Yankees 4, Orioles 2

Lovin' me some Brett Gardner. Love the bases-clearing triple, and the best part is how Nunez scored standing when the ball rolled exactly (as Kay pointed out) 314 feet.

These guys can run.

Yankees 17, Orioles 3

Here it is, boys and girls:

New York - Bottom of 1st SCORE
Zach Britton pitching for Baltimore BAL NYY
D Jeter struck out looking. 0 0
C Granderson singled to center. 0 0
M Teixeira walked, C Granderson to second. 0 0
R Cano singled to left, C Granderson scored, M Teixeira to second, M Teixeira to third on throwing error by left fielder N Reimold. 0 1
N Swisher safe at first on error by shortstop J Hardy, M Teixeira scored, R Cano to second. 0 2
A Jones doubled to deep left center, R Cano scored, N Swisher to third. 0 3
R Martin singled to right, N Swisher scored, A Jones to third. 0 4
E Nunez singled to center, A Jones scored, R Martin to second. 0 5
B Gardner reached on infield single to pitcher, R Martin to third, E Nunez to second. 0 5
D Jeter singled to right, R Martin and E Nunez scored, B Gardner to second, B Gardner to third, D Jeter to second advancing on throw. 0 7
J Berken relieved Z Britton. 0 7
C Granderson struck out swinging. 0 7
M Teixeira doubled to right, B Gardner and D Jeter scored. 0 9
R Cano singled to center, M Teixeira scored. 0 10
N Swisher homered to right, R Cano scored. 0 12
A Jones walked. 0 12
R Martin grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A Jones out at second. 0 12

As Harrison Ford's Rusty Sabich says to Raul Julia's Sandy Stern, after Stern has destroyed the Medical Examiner's testimony--and with it, the DA's case: "Savor this. You won't get many cross-examinations like that in your career."

Orioles 4, Yankees 2

AJ, you're killin' me.

Mariners 9, Yankees 2

Truth? I saw it coming, Felix Hernandez long ago joined Paul Splittorf, Teddy Higuera, Randy Johnson and a host of others as certified Yankee-killers.

So I was hoping, as consolation, Hughes could at least give a good six innings. Which he did. Some small comfort.

Yankees 4, Mariners 1

The rain came and washed away, as I knew it would, CC's perfect game.

How do I know Sterling is already calling him Cy Cy Sabathia?

Yankees 10, Mariners 3

Had no idea the Mariners had it so bad. Sixteen losses in a row? Is that right?

Tex, Jeter . . . Granderson. Keep the motor running until the injured heal.

Yankees 7, A's 5

A sloppy game--but rumors of Colon's demise are overblown. Hughes, however . . .

A's 4, Yankees 3

Gaaaah those missed opportunities.

Yankees 17, A's 7

I pointed to the screen and said, "Tex is taking it out with this pitch."

Bang.

Rays 2, Yankees 1

Shields' revenge on CC. Consider, in the two games those two faced off, the Yankees scored 1 earned run in 18 innings. They were lucky to come away with a split.

Of course, CC allowed only two runs. So maybe the Rays were lucky.

Yankees 4, Rays 0

Not a great game, just an immensely satisfying one. Nice, going back to last night, to see the Yankees remembered to hit homers; it suddenly appears that worrying about an over-reliance on the home run is a luxury the Yankees suddenly don't have, not with not a single regular payer hitting .300, and with their team's "batting champion" just past the half-mile pole (A-Rod, at .295) on the shelf until this time in August.

So, the spirit of Earl Weaver lives, with Tex, Granderson, Swisher, Martin, Posada and Cano suddenly looking like a whole lot of Lowenstein, Crowley, Ayala, Roenicke, Singleton, Ripken and Murray--only with less versatility and more speed.

And where would they be right now, had not Colon and Garcia dropped out of the sky? Last November first, the 2011 Yankee rotation had every indication of looking like this:

CC Sabathia
Cliff Lee
AJ Burnett
Andy Pettitte
Phil Hughes

Instead, in the aggregate, what they have had is:

Sabathia
Burnett
Bartolo Colon
Freddy Garcia
Ivan Nova

If Colon and Garcia had flamed out in Tampa--and why not?--what we would have is . . .

Sabathia
Burnett
Nova
Boone Logan
Hughes, coming off the long-term DL

With Nova hurt at the moment, and so many team in contention that there are two buyers for every seller (Brett Myers no longer looks like the answer for anyone)--what would Brian Cashman be doing? Phoning a certain lefthander down in Deer Park, Texas, and offering him a month to get in shape?

Scary stuff.

Rays 3, Yankees 2

We go from winning what they should have lost to losing what they should have won . . .

Bartolo Colon leaves in the seventh with a 2-1 lead . . . Yankees conspire to allow five outs in the inning.

The game was over when Granderson lost the ball in the baseball-colored roof, and everyone knows it.

Yankees 5, Rays 4

Had given up on this one--desultory AJ start, good starting pitching.

Did not count on the sorry state of Tampa's bullpen, exhausted by their Sunday-night labors.

Russell Martin--well, it was the best walk of the year.

Yankees 7, Jays 2

A split. A palpable split. Will Colon, Hughes and Garcia add up to two good seasons in the aggregate?

Yankees 4, Jays 1

Annnnnd, once again, CC to the rescue. 14-4.

Over to you, Phil.

Yanks drop two to Jays

Is it possible to declare a mulligan on the start of the second half.

1996--sweeping Baltimore 4 straight, in Baltimore, was such as event it deserved mention in an episode of "Seinfeld."

Ughhh--do we look to Sabathia on his horse, again?

Last time I saw a game with zero earned runs . . . Game 5, 1996 World Series. Pettitte over the Braves; Jones and Dye collide in the outfield, Cecil Fielder drives in the gmes only run. John (Thrills 'n' Chills) Wetteland with the save as Pettitte, in the dugout, hides his face in a towel. Polonia's two-out, two-on bash to the rightfield wall with both runners off on contact, the Yankees staring at a 2-1 loss, a 3-2 Series deficit with Maddux and Glavine set to go in Games 6 & 7 . . . only Paul O'Neill runs a country mile, gathers in the ball over his head, over his shoulder, and smacks into the padding of the fence, the last play ever in Fulton County Stadium history.

But CC? Today? His last fastball was four miles per hour faster than his first one. He seemed to pitch in his own private zone today: fastball for a strike, slider for a strike or foul, then something high and/or outside for strike three, a harmless fly, or a two-hopper to Nunez or Jeter.

Batter takes the 0-2 for a ball, come back with the fastball.

Four-hit shutout, and he can come back Friday--that's two games from now--if Girardi chooses.

Yankees 5.Rays 4

Ibid, for details:

Jeter joins the immortals with 5-for-5

Indians 5, Yankees 3

One . . . of those games.

Yankees 9, Indians 2

10 CCs of Sabathia, just what the doctor ordered.

Indians 6, Yankees 3

You knew it was over the instant Garnder and A-Rod became tangled up over that foul pop-up. Burnett has been pitching his ass off, but something like this, he simply doesn't overcome. For all his tattoos and chains, with AJ, you have to dim the lights and put on the meditation music. Pettitte, in his prime, would have shrugged it off, as would Guidry, Catfish, Moose, and--nowadays--CC. Home run? 4-2? I turned the game off.

Don't even want to talk about yesterday.

Yankees 5, Mets 1

A marvelous game with a few wrinkles.

They say bad calls even out--but rarely dies a bad call like the one on Jose Reyes completely demoralize a team so thoroughly. Reyes was safe, no question; and the bad call by an out-of-position (in both senses) umpire snuffed out the last, best chance the Mets had to catch up.

Nunez: 4 hits, player of the game. Just as Jeter comes back. Thanks for playing. No, really: thanks for playing. Now go have a seat.

Tom Boswell once wrote about how many bouncing, spinning curves Carlton Fisk used to block from going by with a runner on third. One season: 70. Unless a gifted defensive player plays shortstop or center field, a good 90 percent of their crucial, above-average plays will be quickly forgotten. And so it was tonight with Tex, digging at a ball and bailing out A-Rod twice--no, three times, if A-Rod's fingers are to be trusted. First-half MVP? He gives you everything Bautista does at the plate, plus a Gold Glove at a harder position.

Nova: 8 wins, with at least one start (barring a demotion in the Hughes/Colon comeback) before the break.

Yankees 5, Rockies 0

How sweep . . .

CC goes to 11-4. Now one wonders--will he be gone next year? Why not; his games are getting more boring by the start. Wonderfully so.

Oh,PS, another Texiera home run zzzzzzz.

Sweet dreams are made of these.