Yankees 5, Red Sox 4

It would have been a nicer win (Granderson heating up; two home runs!, Phelps does the job!, Soriano gives up a homer, but shuts the door without his good stuff!), if it wasn't so necessary. O's win. Tie. Rays three back.

Boston 4, Yankees 3

The game was over when Nunez was thrown out stealing, and everyone knew it. Orioles win. Tie.

Yankees 13, Orioles 3

Another day on the elevator. Granderson's five RBI; Garcia good enough. One game up. There were a half-dozen reasons they should have won on Saturday, in which case the lead would be three with three weeks to go. Oh well.

Orioles 5, Yankees 4

Tex was safe, of course, but that hardly explains CC's problems--plus it renders all conversations about the post-seaon moot, since without a shut-down CC the post-season is meaningless. Tied.

Yankees 8, Orioles 5

The third time we've seen the biggest win of the season in--what--a week and a half? Five runs early and I thought, "Great. Now when Hughes melts down . . ." They hang on. One game up. Switched over just in time to watch the Rangers melt down against the Rays. Watch the Rays.

Orioles 10, Yankees 6

This was one loss that felt like three: 1) The early, comfy lead: 4-0, which makes the game feel like a boat race. 2) the middle, do-nothing lead, 6-1, which can drive you batty. 3) Stomach punch. After a 6-6 tie. And speaking of tied . . .

Yankees 6, Rays 4

the most important win of the season, part II? O's lose. One game up.

Rays 5, Yankees 2

Freddy Garcia, take a bow. Tied.

Rays 4, Yankees 3

CC to the rescue, right? One game.

Orioles 8, Yankees 3

Yes, a meltdown by The Exasperating Phil Hughes. Note, however: from the opening day lineup that Joe Girardi and Brian cashman envisioned this past January, how many of the starting eight were on the field, and at their primary positions? One. Catcher Russ Martin. And he's the guy batting .197.

Yankees 4, Orioles 3

If the Yankees manage to hold off Baltimore and Tampa, and not subject CC or Kuroda to a one-game playoff with another Wild Card team, this will almost certainly be the game everyone points to. For now, call it the most important game to this point. The fulcrum. How important? By about the bottom of the sixth inning, you could hear the dread in Michael Kay's voice. He was watching a season slip away, one at-bat at a time. (Ken Singleton, an Oriole at heartm was, if not exactly enjoying himself, at least unperturbed.) The game was the most important, the seventh inning the season's most important inning. And Swisher's at-bat, concluding with the laser that Hardy 1) could not handle, 2) picked up, 3) dropped, 4) picked up, 5) dropped, 6) then finally picked up--"Put it in your pocket, son,"--was the season's most important at-bat. The only distressed Yankee fan was my dog, who ran under the coffee table to get away from my screams of "HE'S SAFE! HE'S SAFE! HE'S SAFE!", when Nunez scored.

Orioles 6, Yankees 1

Thank you, Kuroda. Weekend series, with the bottom of the rotation coming up. Two games.

Yankees 2, Blue Jays 1

The Exasperating Phil Hughes shows us again why so many of us have had so much faith in him for . . . five years! Swisher goes to first where, except for the hard fielding plays, he should settle right in for the next two weeks. Again: it's not that Chavez, Soriano, Jones, Ibanez, Nix, and Phelps aren't up to the task of replacing (either directly or otherwise) the likes of Gardner, Mo, A-Rod, Tex and Pettitte. It's that no one stands behind them to fill the breach. As Davey Johnson said, winning in the playoofs comes down to two things: your bench and your bullpen. For the Yankees, we shall see. Caught the end of the marvelous Rangers-Rays pitching duel. 4 1/2 games ahead of the improbably, impossible Orioles.

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 7 (11)

Pass. 4 games.

Yankees 4, Indians 2

I always associated these bright Sunday afternoon games with Mike Mussina. It always seemed the sun beat down so hard you could count the stitches on his cap as he effortlessly delivered the ball. Anyway . . . Has the ship been righted? Garcia pitches just well enough to help his team win, pitches around a dreadful Cano error . . . Granderson goes deep . . . and Ichiro races a country mile to save at least a run-scoring double by one of the biggest flops in the last six years of the majors. Always great to win early on Sunday and relax the rest of the evening. 4 games over Tampa, with Baltimore impossibly, inexplicably hanging around.

Indians 3, Yankees 1

AURGH. Please, God, give us more chance, we know we can win next time . . . Eight shutout innings, more hits, more baserunners, fewer errors . . . and a loss. Mercy.

Yankees 3, Indians 1

My favorite game in awhile: CC, Soriano, and Nick Swisher's two-run homer. A lot said about how underrated he is . . . the goofy smile, the sideburns, the bro-speak, everything. But a great player.

Sox Sweep

Thankfully missed most of the games--have a vague recollection of The Exasperating Phil Hughes and knowing, simply knowing, the third game was over when the Sox went ahead 2-1. Where did the 10-game lead go?

Yankees 4, Red Sox 1

Now, this one was lovely: Kuroda was so in command for much of the game he looked downright bored. Beckett is lucky the score wasn't 7-1 or 8-1 by the time he left. Chavez swinging on that 3-0 pitch, oy. Ichiro, setting up Beckett twice by attempting to slap the ball away. Twice Beckett came back inside, twice Ichiro deposited the ball in the bleachers. Jeter, now at .321. Five games ahead of the Rays with Longoria back. Eight wins in their last ten, and we still have ourselves a race.

Red Sox 4, Yankees 1

Ach. Just a dreary little game.