(Jim McIsaac/Getty)

For the third time this season, Derek Jeter is coming off the DL to rejoin the Yankees following a leg injury. His return lasted all of one game the first time before a quad injury sidelined him for more than two weeks. The second time it was four games before a calf injury sent him back to the DL. Obviously the Yankees and Jeter are hoping the third is a charm and the Cap’n will stay on the field for the rest of the regular season (and playoffs!).

Barring a surprise waiver trade in the coming days, the Yankees are now as healthy and full strength as can be. This is it, this is the team. We don’t have to wait for any more injured players to return*. Jeter’s return boosts the lineup and whatever intangible qualities he offers boost the clubhouse. His mere presence helps the team in a way I can’t explain. The Yankees with Jeter are a much better team than they are without him regardless of what he’s hitting. Very few players transcend on-field production like that.

Here’s the lineup that will face reigning NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey:

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. SS Derek Jeter
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Alfonso Soriano
5. DH Curtis Granderson
6. 3B Alex Rodriguez
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. RF Ichiro Suzuki
9. C Austin Romine

And on the mound is right-hander Phil Hughes, who has actually put together two straight quality starts, including six innings of two-run ball against the Blue Jays last week. Needless to say, he needs to do that again.

The Yankees are playing in another domed/retractable roofed stadium, so the weather doesn’t really matter. If you’re curious, it’s supposed to rain on-and-off in Toronto these next few days. First pitch is scheduled for a little after 7pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

* I’ve said this before.

(Presswire)

The first two games of this three-game set against the Rays were a reminder of just how tough the road to the postseason will be for the Yankees. It won’t all be beating up on the Angels and Blue Jays. They’ll have to actually beat some good teams along the way. A lot of good teams, really.

To their credit, the Yankees did take two of three from both the Tigers and Red Sox within the last two weeks. That doesn’t mean dropping at least two of three to the Rays is okay. They don’t have that kind of room for error. Joe Girardi‘s squad needs to win every series from here on out, against the good teams and bad teams. Salvage this series today and then go pound Toronto in Toronto for a few days. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Alex Cobb:

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Ichiro Suzuki
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. DH Alfonso Soriano
5. LF Curtis Granderson
6. SS Eduardo Nunez
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. 3B Mark Reynolds
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is right-hander Ivan Nova, who has allowed seven runs in 13.1 innings across his last two starts. He had allowed seven runs in his previous 45 innings and six starts.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:40pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

(Jonathan Daniel/Getty)

The Yankees’ five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt last night as the Rays roughed up Hiroki Kuroda, and now it’s up to CC Sabathia to stop the bleeding. The Bombers can’t afford any kind of prolonged longing streak, even two losses in a row at this point. Sabathia has to be stopper he was as recently as last year. This year’s CC won’t suffice. Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is running out there against reigning Cy Young Award winner David Price:

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki
2. SS Eduardo Nunez
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Alfonso Soriano
5. 3B Alex Rodriguez
6. DH Vernon Wells
7. CF Curtis Granderson
8. 1B Mark Reynolds
9. C Austin Romine

And on mound is Sabathia, who never seemed to pitch well at Tropicana Field even when he was at his best these last few years.

I don’t know what the weather is like in St. Petersburg but it doesn’t really matter because of the roof. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Source: FanGraphs

It really stinks when things don’t go according to plan. The Yankees had won five straight heading into Friday’s series opener against the Rays and they had Hiroki Kuroda on the mound, their best pitcher and one of the very best in baseball this year. Instead of continuing to roll, they hit a speed bump and were overmatched by Tampa. Let’s recap the 7-2 loss:

• HRiok: After going almost 60 innings without allowing a homer, Kuroda surrendered four (!) in six innings on Friday night. The Rays punished him for seven runs on nine hits and one walk in six innings. He should have been out of the game in the fifth innings or so, but Joe Girardi opted to run his best pitcher into the ground rather than overwork the sixth and seventh relievers in the bullpen. Yuck. Fouling back-to-back rough outings, I wonder if Kuroda might be hitting the same late-season wall he hit late last year. I hope not, the Yankees can’t afford it.
• Sterling: For the second time in about a month, Chris Archer shut New York down. He didn’t throw another complete-game shutout on Friday, but he did limit them to two runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings. Six of the 27 batters he faced managed to hit the ball out of the infield on the fly. Brett Gardner created both runs by using his speed to get to third base — single, stolen base, moved up on a fly ball, then a triple — before someone (Alfonso Soriano single, Robinson Cano ground out) drove him in. Archer’s night ended when new Ray David DeJesus made a nice running grab at the wall on a Chris Stewart line drive with two on in the seventh.
• Leftovers: Joba Chamberlain retired all six (!) batters he faced after Girardi mercifully pulled Kuroda … Gardner had two hits and a walk while Eduardo Nunez had two hits, otherwise no one reached base more than once … Gardner was picked off first and doubled off first on a Curtis Granderson fly ball. Making two outs at first after safely reaching base really sucks … Kuroda tied a career-high with four homers allowed.

MLB.com has the box score and video, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Orioles beat the Athletics, so the Yankees remain four games back of Oakland for the second wildcard spot. Cool Standings has New York’s postseason odds at 12.2%. CC Sabathia and David Price square off in battle of Cy Young winning southpaws in game two of this three-game series on Saturday night.

(Ron Antonelli/Getty)

The Yankees have done exactly what they needed to do these last two weeks as they try to climb back in the postseason race. They took two of three from two good teams in the Tigers and Red Sox while beating the crap out of a pair of non-contenders in the Angels and Blue Jays. They’ve shaved four games off their wildcard deficit and three games off their division deficit with their recent strong play, but they’re only halfway there. Lots more winning has to be done. Finishing off the sweep of Toronto this afternoon is the next step. Here’s the lineup that will face left-hander J.A. Happ:

1. RF Ichiro Suzuki
2. DH Vernon Wells
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Alfonso Soriano
5. 3B Alex Rodriguez
6. CF Curtis Granderson
7. 1B Mark Reynolds
8. SS Eduardo Nunez
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is lefty Andy Pettitte, who is coming off a pretty good start against the Red Sox. He ran out of gas in the seventh inning but looked better than he had in a long time for the first 6+ innings. The Yankees need a repeat showing of that Pettitte today; he’s got to pitch better if they’re going to make a serious run at a playoff spot.

It has been pouring in New York all morning. Real heavy, nasty rain with lightning and loud thunder. Not exactly baseball weather. That is supposed to clear up early this afternoon however, so we’re probably going to have a game today. The Blue Jays do not come back to the Bronx at all this season, so expect them to wait it out as long as necessary. No one wants to forfeit an off-day to make a game up this late in the season. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm ET but I’m not sure that will happen. They might start in a delay. Whenever they do play, it’ll be on YES. Enjoy.

Update (12:58pm): The game will not start on time, the Yankees announced. No word on a tentative start time or anything. It’s still raining outside. Not hard, but raining enough.

Update (1:32pm): Dan Barbarisi hears it might be a while until the game begins, something like 3-5pm ET. Yikes.

Update (3:44pm): The tarp is coming off the field and the team says they are shooting for a 4:30pm ET start time.

Update (4:32pm): We have baseball. The two teams have taken the field.

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

The Yankees swept a doubleheader yesterday and have won eight of their last ten games overall, possibly playing their very best baseball of the season in the process. It’s definitely their best offensive stretch, that’s for sure. They’ve scored at least eight runs five times in their last eight games after doing it five times in their previous 83 (!) games. It’s amazing what can happen when you add some legitimate Major League hitters to the lineup, ain’t it? Here’s the lineup that will face reigning NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey:

1. DH Brett Gardner
2. RF Ichiro Suzuki
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Alfonso Soriano
5. CF Curtis Granderson
6. SS Eduardo Nunez
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. 3B Jayson Nix
9. C Austin Romine

And on the mound is right-hander Adam Warren, who is making the spot start necessitated by the doubleheader. It’s his first start of the year after 24 long relief outings (3.57 ERA and 4.66 FIP), and the team only expects him to throw four or so innings. Lefty David Huff, who was working as a starter with Triple-A Scranton, will back him up.

It’s pretty hot in New York but the forecast is clear. No threat of rain or anything. The game is scheduled to start at 7:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

More dingers, Robbie. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

A win usually makes for a pretty good day in Yankeeland, but two wins definitely qualifies as a great day. The Bombers have a chance to sweep today’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays after using a pair of three-run homers in this afternoon’s come from behind win. Considering where they sit in the playoff race, taking two games in one day would be pretty huge. Here’s the lineup that will face left-hander Mark Buehrle:

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Vernon Wells
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. LF Alfonso Soriano
5. DH Alex Rodriguez
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. SS Eduardo Nunez
8. 3B Jayson Nix
9. C Austin Romine

And on the mound is right-hander Phil Hughes. The Yankees have lost his last three starts, five of his last seven starts, eight of his last eleven starts, and and 12 of his last 16 starts. It’s tough to put together any kind of lengthy winning streak with this guy going every five days. Hughes needs to pitch better in his final six weeks as a Yankee if the team wants to sneak into the postseason.

Like I said before, the weather’s great and there’s no threat of rain. Obviously Nunez’s hamstring is feeling better as well. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET and can be seen on My9. Enjoy.

Remember when a four-run deficit was pretty much a guaranteed loss? Thankfully those days are over. The offense picked up Ivan Nova after his rough second inning and helped the team to an 8-4 win.

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

Two For Three
What’s better than one three-run homer? Two three-run homers! What’s better than two three-run homers? Two three-run homers in which one was Robinson Cano‘s 200th career dinger and the other came from number nine hitter Chris Stewart (!). That blast probably earned him another month as the starting catcher, but who cares at this point? The important thing is that it turned a one-run deficit into a two-run lead in the sixth inning.

The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 4-0 lead (more on that in a bit), but Cano’s third inning blast brought the Yankees back to life. It was crushed out to dead center and pretty much classic Robbie. Stewart’s blast came with two outs and after reliever Neil Wagner walked Jayson Nix. That’s how you make them pay. If the Yankees are going to climb back into the postseason race, they’re going to need unexpected production from guys like Nix and Stewart. Those two played in a big role in this win.

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

One Bad Inning
During his recent run of excellent starts, Nova dominated using his fastball/curveball combo almost exclusively. He rarely broke out his slider or changeup because he simply didn’t need them. On Tuesday afternoon, we got a glimpse of what happens when half of that fastball/curveball combo isn’t working. Nova had to rely on his heater because he couldn’t locate his curve or keep it down in the zone, and the Blue Jays tagged him for four runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch in the second inning alone. Seven of the first 12 men he faced reached base.

To his credit, Nova settled down after that and followed with 4.1 scoreless innings. He retired 12 of the final 17 men he faced, and three of the five exceptions were infield singles. All told, Nova held the Jays to those four runs on eight singles, one double, and two walks in 6.1 innings. He only struck out two and, for the first time since June 23rd, he failed to complete at least seven innings of work (as a starter). That was eight starts ago. Last year, Nova gets knocked out of this game in the third or fourth inning. One of the keys to his recent success has been the ability to adjust and toss up zeroes after a rough inning. That’s a very good development.

(Jeff Zelevansky/Getty)

Leftovers
Biggest moment of the game: Shawn Kelley getting the scorching hot Brett Lawrie to fly out to center to end the seventh inning. The bases were loaded and the tying run was in scoring position after Kelley walked two batters, but he escaped the jam. That was a huge out. Kelley has now allowed just two of 35 (!!!) inherited runners to score this year. That’s absurd. Off the charts.

Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and is now sitting on 3,999 career hits between Japan and MLB. Obviously the caliber of competition in Japan is lower than it is over here, but that’s still an awful lot of hits. He’s got 2,721 career hits in the big leagues after just 12 seasons and four and a half months. That’s nuts.

With the homer, Cano became the 15th player in franchise history with 200 long balls. He has a chance to climb into 12th place on the team’s all-time homer list before the end of the season. Robbie went 4-for-4 and doubled in an insurance run in the seventh. He was a triple shy of the cycle.

Nix (1-for-2 with two walks) and Brett Gardner (1-for-4 with a sac fly) chipped in an insurance run the bottom of the eighth. Alex Rodriguez singled and walked and is hitting .320/.414/.480 in 13 games since coming off the DL. That’s do just fine. Curtis Granderson singled and Lyle Overbay walked. The Yankees scored at least eight runs for the fifth time in their last seven games. So awesome.

Kelley (19 pitches), Boone Logan (six pitches), David Robertson (12 pitches), Joba Chamberlain (14 pitches), and Mariano Rivera (eight pitches) all appeared in the game, so their availability for the second game of the doubleheader is unclear. I don’t get the point of using Joba if his leash is one base-runner with a four-run lead in the ninth.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings
Check out MLB.com for the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs for some other stats, and ESPN for the updated standings. The Yankees have moved passed the Royals in the second wildcard race via percentage points. They’re six back right now, but obviously there is a whole slate of night games to be played.

Source: FanGraphs

Up Next
Let’s play two! The Yankees and Blue Jays will play the second game of the day-night doubleheader in a few hours, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm ET.

(Jim Rogash/Getty)

No matter who you’re playing, it’s really hard to sweep a doubleheader. The Yankees split their previous two doubleheaders this season but don’t really have that luxury anymore. Every game and every win is extremely important from here on out. Sweeping the Blue Jays today would help their slim postseason chances but getting swept would nearly bury them. Their margin for error is that small. Here’s the lineup that will face right-hander Esmil Rogers:

1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Ichiro Suzuki
3. 2B Robinson Cano
4. DH Alfonso Soriano
5. 3B Alex Rodriguez
6. LF Curtis Granderson
7. 1B Lyle Overbay
8. SS Jayson Nix
9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is right-hander Ivan Nova, who is coming off his first shaky outing since officially rejoining the rotation in early July. He allowed just three runs in seven innings against the Angels, but they did tag him for a season-high ten hits. Shake it off.

No concerns about the weather today at all. It’ll be hot and sunny with a little bit of humidity, but no threat of rain. They won’t have any trouble getting the two games in. First pitch for the first game is scheduled for 1:05pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.

Roster Update: Preston Claiborne has rejoined the team as the 26th man for the doubleheader. By rule, he has to go back to the minors tomorrow

Injury Updates: Eduardo Nunez (hamstring) is still day-to-day, but yesterday’s MRI did come back negative. It’s still tight but they hope he can play the second game tonight … Derek Jeter (calf) will play in a simulated game and run the bases today for the first time since being placed on the DL.