

The home portion of the regular season is over, and it’s off  to Tampa for the final three games of the 2011 season. Hector Noesi will start against Jamie Shields on Monday night.

It’s always fun beating the Red Sox, especially in blowout fashion, but it’s even better when the game means a whole lot more to Boston because they’re fighting for a playoff spot while the Yankees have already taken care of business. Let’s recap…

• The offensive explosion will get the headlines, but in my opinion the biggest story of the game was Freddy Garcia. He’d been struggling of late, no question about it, so six shutout innings against a great offense is very encouraging. It was a typical Garcia outing too, lots of weak pop-ups, about a baserunner an inning, a few ugly swings. At this point, he has to be considered the favorite to start the third game of the ALDS next week. That’s subject to change by the day, though.
• Okay, now we can talk about the offense. Jesus Montero was the star of the day, going 3-for-4 with a double to the wall in left-center and solo homer to right. He also saw 19 total pitches in those four at-bats, the most on the team. It’s  obviously a small sample (58 plate appearances), but the kid is hitting .346/.414/.635, and that’s pretty cool.
• Russell Martin chipped in a two-run single on a ball that Carl Crawford should have caught, and one batter later, Derek Jeter made the Red Sox pay with a three-run homer to right. Nick Swisher had a hit and two walks, Andruw Jones two hits. The trio of  Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez combined to go 0-for-12 with four strikeouts, but everyone else went a combined 9-for-21. The joys of having a  deep lineup.
• The bullpen after Freddy was pretty good, though Raul Valdes and Cory Wade managed to allow a run in two-thirds of an inning.  Boone Logan, Luis Ayala, and George Kontos retired the final seven Red Sox batters of the game. Kontos has looked pretty good in his limited action, no? He struck out two and showed a nice little slider. Gotta figure we’ll see a little more of him next season.
• This game set a regular season attendance record for New Yankee Stadium at 49,556 fans. The previous record was 49,555, so they beat it by one fan. Anyway, this win coupled with the Tigers loss to the Orioles means the Yankees have clinched the best record in the AL and homefield advantage in the playoffs. Since the Mets swept their doubleheader against Phillies, the Yanks are just one loss back of their 2009 World Series  opponent for the best record in baseball. Here’s the box score, here’s the FanGraphs stuff, and here’s the standings.

The Yankees and Red Sox will play a day-night doubleheader on Sunday,  wrapping up their season series. Ivan Nova and John Lackey A.J. Burnett and Tim Wakefield will start at 1pm ET and be followed by A.J. Burnett and Tim Wakefield Ivan Nova and John Lackey at 6:30pm ET. RAB Tickets can help get you into the Stadium if you want to catch one or both of the games, or you could come to Amity Hall and hang out with us at the FanGraphs event. Details here.

The last time the Yankees were losing by ten or more runs after just four innings of play (like they were in this game) was October 2nd of 2009, a game they lost to the Rays after clinching the AL East. Ah history, love how it goes and repeats itself like that.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

BartoLOLo CoLOLon

Wow, what a terrible start by Bartolo Colon. Granted, a Derek Jeter throwing error in the second didn’t help matters, but wow. The big guy allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk in just three innings, and pretty much everything was hard hit. Bart’s now allowed 30 runs in 39.1 IP over his last seven starts, which isn’t exactly what you want to see so soon before the postseason. It is what it is though. Hopefully Freddy Garcia settles down with the homeritis and stabilizes the third spot in the rotation.

Brackman, Betances & Montero

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

You can see why the Yankees gave Andrew Brackman all that money, that’s definitely a first round arm. It’s not first round command of course, but Brackman was sitting 90-93 with the cutter and showed both a curve and a slider. I’ve never heard about the cutter before, did he pick that up sitting in the bullpen, or is it just a lack of information? Either way, he allowed a single and a walk in 1.1 IP of work.

Dellin Betances was an eighth round pick, but he showed off a first round arm by firing some mid-90′s fastballs with a sharp curve. His command needs work as well, but that’s no surprise. Betances walked four and hit a batter in just 0.2 IP, and everything was up. Classic symptom of overthrowing. Two-thirds of the Killer B’s debuted, making this one of the most exciting blowout losses I can remember.

While that was happening, Jesus Montero was busy going 3-for-3 with two walks. One of the hits was a double, and he laid off some tough offspeed pitches for balls as well. So a really good day for one prospect, an okay day for another prospect, and a really bad day for another prospect. Nice little  microcosm of the Prospect Rule of Three.

Definitely not looking forward to seeing this kid for the next six years. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Leftovers

The Triple-A Scranton Yankees managed to score eight runs … well, the Scranton Yanks and Andruw Jones manged to score eight runs. Jones clubbed a two-run homer and also singled in a run, and both Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena had multiple hits. Chris Dickerson, Austin Romine, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, and Brandon Laird had one hit each, and Montero obviously contributed to the offense.

Matt Moore was stellar, striking out 11 batters in just five innings in his first career start. It’ll be tough to separate what was really him and what was a side effect of the Yankees celebration on Wednesday night, but that’s a problem for the Rays bloggers. The kid’s not the best pitching prospect in the game by accident though, he sure was fun to watch. The pitching rich get richer.

Scott Proctor was worse than Colon, believe it or not. He allowed a pair of two-run homers and five runs total in just an inning of  work. Aaron Laffey allowed a run and recorded four outs before giving way to Brackman. George Kontos cleaned things up with 1.1 scoreless innings at the end of the night.

Both the Rangers and Tigers lost on Thursday, so the magic number to eliminate each from the homefield advantage race dropped to one and two, respectively. That should be taken care of by the end of the weekend, if not sooner.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings.

Up Next

It’s time to welcome the Red Sox to town … for a meaningless series. Meaningless for the Yankees, that is. Those guys have quite a bit on the line. Garcia gets the ball against Jon Lester on Friday night.

Wednesday was a busy day in Yankeeland, eh? Everything broke the right way for the Yankees, allowing them to first clinch a playoff spot before clinching the division title. Best day of the season? Oh yeah, totally the best day of the season.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Hip Hip!

It has been a long and difficult season for Jorge Posada. The Yankee stalwart started the year as the regular DH, then got demoted in the lineup, then became a platoon DH, and by the end the of the season he had lost the job entirely. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Jorge delivered his biggest hit of the season and was all smiles.

The inning started ominously enough, with Eduardo Nunez striking out against Jake McGee after Jeremy Hellickson held the Yankees to just two runs and two hits through seven innings. Nick Swisher pinch-hit for Chris Dickerson, and started the game-winning rally with a double into left-center. Greg Golson flew out of the dugout to pinch-run, but the chances of scoring went down when Curtis Granderson flew out to right. Joe Maddon started  mixing and matching, bringing in Juan Cruz only to watch him walk Mark Teixeira on four pitches. None were particularly close, either.

Maddon went to the bullpen again, this time to bring the lefty Cesar Ramos to face Robinson Cano, who already beat him in the first game of the doubleheader. Ramos fell behind in the count 3-1, and the fourth ball to load the bases was intentional. With the righty swinging Jesus Montero due up, Maddon again went to the bullpen, this time for the right-hander Brandon Gomes. Joe Girardi countered with Posada, who took a  first pitch splitter for strike one before jumping all over a fastball. The line drive dropped into right, a legit base hit, scoring Golson and Teixeira to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead. At .289 WPA, Jorge’s hit was easily the biggest play of the game. Sentimentally, it was arguably the biggest of the season.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Honestly, Who Really Cares About 20 Wins?

In what is likely his last normal start of the season, CC Sabathia gave the Yankees 127 pitches (second most of the season), but they couldn’t give him a win. He allowed just two solo homers (to Kelly Shoppach and Sean Rodriguez) over 7.2 IP, but Girardi really pushed it in an effort to get his ace that milestone. I don’t like it because getting Sabathia ready for the ALDS is far more important than an individual achievement, and CC would be the first to tell you that. What’s done is done though.

Sabathia allowed seven hits and two walks in those 7.2 IP, and David Robertson bailed him out of a bases loaded jam with a one-pitch  double play ball. CC didn’t get his 20th win, but who really cares? It’s a nice round number, that’s it. Remember, we’re trying to win a ring around here.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Leftovers

The first two Yankees runs came on a solo homer (Cano) and a double play (Montero). Cano had been intentionally walked to loaded the bases with no outs to get to Montero, and I guess it worked since only the one run scored. The Yankees only had four hits, a Granderson double in addition to the previously mentioned Cano/Posada/Swisher knocks. The six walks really helped.

With Mariano Rivera unavailable after pitching in the first game of the doubleheader, closer duties fell on the shoulders of former Ray Rafael Soriano. Robertson had warmed up in the first game and twice in the second game, so I guess that’s why he couldn’t continue after throwing that one pitch in the eighth. Soriano did allow a hit, but he struck out Matt Joyce to end the game and the AL East race.

Like I said earlier, the Yankees have clinched the AL East thanks to their two wins and the Red Sox’s loss to the Orioles. Big ups to Buck Showalter and crew, they showed up for that series. Many thanks. The only thing left on the regular season checklist is homefield advantage, and magic number for that is just three. Still some work to be done, but expect to see a hangover Triple-A lineup tomorrow.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs the nerdy score, and ESPN the updated standings.

Up Next

One more game with the Rays, and it’ll be played Thursday night. Bartolo Colon gets the ball against Matt Moore. Jeff Niemann has been scratched due to some soreness/stiffness. If you want to catch the fourth to last regular season home of the regular season, RAB Tickets can help get you there.

Joe Girardi spoke about three steps after this game, and step one is complete: the Yankees have clinched a playoff spot thanks to today’s win. Step two is winning is the division, and step three is clinching homefield advantage. We can worry about steps two and three later … woo playoffs!!!

Happy zone.

Comeback

We’ll talk more about the pitching staff in a bit, but the Yankees were down 2-1 heading into the eighth inning. Jamie Shields, who has shut the Yankees down several times this year, was doing it again and started that eighth inning at 108 pitches. His 110th pitch cost him, a hanging changeup that Eduardo Nunez clubbed out to left for a game-tying solo homer. Give the kid in the front row some props too, it was a nice catch. Shields remained in the game after the homer, but he clearly wasn’t at full strength.

After pinch-hitter Eric Chavez struck out, Brett Gardner slapped a single the other way to end a seven pitch at-bat. He stole second soon thereafter (more on that later), but it didn’t really matter because Derek Jeter ended up walking anyway. Joe Maddon finally came out to get Shields, 120 pitches into his day, and brought in the lefty J.P. Howell to face Robinson Cano. We all know that Robbie rakes lefties,  so Howell did himself no favors by falling behind in the count 3-0 and then 3-1. That 3-1 offspeed pitch was too far up in the zone, and Cano drove his MLB-leading 79th extra-base hit (a double) to left-center. Both Gardner and Jeter scored, completing the three-run comeback inning and giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead with three outs to go.

(AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Bullpen on Parade

With Phil Hughes continuing to be sidelined by back spasms (he went for tests), the emergency start went to Hector Noesi. With just 50-60 pitches at his disposal, Noesi gave up two runs (two-run homer by Desmond Jennings) in what should have been three innings, but will go in the books as 2.2 IP. Replays showed that Evan Longoria was out at first on an infield single, the would-be third out that instead extended the inning. No biggie, the Yankees benefited from a similar call last night. It happens.  Noesi threw 55 pitches total.

Raul Valdes was next, and he struck out Johnny Damon to end the inning after allowing a single to Matt Joyce. He also chipped in a scoreless fourth inning with two more strikeouts. Valdes has faced seven left-handed batters with the Yankees, giving up one hit (to Joyce) and getting one ground ball out while striking out the other five. Not a bad late season showing, better than Royce Ring last September anyway.

Exit Valdes and enter George Kontos. The right-hander had been stretched out to 50-55 pitches late in the Triple-A season, but he only threw ten pitches in the fifth. Fly outs by Jennings and Longoria were sandwiched around a B.J. Upton single before Aaron Laffey came in to face all the lefties. Joyce took a slider between the numbers before Damon struck out to end the inning. Casey Kotchman doubled down the line to open the sixth, then Cory Wade replaced Laffey after Jose Lobaton’s fly out.

Whole lotta this today. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Wade came in and did what he’s been doing pretty much all year, escaping the inning unscathed by striking out Sean Rodriguez and getting Reid Brignac to ground out. He needed some help from Jeter though, the Cap’n ranged to the first base side of second base (no, really) to make the play on the ground out. The seventh inning for Wade went like the fifth inning for Kontos, an Upton single between outs by Jennings and Longoria. Next up was Boone Logan, who retired Joyce on one pitch and then allowed two of the three men he faced in the eighth to reach base. Luis Ayala bailed him out by whiffing Ben Zobrist (pinch-hitting) and Brignac, and he got himself a win for his troubles when Mariano Rivera worked a 1-2-3 ninth.

All told, the Yankees used eighth pitchers this afternoon, only three of whom were on the Opening Day roster. They combined to hold Tampa to two runs on nine hits, two walks, and two hit batsmen, and they struck out ten. Given the circumstances, you couldn’t possibly ask more from these guys. The majority of them spent the year in the minors, but they went toe-to-toe with Shields and gave New York a chance to win. Bravo, fellas.

Leftovers

The Yankees sure have had a tough times with Shields this season, but they got off to a good start by scoring right in the first inning. Jeter grounded a single back up the middle, and two batters later A-Rod doubled over Upton’s head in center. One run, two hits, and we were just four batters into the game.

Between the first and the eighth, the only other time they mounted any sort of rally came in the fifth, when Nunez singled before stealing second and then third. Stealing two bases in one inning is impressive enough, but it’s even more impressive when you do it against a guy that had allowed a total of three steals in his first 31 starts of the season. The Yankees stole three bases in the game. Unfortunately, Austin Romine shot a line drive right at Longoria, who caught the ball for an out and doubled Nunez off the bag. Just a tough break, Romine put together a nice seven-pitch at-bat and hit the ball hard. Dems the breaks.

With the two steals in the fifth, Nunez now has stolen 21 bags this season, giving the Yankees three players with 20+ steals for the first time since 2007. Gardner and Curtis Granderson are the two other 20+ steal guys this year, and the 2007 trio was A-Rod, Damon, and Bobby Abreu.

The win clinched a playoff spot, but also raised the lead in the AL East to a season-high 6.5 games and dropped the magic number for the division title to just two. That’s why Jeter is still celebrating his  3,000th career hit in the sidebar. The magic number to clinch homefield is four.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

Now that is a great WPA graph. MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stuff, and ESPN the updated standings.

Up Next

They’re playing two today, so check back in at 7pm ET tonight for CC Sabathia vs. Jeremy Hellickson.

Do you know how long it had been since the Yankees played their last normal, 7pm ET home game before Tuesday night? Eighteen days. Blame day games, blame rain delays, and blame a ten-day road trip for that, so it was nice to get back to that familiar routine. The familiar routine of weekday evenings in the Bronx and wins in the standings.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Number Two Starter

The Yankees have been searching for a viable number two starter since the day Cliff Lee agreed to return to Philadelphia, but apparently they had one right under their nose the whole time. Ivan Nova was really good in this one, holding the Rays scoreless through 7.2IP on 103 pitches. He didn’t completely shut them down (his only 1-2-3 inning was the first), but he scattered six hits (one double) and three walks while timing his three strikeouts well. Nova also pitched out of a bases loaded, no out situation in the seventh (shallow fly ball, double play).

Wins are dumb, but it’s worth noting that Nova has won his last dozen decisions, the most by a rookie since Larry Jansen in 1947. His season ERA is down to 3.62, his record up to 16-4. If you’d have said that Nova would have this kind of season back in March, I probably would have called you crazy. The kid is probably going to start Game Two of the ALDS next weekend, and he’s certainly earned it.

(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

OMG RISPFAIL WTF

It had been 18 days since the Yankees last played a 7pm ET game at home, and they celebrated by leaving 18 runners on base. Seriously. It’s the most runners a Rays opponent has ever stranded, and it’s by far the most the Yankees have stranded this year. The previous high was 15 on May 11th, but guess what? That was an eleven inning game. The previous high for a nine inning game was 13, which they did against the Cubs and also against the Red Sox a few weeks ago (Jesus Montero‘s first game, the one with Russell Martin‘s huge go-ahead double off Daniel Bard).  They left one man on base in the second, two men on base in the first, fourth, sixth, and eighth, and the bases loaded in the third, fifth, and seventh. Yikes.

Despite all that RISPFAIL, the Yankees did score five runs, three on Curtis Granderson‘s bases clearing double in the second. Eric Chavez singled in a run earlier that inning, and then Grandy singled in another run in the fifth. That wasn’t really a single though, Casey Kotchman bobbled the grounder and Cesar Ramos flubbed the relay. I’ll take it. Curtis is now 8-for-11 with three doubles, two homers, four walks, and two strikeouts in his last three games, so I think we can consider the slump over.

So smooth. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Leftovers

Aside from the Grandyman, four others had multiple hits: Derek Jeter (also a walk), Eric Chavez, Martin (also a walk), and Brett Gardner. Mark Teixeira singled and both Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher doubled, plus all three drew a walk as well. Alex Rodriguez was the only Yankee without a hit, but he walked twice.  Everyone got in on the action, solid offensive night aside from all those runners left on base. You know what they say though, I’d rather have ‘em on and strand ‘em than not have ‘em on at all. They say that, right?

Anyway, the bullpen was a two-man show after Nova left. Boone Logan was brought in to face the lefty Matt Joyce, but the righty Brandon Guyer pinch-hit and popped out in foul territory to end the eighth. Luis Ayala worked a scoreless ninth. That’s all she wrote.

The Rays lost, obviously, so the lead on the wildcard spot increased to eight full games. Robert Andino and the Orioles came back against Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox, so the lead in the division climbed to six games (seven in the loss column). You’re welcome for keeping you ahead in the wildcard race, Boston.

The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is just two, the magic number to clinch the division is just three, and the magic number to clinch homefield advantage is just five. The first two could happen within the next 24 hours. Seriously.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video, FanGraphs some more advanced stats, and ESPN the updated standings.

Up Next

Let’s play two! These same two teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, with the scheduled starters being some combination of Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, Jamie Shields, and Jeremy Hellickson. Game one starts a little after 1pm ET, and you can get there with RAB Tickets.

The save statistic is grossly overrated in today’s game, but Mariano Rivera is not. The greatest reliever in the history of baseball made some more history on an otherwise nondescript Monday afternoon in the Bronx, passing Trevor Hoffman for sole possession of the game’s career save record. Everything else seems like an afterthought.

602

Fast forward to the end, when the Yankees were nursing a 6-4 lead and the crowd was still buzzing from Nick Swisher‘s inning-ending double play ball in the eighth. I’ve never seen the fans get so excited for a blown scoring opportunity, but Swisher’s failure to come through preserved the save situation. Enter Sandman began to play, and the cheers grew even louder.

The first batter was Trevor Plouffe, who had the gall to take the first two pitches for balls. The third pitch was a cutter on the outside corner for a called strike, the fourth pitch another cutter that generated a swing and a miss. The fifth pitch was (of course) a cutter, one that Plouffe grounded harmlessly to second for the first. Michael Cuddyer, the only legitimate hitter in Minnesota’s lineup, worked the count to 2-2 before flying out to right on a broken bat. That was two outs. The third batters was Chris Parmelee, who spend the entire season in Double-A. A first pitch cutter was down the middle for strike one. The second cutter was fouled back. The third was vintage Rivera, a cutter down and away for a called strike three. Game over, let’s go home.

The team swarmed Rivera on the field after the final out, but eventually Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez pushed him out to the mound so he could wave to the fans. Mo stood on the same mound he’s stood on countless times before, with all eyes on him like they have been so many times, but for what seemed like the first time ever, he soaked it all in. Rivera waved to the crowd, waved to the Twins players and staff that remained in the dugout and applauded, waved to his family, waves to some more fans. The consummate team-first player was enjoying an individual moment, and quite frankly he looked awkward. Like he didn’t want the attention, like a man who had just done his job and wanted to go home.

We can argue Rivera’s place in Yankees history for hours on end, but this is no place to do it. I don’t know if he’s a greater Yankee than Joe DiMaggio or Yogi Berra, or more valuable to the dynasty than Derek Jeter, but I do know one thing: I’ve never any athlete in any sport dominate his position as thoroughly and for as long as Rivera has dominated the closer’s role. There might someone else like him down the road, but I’m pretty comfortable in saying that I’ll never forget how I feel whenever Rivera is on the mound. The most chaotic spots imaginable, and yet there was this calm figure on the mound, raised above everyone else on the field, just like it should be. He is simply on another level.

Confirmed

If there’s one good thing that came out of A.J. Burnett‘s start, it’s that he basically pitched himself out of having any chance at making the postseason rotation. He finished off his last start with six strikeouts in three innings and started this one with seven strikeouts in three innings, but don’t be fooled, he’s still awful. After whiffing seven of the first dozen Twins he faced on Monday, seven of the next ten reach base. Two of those seven were homers, and overall, Burnett allowed four runs on nine hits and a walk in just four innings against a Triple-A lineup (more on that in a bit). Eight strikeouts are great, but nothing else is. Believe it or not, A.J. now has a higher ERA (5.28) than he did last year (5.26). Impressive.

Leftovers

(AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Oh yeah, the offense. Curtis Granderson started things off with a two-run homer in the first inning, then the Yankees tacked on another run in the second thanks to a Russell Martin single. Robinson Cano tripled home a run in the third, and then Swisher singled in Cano one batter later to make it 5-0. Alex Rodriguez’s run-scoring single in the sixth gave the team an insurance run. The pitching was the story of the game, for better and for worse, so it’s kinda easy to forget the offense.

The bullpen between Burnett and Mo was solid. Cory Wade, who’s been shaky of late, allowed three hits and a walk in 1.1 IP, striking out Joe Benson and Rene Rivera with the bases loaded to end the fifth. Boone Logan got the only man he faced, then Rafael Soriano and David Robertson sat down all six men they faced before Rivera made history.

Aside from 602, Regis Philbin was pretty much the highlight of the game, the best half-inning from the booth all season. He poked fun at Michael Kay (“how do you go from Fordham to The Post?”), Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling (“could they sit any further apart?”), and was just all around entertaining. We should all be lucky enough to have that much life and energy at 80.

This game was originally scheduled for April 6th, the Yankees fifth game of the season and what would have been Freddy Garcia‘s first start. Here’s the lineup Minnesota was going to use that day…

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jim Thome, DH
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Jason Kubel, LF
8. Danny Valencia, 3B
9. Alexi Casilla, SS

Now here’s the lineup they ran out there on Monday…

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Trevor Plouffe, SS
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Chris Parmelee, 1B
5. Danny Valencia, DH
6. Brian Dinkelman, RF
7. Luke Hughes, 3B
8. Joe Benson, LF
9. Rene Rivera, C

Yeah, that’s some difference. It must really suck being a Twins fan right now.

The Rays were off on Monday, so the Yankees increased their lead in the wildcard by half-a-game to seven games. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to just four. The Red Sox split their doubleheader with the Orioles, so the lead in the division increased to a full five games in the loss column with ten to play.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video, FanGraphs some other stuff, and ESPN the updated standings.

Up Next

The Twins were only here for the one-day makeup, so they’re off to Minnesota and the Rays are coming to town for four-games in three days. It’s an enormous series for Tampa, and probably a four out of ten on the importance scale for New York. Ivan Nova kicks things off against Wade Davis on Tuesday night. If you want to catch the game, RAB Tickets can get you there.

Pretty forgettable game on Sunday, one of those classic “end of a long road trip” games when entire team seemed like they just wanted to go home. The Jays won 3-0, handing New York their seventh loss in their last eleven games.

(Getty)

The Homerun Regression Tour Continues

Like Bartolo Colon on Saturday, Freddy Garcia did not make it out of the fifth inning. He allowed three runs, two on solo homers by Adam Lind, making it three straight starts in which he’s allowed exactly two homers. Since the end of that 69 IP homerless streak, Sweaty Freddy has allowed seven homers in just 14 IP. The third run scored on a sacrifice fly after Garcia threw a ball away on a bunt attempt. Three runs on five hits and three walks in 4.2 IP raised Garcia’s ERA to 6.00 in 21 IP against Toronto this season. Against everyone else, he has a 3.38 ERA. I don’t think I’m alone in saying: thank goodness they don’t play the Blue Jays again this year.

No Fight

(Reuters)

With the season winding down and the Yankees having a pretty comfortable lead on the playoff spot, Joe Girardi understandably rested some of his regulars on Sunday afternoon. Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson did not play at all, and Robinson Cano got a half-day off at DH. Unsurprisingly, they struggled on offense. Eduardo Nunez (of all people) was the lone bright spot, going 3-for-4 with a double. He would have had a fourth hit (and another double) if it wasn’t for a nice lunging catch by Eric Thames in left, a ball hit right to the warning track. Of course, Nunez got thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double at one point, another example of the team’s recent baserunning stupidity.

Aside from that, the Yankees went a combined 2-for-26 with a walk, striking out nine times against Brandon Morrow. They worked the count well early, forcing the righty to throw 39 pitches in the first two innings, but he settled down and needed just 68 pitches for the final six frames.  Frank Francisco threw a chair scoreless ninth, striking out Alex Rodriguez to end it.

Leftovers

Aside from Scott Proctor (one intentional walk, one unintentional walk, one hit, one out) and Aaron Laffey (walked the only man he faced), the bullpen was pretty solid. Luis Ayala bailed Garcia out of a bases loaded jam in the fifth then tacked on a perfect sixth. Raul Valdes, pitching for the first time as a Yankee and the first time since August 29th, made a nice impression by striking out Lind and Colby Rasmus looking. He might get another look this week, just because. George Kontos threw one pitch, getting out of the eighth because Russell Martin threw someone out stealing. That’s really it, not much more to talk about.

The Rays beat the Red Sox (again), so the lead in the division remains at 4.5 games while the lead in the wildcard shrunk to 6.5 games. The magic number to clinch the division is down to seven, the magic number to clinch a playoff spot just five.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs has some more advanced stats, and ESPN has the updated standings.

Up Next

At long last, it’s time for the Yankees to go home. They’re going to play a one-game makeup with the Twins on Monday afternoon, a 1:05pm ET start that will feature A.J. Burnett and Scott Diamond. Minnesota is just 9-36 since July 30th, and they’re without Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Jason  Kubel due to injuries.

Toronto's win expectancy peaked at 96.4% after Jose Bautista walked to lead off the fifth.

This one looked pretty bad early on. Like, really bad. Will the score be so out of hand that Dellin Betances and/or Andrew Brackman actually get to pitch bad. And yet, a few innings later, there was Mariano Rivera on the mound, nailing down the 601st save of his career. Hooray for come from behind wins…

• You typically can’t have a comeback win without awful pitching, so Bartolo Colon jumped on the grenade Saturday afternoon. The big fella lasted just four innings, exiting the game after allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk. He threw only 67 pitches, and his Game Score of 25 was the 11th worst by a Yankees pitcher this season. Colon now has a 7.98 ERA in 23.2 IP against Toronto this season, but a 3.06 ERA in 132.1 IP against everyone else. Good thing the Jays aren’t going to the postseason, eh?
• The Yankees were down four-zip heading into the fourth, and that’s when they started to chip away. Curtis Granderson scored the team’s first run when Adam Loewen dropped a fly ball in lefty, and the inning would have been bigger if it wasn’t for Robinson Cano‘s stupid baserunning. With men on second and third with one out, Nick Swisher clubbed a deep fly ball that Colby Rasmus managed to run down for the second out. Either Cano wasn’t paying attention or he forgot how many outs there were or something else, but he kept running and passed Mark Teixeira (the lead baserunner) on the bases to end the inning. It’s the second time on the road trip that Robbie make a huge baserunning blunder, and Tex called him out on it after the game.
• After Colon gave two runs back in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees went to work. Teixeira (who had a pair of hits back up the middle, not his usually pull happy stuff) drove in Grandy, then two batters later Alex Rodriguez ripped a line drive three-run homer over the left field wall to make it 6-5. Alex singled in his first at-bat, and both hits came on inside fastballs. Pretty good sign following the thumb injury. Granderson completed the comeback in the seventh, when he whacked a two-run homer to center on the 12th pitch of a monster at-bat. Curtis was a triple shy of the cycle, and it all started with a first inning bunt single. As they say, sometimes a little bunt hit can help end a slump.
• All the runs were great, but they wouldn’t have meant anything if it wasn’t for five stellar innings from the bullpen. Scott Proctor took over in the fifth and immediately walked leadoff man Jose Bautista, but that was it. Adam Lind grounded into a double play as the next batter, and the bullpen retired the final 14 batters they faced. Aaron Laffey threw the sixth, Hector Noesi the seventh, Rafael Soriano the eighth (struck out the side for the second straight day), and of course Mo handled the ninth. As you already know, he tied Trevor Hoffman for the most career saves in baseball history. It doesn’t get any better than that, just a stellar job by the relief corps. All five of ‘em.
• The Rays beat the Red  Sox, so the lead in the division increased to 4.5 games while wildcard lead remained at 7.5. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is just five. Here’s the box score, here’s the advanced stats, and here’s the standings.

The rubber game of this series will be played Sunday afternoon, when Freddy Garcia starts against Brandon Morrow at 1:07pm ET. It was supposed to be Dustin McGowan for Toronto, but he had to start Friday after Brett Cecil cut his finger cleaning a blender.