The LoHud Yankees Blog

YANKEES (68-42)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Posada C
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (9-6, 4.35).

RED SOX (62-47)
Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Bay LF
Drew RF
Lowell DH
Varitek C
Green C

Pitching: LHP Jon Lester (9-7, 3.79).

TIME/TV: 8:05, ESPN.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won six straight, 17 of 22 and 30 of 40. They lead the Red Sox by 5.5 games in the American League East. It’s their largest lead in the division since they finished the end of the 2006 season with a 10-game lead.

STUMBLIN’ SOX: Boston has lost five straight and 13 of 20.

ANDY’S DANDY: Andy Pettitte is 1-1 with a 2.36 ERA since the All-Star break. He has allowed seven earned runs on 20 hits in 26.2 innings while striking out 29. Pettitte is 16-9, 3.76 in 31 career starts against Boston. He allowed three runs in six innings against Boston on April 26 in a loss.

HOME COOKING: The Yankees have won 12 of their last 13 games at home and 17 of the last 20.

START ME UP: Yankee starters in this series have gone 20.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out 20 and walking 15.

INITIALLY, VERY IMPRESSIVE: A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia allowed three hits and struck out 15 over 15.1 innings in the last two games.

BULLPEN BRIEF: Yankee relievers have allowed five hits and struck out 10 in 8.2 scoreless innings in the series.

IN A DROUGHT: The Red Sox have not scored in 24 innings. They have two runs in the last 28, six in the last 33 and 12 in the last 55. Boston is 16 of 111 (.144) in the last three games with 35 strikeouts. That includes going 3 for 33 with runners in scoring position.

MO MONEY: Mariano Rivera has not allowed a run in his last 20.1 innings.

HOMER HAPPY: The Yankees have homered in 86 of 110 games, 51 of the 55 at home.

HIUUUUUUUUUUGHES: Phil Hughes has allowed 5 earned runs in 31 innings of relief and struck out 40.

THE CANO CONUNDRUM: Robbie Cano is 111 of 308 (.360) without runners in scoring position. He is 27 of 132 (.205) when there are runners in scoring position.

HOT LATELY: Cano is 11 of his last 22.

LAST YEAR: The Yankees were 60-50 and 5.5 games out at this point last season.

MELKY MISSING: Melky Cabrera is 3 of 21 since he hit for the cycle in Chicago.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: Live With Me by The Rolling Stones with Christina Aguilera. From the Shine A Light soundtrack. Great performance.

Back later on with much more.

UPDATE, 5:07 p.m.: Alfredo Aceves has a sore back and is questionable for tonight. … RHP Chad Gaudin on the roster and RHP Josh Towers DFA’d.

UPDATE, 5:59 p.m.: David Ortiz getting a day off, odd in that he is a .370 hitter against Pettitte. … Jason Bay (right hamstring) is playing for the first time in the series. … Boston called up Fernando Cabrera, a right-handed reliever. He replaces Enrique Gonzalez. … The Red Sox may have made a waiver claim on Nationals SS Christian Guzman.

UPDATE, 6:06 p.m.: Here is Joe Girardi’s pre-game interview session:

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He talked mostly about pitching, the No. 5 spot, A-Rod, etc.

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: The Red Sox closed the clubhouse for a team meeting, which is going on now. The last refuge of the desperate manager is the team meeting.

UPDATE, 7:07 p.m.: Some very light rain falling here. Tarp is not down, however. The Sox are taking BP.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: The scoreboard camera is showing the Yankees in the dugout. Fun to watch them as they get ready to take the field.

Intense: Swisher, Posada, Jeter.

Goofing around: Melky, Robbie and Joba.

1,000-yard stare: Andy.

Fidgety: Tex.

Putting in a big dip: A.J.

Putting in nearly as big a dip: CC.

Andy now warming up to Welcome to the Jungle. Good warm-up song. GNR does warm-up tunes well.

UPDATE, 8:10 p.m.: We’re underway. 77 degrees in the Boogie Down. Enjoy the game, everybody.

UPDATE, 8:21 p.m.: Seems safe to say the decision to bat Jeter leadoff worked pretty well, huh? He has a .383 OBP and has scored 72 runs already.

UPDATE, 8:43 p.m.: That’s 26 innings without a run for Boston. Not that anybody is counting.

UPDATE, 8:51 p.m.: Yankees will have to earn this one. Jon Lester showed up with his good stuff.

UPDATE, 9:27 p.m.: The Yankees have twice pitched around Lowell to get to Varitek. Andy fanned him the first time but Varitek hit a hard line drive the second time … right to Johnny Damon for the third out.

28 innings without a run for Boston. Unbelievable. The Red Sox are 20 of 126 (.159) in the series. They have 12 runs in the last 59 innings overall.

UPDATE, 10:00 p.m.: Andrew Eugene Pettitte, you old dog. He has blanked the Sox for six innings tonight and has allowed a mere seven earned runs in 32.2 innings since the All-Star Break.

UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.: Swish looking for style points with the catch and roll.

UPDATE, 10:18 p.m.: New thread has started.

Alex Rodriguez has 20 home runs this season. Eleven of them have tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

Of his 62 RBI, 33 have tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

Just what has torn the world asunder? If you missed it this morning, read what Alex had to say about finding some inner peace in the wake of his “humiliating” spring.

A-Rod is comfortable in the clutch. Now we can expect Joe Girardi to show up with a mullet and Derek Jeter to date a girl because she has a great personality.

Former Yankees beat writer Jorge Arangure Jr. filed this comprehensive report with ESPN.com on Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman.

There’s a story and a video. The Yankees and many other teams will be interested in Chapman once he becomes available as a free agent. It’s certain how long that process will take. But because Chapman has a passport, it will be quicker than other defectors.

While it’s fun to dream about a pitcher suddenly showing up with a 100-mph fastball and dominating, keep in mind that the same things were being said about Jose Contreras and he’s just another guy at this point. There’s a lot more to being a great pitcher in the majors than having a good arm.

CC Sabathia pitched his best game as a Yankee and the fans let him know their appreciation as he beat the Red Sox.

Sam Borden writes that the Yankees have turned the tables on the Red Sox when it comes to pitching.

The Baseball Beat looks at how A-Rod has changed this season.

A Red Sox pitcher got tossed for throwing at A-Rod. This notebook has an update on a roster move and a tough day in left field for Kevin Youkilis.

David Ortiz dodged the issue of whether he used steroids during a press conference. Ernie Palladino has the story.

Just a few quick notes.

I spoke to Josh Towers after the game and he said he was told his trip to the big leagues will last one day.

Towers, who is put of options, will be DFA’d tomorrow to make room for Chad Gaudin. Towers said he is eager to get back to Scranton once he clears waivers. “I’m fine with it,” he said. “I’m just glad they thought enough of me to bring me here today.”

Kudos to umpire Jim Joyce. After warning both teams in the seventh inning, he made sure to talk personally to CC Sabathia, Dave Robertson and Enrique Gonzalez to head off further trouble. The idea is to watch these guys play baseball, after all, not try and hurt each other.

Be advised, Yankees fans, both CC and A.J. felt the love this weekend.

“Big weekend for both of us,” Burnett said. “I’ve never had 49,000 people in my corner like that before and I bet CC hasn’t, either. It gives you chills. Now I know what you guys were talking about when you said these Red Sox games are something different. You could feel it inside the stadium.”

The Yankees have won 30 of their last 40 games. This has a chance to be a special team.

Another close game as the late innings approach. Please, baseball gods, not 15 innings again.

UPDATE, 6:36 p.m.: Nice job by Clay Buchholz, two runs over six innings. The Red Sox have to be happy with that against the Yankees in this park.

UPDATE, 6:42 p.m.: Well, that was retaliation for either last night or Pedroia on Friday. Either way, Ramirez is out. Francona about to go, too.

UPDATE, 6:45 p.m.: Now the question is whether the Yankees drill somebody. I would think they would and then we could get a brawl.

UPDATE, 7:02 p.m.: You have to assume that Cano will hit with RISP at some point, right? It’s staggering how bad he is. It’s clearly a mental thing for him now.

Yankees 3-0 and CC back out there. Umpire Jim Joyce went out to speak to him before he warmed up. An unofficial warning perhaps?

Might CC be out there to plunk somebody and take the hit? Yankees have somebody warming up.

UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: Nope, no retaliation. The big man gets two outs and gets pulled at 123 pitches. Hughes in to pitch. Crowd gave CC a big ovation and then we got “Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuughes” for the second straight night.

Phil warming up to Cyanide by Metallica. All the relievers coming out to Metallica now.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: Jeter just hit a 315-foot home run into the right-field corner. Yankees 5-0. He has 12 homers and nine of them have been to right field here. He had 11 homers all last season.

This saves Mo now.

UPDATE, 7:32 p.m.: Yankees will have a nice rested bullpen behind Andy Pettitte tomorrow night as they go for the four-game sweep.

Back later with clubhouse reaction.

YANKEES (67-42)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Molina C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (11-7, 3.95).

RED SOX (62-46)
Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Martinez C
Youkilis LF
Ortiz DH
Lowell 3B
Drew RF
Kotchman 1B
Green SS

Pitching: RHP Clay Buchholz (1-1, 6.05).

TIME/TV: 4:10, FOX.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: It’s pretty good. The Yankees have won five straight, 16 of 31 and 29 of 29. They now have the best record in baseball, just ahead of the Dodgers (67-43) and Angels (64-43). They also lead Boston by 4.5 games in the American League East. The Yankees haven’t been that far out front since Sept. 29, 2006, when they had a 12-game edge.

BUMMED IN BOSTON: The Red Sox have dropped four straight and 12 of their last 19.

HOMER HAPPY: The Yankees have hit 10 home runs in the last four games.

BEAUTY OF A BULLPEN: Yankees relievers last night: 7.1 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts.

MAGNIFICENT MO: Mariano Rivera’s last 20 games: 20.1 innings, 9 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 20 strikeouts. Opponents are .130/.167/.159 against him.

MASH UNIT: The Yankees leads the majors with a team OPS of .889 from the seventh inning on.

NEXT UP: Alex Rodiguez is tied with Harmon Killebrew with 573 home runs, good for ninth place in history. Mark McGwire (ahem) is in eighth place with 583.

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR MACBOOK, TOO: Buchholz in the four games since he got called up: 19.1 innings, 28 hits, 13 earned runs, 11 walks, 14 strikeouts, 4 home runs. Opponents have hit .337 against him. He has a 7.45 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees. Those came last season.

CC’S TURN: Sabathia is 2-5, 4.07 against Boston in his career. He faced them once this season, losing on June 11. His line that day: 7 6 4 4 2 6.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: (I Got Everything I Need) Almost by The Blues Brothers.

OK, thats it for now. Check back for more later.

UPDATE, 12:35 p.m.: Yankees have a 2:30 report time. Most of the guys will take full advantage of that.

UPDATE, 12:56 p.m.: I’m at the Ortiz press conference. Somebody else from my paper is covering it, however. Terry Francona off to the side supporting his player.

My general impression? This makes A-Rod look much, much more honorable.

UPDATE, 1:45 p.m.: Aceves, Bruney and Coke are not available today. … Posada is getting a day off after catching 15. … Everybody else, so far, is fine.

UPDATE, 4:00 p.m.: Chad Jennings reports that Josh Towers is on his way to New York. Mark Melancon optioned to Scranton. Guess they wanted some innings available.

Damaso Marte moved to 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster. He’s already eligible to come off, so a paperwork move.

UPDATE, 4:13 p.m.: We’re underway in the Bronx. 77 degrees at first pitch, another nice day.

Lots of newspaper work to do today, so updates might be a bit scare. I’m sure Fox will handle things well.

UPDATE, 4:18 p.m.: Well, there is this: Boston now has six runs in 25 innings in this series, two in the last 20 and none in the last 16.

UPDATE, 4:28 p.m.: Don’t get all excited, that was a curveball.

UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.: Carsten Charles has faced 12 batters and set them all down with four strikeouts. Both teams look tired, which is to be expected.

Boston is now scoreless over 19 innings and has two runs in the last 23.

UPDATE, 5:40 p.m.: Nice at-bat by Ortiz. The ball looked like a strke at first, but replays showed it sort of bent around the inside corner.

Too early to be thinking perfecto or no-no. It’s 1-0, worry about the game.

UPDATE, 6:01 p.m.: Yankees 1 for 9 with RISP in this game and 1 for 20 in the last two nights. They have 2 runs in the last 21 innings.

UPDATE, 6:06 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury breaks it up. Start stretching, Phil Hughes.

UPDATE, 6:29 p.m.: Think maybe Girardi should have somebody warming up?

UPDATE, 6:33 p.m.: CC cleans up his own mess. Yankees 2-0. New thread up.

Wondering what excuse the MLBPA is going to issue today on David Ortiz’s behalf? Here is their press release:

“The New York Times recently reported that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez “are among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.” The reported sources for this statement were “lawyers with knowledge of the [test] results” who “spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order.” The Association has previously offered its views regarding this patent violation of court orders by attorneys, and The New York Times’ active pursuit and publication of what it openly acknowledges to be information that may not be legally disclosed.

“Third, in 2003, legally available nutritional supplements could trigger an initial “positive” test under our program. To account for this, each “test” conducted in 2003 actually consisted of a pair of collections: the first was unannounced and random, the second was approximately 7 days later, with the player advised to cease taking supplements during the interim. Under the 2003 program, a test could be initially reported as “positive”, but not treated as such by the bargaining parties on account of the second test. “

—————

One problem with this: Alex Rodriguez was on that list, too, and readily admitted he did PEDs. Manny Ramirez, based on his most recent positive test, obviously had no issues with PEDs, either.

This will be an interesting press conference. At least A-Rod stepped up and admitted what he did. Sounds like Ortiz will try and spin his way out of it. But he’s hard to believe at this point.

The Yankees won an epic game last night, beating the Red Sox on A-Rod’s walk-off blast.

Sam Borden writes about a classic pitcher’s duel in the new Stadium.

Joe Girardi defended his pitching staff before the game. This notebook also has updates on some roster moves and Brett Gardner’s progress.

The desperate-for-pitching Red Sox desigated John Smoltz for assignment. Jake Thomase has the story.

What a game.

5 hours and 33 minutes … The teams were 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position … First time in rivalry history the teams went to the 15th inning scoreless. … Two extra-base hits in the entire game for two of the best offenses in the game.

“Amazing,” Joe Girardi said.

Here is A-Rod’s postgame press conference:

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Thanks to everybody for reading and participating tonight. We had 4,200+ comments on the game posts. What makes this rivalry so great is the passion people have for it from all walks of life.

Catch you later on today. Two more days of this.