Despite a solid outing from spot starter Chad Gaudin, the Yankees slept their way through seven innings of dull baseball and trailed 4-2 in the 8th. Phil Hughes started things out with a dynamite top of the inning and then the bats came to life.  Alex Rodriguez dunked n a 1-out single off lefty Scott Downs and then it was time for Godzilla to destroy another city.  Hideki Matsui entered the game with nearly half his 24 home runs coming against southpaws.  Number 25 landed in the right field stands and tied the game at four apiece.

“Pie Anticipation” set in after Mariano Rivera tossed a scoreless 9th and Brett Gardner kept the momentum going with a lead off single against Jays’ closer Jason Frasor in the home half of the inning.  The speedster swiped his 22nd base in 27 attempts and moved to third on Derek Jeter’s ground out up the middle.  With no third catcher available due to Jorge Posada’s suspension, Joe Girardi had no choice but to let Francisco Cervelli bat for himself.  The “Cisco Kid” didn’t let his manager down, singling through the left side for yet another last at-bat win for the Pinstripes.

Cervelli also showed the exuberance that has affected both the youngsters and the veterans.  He joyously rounded first and headed towards right field in an attempt to out run his teammates/mob scene.  But a smiling Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera caught him, setting up another raucous Bronx celebration that culminated when A.J. Burnett gave the rookie catcher his first taste of victory pie.

The Yankees were in the game because Gaudin, starting in place of Andy Pettitte, was solid through five plus innings.  He allowed a solo home run by Jose Bautista, but got out of other jams with run producing ground outs.  The Blue Jays tacked one on against Brian Bruney in the 7th, but mystique, aura, and exuberance were waiting in the wings.

Game Notes

Mariano Rivera won his 3rd game of the season and the 71st of his career.

The Yankees have Thursday off and will travel to the west coast for games at Seattle and LA (Ana).

But when Posada scored on Brett Gardner’s double, he threw an elbow in Carlson’s direction and was immediately ejected.  The two mouthed off to one another, then went at each other as the benches again emptied.  When it was all over, Carlson was sporting a large knot on his forehead and had been ejected, and Joe Girardi had a cut on his ear thanks to a wild swing from Blue Jays infielder John McDonald.  It was no small coincidence that McDonald had been hit by Melancon earlier this season. There was a bit of comic relief too, provided by scrawny Edwar Ramirez, who restrained the beefy Barajas.

The game itself wasn’t much of a contest after the Yankees had taken an early 2-0 lead against Doc Halladay.  Sergio Mitre was pounded by the Jays for four of the five home runs they hit on the night.  Travis Snider, especially stood out, hitting a pair of bombs into the second deck in right field.  Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion also took Mitre deep and Jose Bautista added a late home run against reliever Mike Dunn.

The Yankees had 11 hits against Halladay, who wasn’t at the top of his game, but still good enough for his third victory against the Yankees this season.  Gardner and Derek Jeter singled in runs in the 2nd inning, but the Yankees couldn’t anything after that until the final two innings when they added a run in each frame.

Game Notes

Both Posada and Carlson were suspended 4 games by Major League Baseball.

WP – Gaudin (1-0)   LP – Camp (1-6)

The term “walk-off” has become over used in baseball.  It used to just apply to a game winning home run. Now it applies to anything that wins a game in a team’s last at-bat.  The YES Network even made the Yankees-Mets game of June 12- the Luis Castillo E-4 walk-off- an instant classic.  But then again, the Yankees have made their home headquarters the walk-off capital of the world.  They added to their collection this afternoon when Robinson Cano hit a one-hopper off the fence in right-center field, officially scored a single, in the bottom of the 11th to score Alex Rodriguez with the game winning run in a 5-4 Yankees victory.  It was Cano’s 2nd walk-off of the year.

Newly acquired Chad Gaudin made his Yankees debut and pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.  A.J. Burnett started out sharply, but began overthrowing and 3 wild pitches later the game was tied 3-3 after 6.  The Yankees victory may not have come without a price though.  A-Rod reached based in the 11th when Shawn Camp plunked him on the elbow.  X-Rays after the game were negative, but A-Rod was in a lot of pain and may be out for Thursday’s opener in Seattle.  The Yankees also lost Derek Jeter earlier in the game after a Ricky Romero pitch hit him in the instep of his right foot.

After A-Rod’s bruising, Jorge Posada, who up until then had a miserable game behind, and at the plate (and also took a foul ball off his right hand) singled to left-center to set upCano’s game winner and eventual pieing by Burnett.  Cano’s 18th home run of the year had give the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the 4th.  Johnny Damon had earlier hit a solo shot of his own.

Burnett looked to be well on the way to his 11th victory when his lack of command got the better of him in the 6th.  He gave up 1-out singles to Randy Ruiz, who had homered earlier, and Edwin Encarnacion and promptly wild pitched them up a base.  After Raul Chavez singled to cut the lead to 3-2, Burnett struck out Joe Inglett for the 2nd out.  But with Marco Scutaro at the plate, Burnett uncorked another wild pitch to score Encarnacion with the tying run.

Game Notes

Phil Coke, David Robertson, Phil Hughes, and Chad Gaudin combined for 5 scoreless innings of relief.   Gaudin is now 5-10 between the Yankees and Padres.

Randy Ruiz has homered in each game since his recall on Tuesday.

With just one official at-bat, Derek Jeter’s 7-game hitting streak, in which he was 12-31, came to an end.  Robinson Cano, however, extended his streak to 10 games.

Mark Teixeira got the day before pinch-hitting in the 10th inning and remained in the game.  Nick Swisher started at 1st base, while Eric Hinske (0-4, 3 K’s) got the call in right field.

WP – Robertson (2-1)  SV – Rivera (33)  LP – Carlson (1-5)

The Yankees were 5 outs away last night from back to back losses to the Toronto Blue Jays.  But the phrase “back to back” has a good, no, great connotation in the Bronx these days.  Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada hit back to back home runs off left-hander Jesse Carlson in the bottom of the 8th inning and the Yankees went on to beat the Blue Jays 7-5, snapping their brief 1-game losing streak.  It was the third straight game the Yankees had hit back to back home runs (the first time since May ’83 when Dave Winfield and Don Baylor, Steve Kemp and Lou Piniella, and Roy Smalley and Winfield again accomplished the feat) and they now lead the majors with 13 occurrences.

The late rally overcame another shaky home performance by Joba Chamberlain, who turned a 3-0 lead into a 4-3 deficit.  Scott Richmond settled down after a rough start and put up zeroes after the 2nd inning.  After right-hander Jeremy Accardo tossed a scoreless 7th, manager Cito Gaston went to Carlson to face lefties Robinson Cano and Matsui, plus the switch hitting Posada.

Matsui worked the count full before depositing one of the new Stadium’s deepest shots into the right field seats.  Posada’s home run wasn’t clear cut at first.  His opposite field blast barely cleared the right field wall and immediately got Gaston out of the visiting dugout to question whether or not a fan had interfered with right fielder Joe Inglett’s ability to catch the baseball.  Replays clearly showed that the ball sailed over Inglett’s glove before coming to rest in the glove of fan, who had it perched on the top of the wall.  The Stadium erupted again when crew chief Joe West confirmed the call after watching instant replays.  (Both Matsui and Posada had taken curtain calls.)

Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon added big insurance runs later in the inning with RBI singles for a 7-4 Yankees lead.  Mariano Rivera would need it as he wasn’t at his sharpest.  A solo home run by Edwin Encarnacion in the 9th cut the Jays’ deficit to two and a single by Rod Barajas brought the tying run to the plate. But Rivera struck out Inglett and Marco Scutaro to nail down his 29th consecutive save chance.

Chamberlain started out nicely.  He breezed through the first two innings, but the “bad” Joba returned in the 3rd.  Two walks and two hits later, including a 2-run double by Lyle Overbay, the game was tied 3-3.  An inning later, Randy Ruiz, had been recalled earlier in the day, hit his first home run of the season to give the Blue Jay a 4-3 lead.

Chamberlain settled back down for his final two innings, and Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, and David Robertson kept the score as is and gave the Yankees the chance to go “back to back, and a belly to belly”.

Game Notes

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees are 19-6 since the All-Star break, their best 25 game stretch since the 1994 All-Star break.

David Robertson retired one batter, Vernon Wells, to earned his 2nd win of the year.

In picking up his 515th career save, Mariano Rivera gave up his first earned run since June 12.

Chad Gaudin will make his first start as a Yankee on Sunday in Seattle.  Joba Chamberlain is being pushed back two days to get extra rest with Gaudin filling in.  Joe Girardi also said that Sergio Mitre will make his next scheduled start.

The rubber game of the series is an afternoon affair beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET.  A.J. Burnett faces his old team and left-hander Ricky Romero.

The Yankees got on Halladay right away in the first inning on an RBI double by Alex Rodriguez and a run-scoring error by king idiot, Kevin Millar.  But it was the unusual power display against Halladay that made the difference.  Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the 8th, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira hit back-to-back 2-out home runs for a 4-1 lead.

After the Jays cut the lead to 4-3 against Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera, Hideki Matsui led off the top of the 9th with a solo home run, his 16th of the season.  Rivera, who had let an inherited runner score in the 8th, was not sharp and ran into trouble again in the 9th.

Singles by Jose Bautista and Marcos Scutaro put two aboard with two out, but Rivera got Aaron Hill to pop out to Melky Cabrera in center field for his 31st save of the season.

Pettitte allowed a run on 4 hits in 6.2 innings, walked 4 and struck out 6th before tiring in the 7th.  Hughes came on with two on and two out in the 7th and struck out Bautista looking with a wicked curveball.  In improving to 9-6, Pettitte has allowed 7 earned runs in his last 4 starts (26.2 innings) and has struck out 29.

Game Notes

Johnny Damon continues to own Roy Halladay.  He’s now 32-90 (.356) with 3 HR and 5 RBI.

Sergio Mitre goes for the 2-game sweep tomorrow when he faces Mike Rzepczynski.

WP – Romero (7-3)  SV – Frasor (3)  LP – Pettitte (8-4)

Late Rally Falls Short

No lead is safe at Yankee Stadium this season and the Yankees are confident they can come back from any deficit.  So trailing 7-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon, they knew they could mount a rally. But, unfortunately, they came up short.  The Jays took advantage of poor showings from Andy Pettitte and Brian Bruney to beat the Yankees 7-6.

Pettitte continued his home struggles (4-3, 5.72 in 10 starts), surrending home runs to Alex Rios and John McDonald to put his team in a 5-1 hole.  Pettitte was charged with another run when Bruney allowed a 2-run double to Scott Rolen. (The Blue Jays’ third baseman extended his hitting streak to 23 games.)

Trailing 7-4 in the 9th, the Yankees mounted a 2-out rally on a single by Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano’s double.  Hideki Matsui, pinch-hitting for Melky Cabrera, continued his success against Blue Jays’ reliever Jason Frasor with a 2-run double that cut the Yankees deficit to a single run.  But Eric Hinske, who had earlier hit his first home run as a member of the Yankees, struck out on a 3-2 delivery from Frasor to end the ball game.

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi watched most of the game from the clubhouse after being ejected in the bottom of the 1st inning.  Derek Jeter led off the ball game with a walk and moved to 2nd base when Blue Jays’ starter Ricky Romero balked.  Jeter attempted to steal 3rd base and appeared to be safe even though the throw beat him.  But umpire Marty Foster ruled Jeter was out and then tossed Girardi from the game when he came out to argue.

Romero extended his scoreless string to 24.1 innings pitched before allowing Hinske’s home run in the 5th.  He was also charged with two more runs in the 7th when Nick Swisher stroked a 2-run single.

Game Notes

The Yankees finished the homestand with a 5-2 record.  They head to Minnesota for a 3-game series before going out to Los Angeles to face the Angels for three games prior to the All-Star break.

Mark Teixeira was 0-5 this afternoon with a pair of strikeouts and is in a 9-45 skid.

WP – Albaladejo (3-1)  SV – Aceves (1)  LP – Ryan (1-1)

The holiday weekend saw plenty of fireworks at the new Yankee Stadium as the Yankees pulled off a pair of come from behind wins.  Derek Jeter celebrated his election to his 10th All-Star game with a 2-run home run as the Yankees overcame an 8-4 deficit and beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-8 this afternoon.  The victory came on the heels of Saturday’s 6-5 comeback win against Roy Halladay.

The Yankees jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Joba Chamberlain was tagged for three runs, including an Adam Lind home run, in the 3rd inning and four more runs in the 4th.  Cody Ransom, filling in at third base for Alex Rodriguez, committed an error to extend the inning.  The Blue Jays took advantage of the mistake and took the lead  on RBI singles by Raul Chavez and Marco Scutaro, and a 2-run home run by Aaron Hill.

But the Yankees came right back against shaky rookie starter Brett Cecil (scheduled starter Scott Richmond was placed on the DL with shoulder tendinits) and the Blue Jays bullpen.  Hideki Matsui’s 3-run shot off Cecil cut the Yankees deficit to one in the bottom of the 4th and an inning later, Jeter took B.J. Ryan deep with a man aboard to put the Bombers back in front. Jorge Posada, who had the game winning hit on July 4th, added some insurance with an RBI double later in the inning.

The Yankees bullpen, which has been much improved of late, got stellar efforts from Jonathan Albaladejo, who earned the win, and Al Aceves.  Aceves picked up his first major league save with four scoreless innings of work.

Game Notes

As expected, Chien-Ming Wang was placed on the 15-Day DL with a shoulder strain and bursitis.  It’s not considered serious and the Yankees believe Wang could be back when he’s eligible to be activated.  Albaladejo took his spot on the active roster.

The Yankees may not like facing Roy Halladay, but Johnny Damon loves too.  The Yankees left-fielder tied Saturday’s game 5-5 with a 2-run shot off the Blue Jays ace.  It gave Damon a .349 (30-86) average against Halladay with 2 HR, 4 RBI and 11 walks.

Robinson Cano had a miserable Saturday, going 0-6 with 10 men left on base.  On top of that he missed a sign in the 9th inning.  With 2 men aboard and a 3-0 count, Cano was supposed to take a pitch. Instead, he bunted into a force out.

In addition to Jeter, Mark Teixeira beat out Kevin Youkilis in the voting as the AL’s All-Star starting 1st baseman and Mariano Rivera was added to the team’s pitching staff.

The Yankees go for a sweep of the 4-game series of Toronto on Monday (1:05 p.m. ET) when Andy Pettitte faces fellow left-hander Ricky Romero.

WP – Burnett (7-4)  SV – Rivera (21)  LP – Tallet (5-6)

A.J. Burnett heard the boos when he struggled at times in April and May.  There was no mistaking them.  Having signed a major free agent contract, Burnett was expected to win 40 games by Yankees fans.  Okay, not really, but they certainly expected him to pitch a lot better than he did.  But since the calendar turned to June 1, Burnett has been everything Yankees fans were hoping for.

Yesterday, Burnett celebrated his independence from the Toronto Blue Jays a day early with a dominant performance in the Yankees 4-2 win.  The right-hander, who was a member of the Blue Jays from 2006 -2008, fired his fastball past his former teammates in an outstanding 7 inning performance.  Afterwards, Burnett said the difference between his pitching now and in May is the location of his fastball and throwing first pitch strikes.

The Yankees home town home run barrage helped Burnett out with Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez hitting solo shots.  But the game winning 2-run rally, against Jays starter Brian Tallet, was accomplished with just one hit, an infield single.

Tied 1-1 in the 5th, Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter drew back to back walks to start the inning.  Johnny Damon laid down a good bunt along the first base line.  Tallet slipped as he fielded it, enabling Damon reach base safely.

Mark Teixeira earned the third walk of the inning to force in the go ahead run.  Tallet got A-Rod to bounce into a force out at home, but with Cano at the plate, catcher Raul Chavez committed a passed ball that allowed Jeter to score for a 3-1 Yankees lead.

Burnett struck out 7 and scattered 6 hits, including a solo home run by Vernon Wells in the 6th that cut the Yankees lead to 3-2.  He  stranded the tying run at first base when he got Aaron Hill to pop out to end the 7th.

New 8th inning setup men Phil Coke and Phil Hughes kept the Jays off the board for an inning before Mariano Rivera picked up his 21st save in the 9th.

Game Notes

A-Rod’s home run was #569, putting him two behind Rafael Palmiero.

After the game Joe Girardi made it official, Brian Bruney is out of the 8th inning set up role for now.

The  Yankees have their work cut off for them this afternoon when they send Chien-Ming Wang up against Roy Halliday.

A 4-2 road trip is much better than a 3-3 road trip.  While it’s only a one game difference, there’s a world of difference in the confidence that can be built off of the better record.  Especially when the final game of the trip is a win.  That was the case last night in Toronto where Hideki Matsui’s 7th inning home run put the Yankees ahead for good in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

The Yankees had been bedazzled, for lack of a better word, by journeyman starter Brian Tallet for six innings.  They’d managed a run in the first on a Johnny Damon one out double, his 10th straight game with an extra base hit, and three walks, the last coming to Nick Swisher with the bases loaded.  But Robinson Cano continued his failure with the bases loaded (.235) by grounding out to end the inning.

The Blue Jays tied the game on Alex Rios‘ solo home run in the 4th and went ahead in the 5th inning when CC Sabathia walked Scott Rolen and gave up an RBI double to Rod Barajas. (The Blue Jays catcher owns Sabathia- he’s now 8-19 with 3 HR and 5 RBI.)  John McDonald followed with a single to center, but Brett Gardner made a strong throw home and catcher Francisco Cervelli did an excellent job of applying the tag to nail Barajas for the second out of the inning.  Sabathia retired Marco Scutaro to avoid further problems.

The Yankees managed just two singles and a walk against Tallet after the 1st inning, but the 32-yr old left-hander walked Gardner to start the 7th.  Joe Girardi put the hit and run on and the Yankees executed it to perfection.  Cervelli singled through the hole vacated by Scutaro at shortstop to send Gardner to third.  Cito Gaston sent for righty Jason Frasor to face Derek Jeter, whose prior at-bats clearly reflected his strained oblique.  But this time Jeter got enough of a pitch to loop it into right-center field for a game tying single.

The Yankees were in prime shape to break the game open with two on, no outs, and the heart of the order up.  But Frasor struck out the red hot Damon and retired Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez on fly outs to keep the game tied at two apiece.

Sabathia worked his way out of his own mess in the bottom of the 7th after a lead off double by Rolen and a deep fly out by Kevin Millar advanced the Rolen to third.  Sabathia wised up and intentionally walked Barajas before striking out McDonald for the second out.  Sabathia issued an unintentional walk to Scutaro, but retired Aaron Hill on a ground to get out of the jam.

Gaston brought in lefty Jesse Carlson out to start the 8th, but anyone who has watched Hideki Matsui play on a regular basis knows he isn’t afraid to bat against southpaws.  Godzilla produced further tangible evidence by hitting his 4th home run of the season to right-center field for a 3-2 Yankees lead.

Sabathia retired the side in order in the 8th and then Mariano Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning, finishing it off by striking out Barajas for his 7th save of the season.

Game Notes

Johnny Damon extended his streak to 10 games in which he has reached with an extra base hit and scored a run.  It’s the longest streak by a Yankee since Don Mattingly had a 10 game streak in 1987.  Damon leads the team in average, home runs, RBI, and runs scored.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, CC Sabathia has now gone 25 straight starts without allowing an extra base hit to a left-handed hitter.  That’s the longest streak since Randy Johnson went 28 games over the 1998-1999 seasons.

The Yankees begin a four game series with the Minnesota Twins tonight at the Stadium.  Phil Hughes faces Francisco Liriano in the opener.

WP – Pettitte (3-1)  LP – Richmond (4-2)

The Yankees were hoping for big things from Brett Gardner this season, especially after the fantastic spring he put together down in Florida.  Things have not worked out as planned thus far, with Gardner losing his starting job, but last night the Yankees speedster hit his first major league home run to ignite the Yankees to an 8-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The game certainly didn’t start out in promising fashion.  The Yankees left the bases loaded in the 1st inning and the Blue Jays scored a run without the aid of a hit off of Andy Pettitte in their half of the inning .  But rookie pitcher Scott Richmond wouldn’t escape the 2nd as the Yankees put together a rare big inning.

Melky Cabrera led off the the frame with a double, sparking a conversation between YES announcers Ken Singleton and Al Leiter as to whether Gardner would bunt or hit a grounder to the right side to move Cabrera to third base.  Gardner did indeed pull the ball, just inside the foul pole and over the right field fence for his first career home run in 198 big league at-bats.

Ramiro Pena followed with a triple and one batter later, Johnny Damon duplicated Pena’s feat with an RBI triple for a 3-1 Yankees lead.   Damon held at third on Nick Swisher’s infield in ground out, but Mark Teixeira drove a ball over center fielder Vernon Wells‘ head for a run scoring double.

Robinson Cano followed an Alex Rodrgiuez walk with a single (giving the Yankees the cycle for the inning) past a diving Kevin Millar at first base for a 5-1 Yankees advantage.  Cito Gaston finally showed mercy on his 29-yr old rookie starter and sent for Brian Wolfe who was able to retire Cabrera on his second time around to end the inning.

Pettitte settled down after the 1st, allowing a run in the 4th, but escaped a bases loaded, two out jam by getting Marco Scutaro to fly out.

The Yankees tacked on a run in the fourth on a Teixeira sacrifice fly and added two more in the fifth inning.   Cano led off the inning with a double and one batter later, Gardner produced the Yankees third triple of the night for a 7-2 lead.  Francisco Cervelli’s infield single scored Gardner with the game’s final run.

Al Aceves took over for Pettite in the 7th, and along with Jonathan Albaladejo, finished off the Yankees win.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter (oblique) and Hideki Matsui (hamstring) both sat out.

7 of the 11 Yankees hits were for extra bases.

Andy Pettitte’s win was the 218th of his career, moving him into a tie for 76th place all time with Bob Caruthers and Earl Whitehill.  Kenny Rogers is next at 219 wins.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnny Damon has had an extra base hit and a run scored in 9 straight games.  That’s the longest streak since the Orioles‘ Brady Anderson had a 9 game streak in 1997.  The last Yankee to reach at least 9 games was Don Mattingly, who had a 10 game streak in 1987.

The rubber game of the series is this evening at 7:05 p.m. ET with CC Sabathia going against Brian Tallet.

WP – Halladay (7-1)   LP – Burnett (2-1)

Take an already weakened lineup and remove Derek Jeter (strained oblique) and Hideki Matsui (tight hamstring).  Put Roy Halladay on the mound and you don’t stand much of a chance.  That was the case at the Rogers Centre in Toronto last night as Halladay dominated the Yankees in the Blue Jays 5-1 win.

Much was made before the game about Halladay’s positive influence on former teammate, and last night’s Yankees starter, A.J. Burnett.  But just like a master chef, perhaps some ingredients were not passed along to the student.  Halladay allowed a first inning single to Johnny Damon, who was immediately erased trying to stretch it into a double, and then retired 17 batters in a row before Damon doubled with one out in the 7th.

Burnett matched his mentor stride for stride through the first three innings, but then ran into a roadblock in the 4th.  Alex Rios led off the inning with a double and Burnett put himself in a hole when he walked Vernon Wells and Adam Lind to load the bases.  Scott Rolen entered the contest 0-18 lifetime against Burnett, but stroked a 2-run double and had three hits against his former nemesis.

Burnett struck out Lyle Overbay for the first out of the inning, but Rod Barajas delivered a sac fly for a 3-0 Blue Jays lead.  Meanwhile, Halladay induced a dozen ground ball outs through the first six innings and his vast arsenal of pitches had the Yankees off balance all night.  He struck out Mark Teixeira looking, following Damon’s 7th inning double, but Alex Rodriguez singled to bring home the Yankees lone run.  With the tying run at the plate, Halladay froze Nick Swisher looking for a called third strike.  That would be the last chance for the Yankees to get back into the game.

The Blue Jays put the game away in the 8th inning when Joe Girardi left Burnett in too long.  Aaron Hill, the clear front runner for comeback player of the year, led off the 8th inning with his team leading 9th home run of the year for a 4-1 Toronto lead.  Rolen added an RBI single later in the inning before Girardi finally pulled his starter from the game.

But two runs would have been enough for pitching master Roy Halladay.

Game Notes

Derek Jeter said his oblique has bothered him for about a week.  He hopes to return to the lineup tonight.  Hideki Matsui was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 5th inning when his hamstring tightened up.  He’s listed as day-to-day.

Chien-Ming Wang had a successful rehab start for the Scranton Yankees last night. The Wanger went 6 innings, allowed 3 hits, no runs, walked 3 and struck out 6.  His sinker worked well and led to 7 ground ball outs.  The Yankees now must make a decision whether to activate Wang or have him throw another minor league game.

Roy Halladay is now 16-5 lifetime against the Yankees and has won six straight.  That’s the longest streak against the Yankees since Kevin Brown won six straight from ’89 – ’92.

The series continues tonight with Andy Pettitte facing rookie Scott Richmond.