The LoHud Yankees Blog

YANKEES (92-67)
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez 3B

LHP CC Sabathia (14-6, 3.42)
Sabathia vs. Red Sox

RED SOX (69-90)
Pedro Ciriaco 2B
Daniel Nava LF
Cody Ross RF
Mauro Gomez 1B
Ryan Lavarnway DH
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Danny Valencia 3B
Che-Hsuan Lin CF
Jose Iglesias SS

RHP Clay Buchholz (11-7, 4.22)
Buchholz vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Temperatures in the 60s. Actually feels really nice out.

UMPIRES: HP Dan Iassogna, 1B Bill Miller, 2B CB Bucknor, 3B Dale Scott

IN THE POSTSEASON: The Yankees clinched a postseason berth with yesterday’s win and the Angels’ loss. It?marks the Yankees’ 51st postseason appearance, most for any MLB franchise, and their 17th postseason appearance in the last 18 years. Joe Girardi has become the fourth Yankees manager to lead the team to four consecutive postseasons, joining Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Joe Torre.

THE CAPTAIN: According to Elias, Derek Jeter’s 213 hits are the most in a season by a player who entered the year with 3,000 or more career hits, surpassing Ty Cobb’s previous mark of 211 hits in 1922 and ‘24.

NUMBERS GAME: Outside of Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, none of the Red Sox starting position players has more than five home runs this season, and only one of those has more than three. Four of their final five hitters are batting below .200.

UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: Sabathia leaves a runner stranded at third base and the game is still scoreless heading into the bottom of the second. Need some offense (how many times has that been true lately?).

UPDATE, 7:38 p.m.: There’s the offense. A long home run for Cano for a 1-0 Yankees lead. That’s his 31st of the season.

UPDATE, 7:43 p.m.: Add a two-run shot by Granderson and it’s 3-0.

UPDATE, 7:45 pm.: Looks like a Red Sox fan tried to interfer, but it also looks like Martin’s ball legitimately went out for a 4-0 lead. Hard to tell though, might have hit the top of the wall. Couldn’t definitively argue with either call.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: Impressive. The Yankees have knocked Buchholz out in the second inning. They’ve scored seven runs this inning, and now it’s Alfredo Aceves — of all people — coming in to pitch.

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: Good grief. Welcome back Teixiera. There’s a two-run homer, his 24th of the season, and it’s a 9-0 Yankees lead with two outs in the second.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: Third time in Yankees history that they’ve hit four homers in a single inning, and Swisher nearly made it five homers in the inning. If he’d gone deep there, the over-under on the number of time ”bro” would have been said in the postgame interview would have been off the charts!

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Sabathia through the fifth with a 9-1 lead, meanwhile the out-of-town scoreboard shows the Orioles have come back to tie the Rays at 1.

YANKEES (91-67)
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Raul Ibanez LF
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez DH

RHP Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.10)
Hughes vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (70-88)
Brett Lawrie 3B
Rajai Davis LF
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Yunel Escobar SS
Adam Lind 1B
Moises Sierra RF
J.P. Arencibia C
Adeiny Hechavarria 2B
Anthony Gose CF

RHP Henderson Alvarez (9-14, 4.91)
Alvarez vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:07 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Rainy outside so the roof is closed.

UMPIRES: HP Laz Diaz, 1B Tim Welke, 2B Paul Schrieber, 3B Mike Everitt

MAGIC NUMBERS: To make the playoffs: 2. To win the American League East: 5.

WRAPPING UP: The Yankees are 32-18 in series finales and?have won their last five on the road.

HEATING UP: Robinson Cano has collected 12 hits in his last 19 at-bats (.632 average) over his last five games. The five consecutive multi-hit games matches his season-long stretch (also June 30 through July 4) and ties for the third-longest such streak of his career. He is batting .337 (69-for-205) with 16 doubles and 11 home runs in day games this season.

MOVING UP: Derek Jeter needs three more runs to reach 100 for the season. It would be his 14th season of at least 100 runs, breaking a tie with Lou Gehrig, Rickey Henderson and Alex Rodriguez for the second-most all-time behind Hank Aaron. … Alex Rodriguez is one RBI away from tying Stan Musial for the fifth-most RBI all-time. … If Jeter can manage 15 hits in these last four games he would move into a tie with Eddie Collins for the ninth-most hits all-time. Of course, that would be a fairly epic set of four games.

UPDATE, 2:00 p.m.: Had to watch a lot of these first few innings in front of a TV while I dealt with some random travel stuff, but the reality doesn’t really change whether on television or in person. The Yankees are down 2-1 while still playing one of the worst teams in the league. Big homer by Chavez, great catch by Ichiro, but the Yankees just need to win in whatever way possible.

UPDATE, 2:17 p.m.: Hughes has retired seven straight.

UPDATE, 2:25 p.m.: Think Hughes could have gotten out of the way of that linedrive if he weren’t wearing that absurd mustache?

UPDATE, 2:27 p.m.: Two-run homer by Lawrie and it’s a 4-1 lead for the Blue Jays.

UPDATE, 2:37 p.m.: Massive letdown of a start for Hughes, who leaves witha 5-1 deficit after three straight two-out singles in the fifth. Derek Lowe is in here with runners at the corners. Up to him to quiet the Jays and give the Yankees offense a chance to do something. Hard not to notice that the out-of-town scoreboard shows the Orioles winning right now.

UPDATE, 3:05 p.m.: Leadoff pinch hit single by Nunez with the score 5-2 in the seventh. Jeter follows with a ground-rule double — his second hit of the day — and the Yankees have something brewing here. Of course, they had a lot of things brewing last night…

UPDATE, 3:07 p.m.: Sac fly by Ichiro and it’s 5-3 Blue Jays.

UPDATE, 3:18 p.m.: Cano sneaks an RBI double just past the first baseman and it’s now a one-run game. Yankees are showing some fight in this inning.

UPDATE, 3:24 p.m.: Good luck: Wild pitch lets the tying run score. Bad luck: Swisher ropes a line drive, but a diving catch turns into an inning-ending double play. Unreal. It’s 5-5.

UPDATE, 3:41 p.m.: Boone Logan gets through the seventh with the game still tied.

UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.: Ibanez singles off the lefty — no sense pinch hitting because the Blue Jays had a right-hander loose — and there are runners at first and second with no outs in the eighth. Huge opportunity for the Yankees with Martin coming to the plate.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Deep sac fly by Nunez and it’s a 6-5 Yankees lead. This would be a big win ona  day when it seemed they might completely fold.

UPDATE, 3:53 p.m.: Either a steal attempt or a hit-and-run. Either way, pinch runner Gardner was off with the pitch, letting him score from second on the single by Jeter. It’s now 7-5.

UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: Bases-loaded single by Granderson and the lead is up to 9-5. Dickerson is going to hit for Gardner.

YANKEES (91-66)
Derek Jeter DH
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones RF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

LHP Andy Pettitte (5-3, 2.71)
Pettitte vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (69-88)
Brett Lawrie 3B
Rajai Davis LF
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Yunel Escobar SS
Yan Gomes 1B
Moises Sierra RF
Jeff Mathis C
Adeiny Hechavarria 2B
Anthony Gose LF

LHP Ricky Romero (9-14, 5.76)
Romero vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:07 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Warmer outside. Same inside.

UMPIRES: HP Mike Everitt, 1B Laz Diaz, 2B Tim Welke, 3B Paul Schrieber

MAGIC NUMBERS: To make the playoffs: 2. To win the American League East: 5.

STILL IN THE LINEUP: Robinson Cano has collected 10 hits in his last 16 at-bats over his last four games (all multi-hit affairs). He is batting .332 (67-for-202) with 16 doubles and 11 homers in day games this season.

PART OF THE CLUB: With Eric Chavez’s homer last night, the Yankees now have nine players with at least 15 home runs this season. It?marks the franchise’s most players with at least 15 homers in a single season and ties the Major League record (also the 2005 Indians and 2005 Rangers). The Yankees could set the all-time record. Andruw Jones currently has 14.

JOINING ANOTHER CLUB: Russell Martin hit his 20th home run of the season last night. That’s his single-season career high, and it makes him one of an all-time Major League single-season-high eight catchers in 2012 with at least 20 homers according to Elias.

UPDATE, 1:17 p.m.: Bases loaded with no outs, Cano hits a sac fly for an early Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 1:22 p.m.: Another sac fly for Granderson. Andruw Jones’ strikeout is the only unproductive out of the inning and it’s a 2-0 Yankees lead heading into the bottom of the first.

UPDATE, 1:28 p.m.: Solo homer by Davis is the first run Pettitte has allowed since coming off the disabled list.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: Another strikeout for Jones. He’s really giving the Yankees nothing at this point. Nunez follows with a line out that seemed sure to be an RBI single. Still a 2-1 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 2:32 p.m.: No kidding, the Cano single was just ruled an error on the pitcher. That call has to be overturned, right?

UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: That Davis hopper might have been heading foul, but Rodriguez tried to get the out at first, couldn’t do it, and the tying run scored. That’s how we got to 2-2 heading into the sixth.

UPDATE, 2:59 p.m.: Well, now Jeter’s at short and the Yankees have no utility infielder.

UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Given where he was playing, I’m not sure Cano could have gotten to first base in time for the Yankees to make a play on that bunt.

UPDATE, 3:07 p.m.: Pettitte’s out. Chamberlain is in. There are two outs and runners at the corners in the sixth. Meanwhile, Jeter is warming up at shortstop while Chamberlain throws his final warmup pitches on the mound.

UPDATE, 3:10 p.m.: Chamberlain allows a go-ahead RBI double, and the Yankees get out of the inning only because the Blue Jays are horrific baserunners.

UPDATE, 3:41 p.m.: The throw beat Gardner, but he was definitely safe.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Steve Pearce has been claimed off waviers. … By the Orioles.

YANKEES (90-65)
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez LF
Jayson Nix 3B

RHP Ivan Nova (12-7, 4.94)
Nova vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (68-87)
Brett Lawrie 3B
Colby Rasmus CF
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Yunel Escobar SS
Adam Lind 1B
J.P. Arencibia C
Kelly Johnson 2B
Moises Sierra RF
Anthony Gose LF

RHP Brandon Morrow (8-7, 3.28)
Morrow vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:07 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Cold outside, but cozy under the roof.

UMPIRES: HP Tim Welke, 1B Paul Schrieber, 2B Mike Everitt, 3B Laz Diaz

MAGIC NUMBERS: To make the playoffs: 4. To win the American League East: 6.

GETTING STARTED: The Yankees are 31-19 in series openers in 2012. They have won their last three after a six-game losing streak in openers.

NEXT ON THE LIST: Alex Rodriguez has 1,949 career RBI. His next will tie him with Stan Musial for the fifth-most all-time.

Ks FOR CC: After last night’s 10-strikeout game, CC Sabathia has struck out 21 combined batters over his past two starts. It’s the fourth time he has fanned at least 10 batters in back-to-back starts (third time as a Yankee). He has recorded 15 games of 10-or-more strikeouts as a Yankee, the fourth-most in the Live Ball Era.

UPDATE, 7:23 p.m.: So far, so good for Nova. First inning single is left stranded and it’s a scoreless game heading into the second.

UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.: A walk and a home run. That’s a good way to spoil what had been a good outing so far. The Yankees are now losing 2-0 in the bottom of the third. Their offense hasn’t done much at all against Morrow.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: Granted, this place is empty, but Gose hitting the wall was really loud. He slammed into the fence to take away extra bases from Swisher and double off Cano at first.

UPDATE, 8:26 p.m.: Encarnacion has three hits already and it’s now a 4-0 Blue Jays lead after his two-run double in the fifth. Nova is still in, but there are two pitchers getting loose in the bullpen.

UPDATE, 8:28 p.m.: Here’s Rapada with two outs and a runner at second base in the fifth. Another letdown from Nova.

YANKEES (89-65)
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Eric Chavez 3B
Raul Ibanez DH
Chris Stewart C
Chris Dickerson LF

LHP CC Sabathia (13-6, 3.47)
Sabathia vs. Twins

TWINS (65-90)
Denard Span CF
Ben Revere RF
Joe Mauer DH
Ryan Doumit C
Chris Parmelee 1B
Matt Carson LF
Jamey Carroll 3B
Alexi Casilla 2B
Pedro Florimon SS

RHP Samuel Deduno (6-5, 4.54)
Deduno has never faced any of the Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:10 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Chilly day in Minneapolis, but seems to be warming up a little bit. When the breeze picks up it’s pretty cold.

UMPIRES: HP Doug Eddings, 1B Kerwin Danley, 2B Paul Nauert, 3B Dana DeMuth

OPEN AT THE CLOSE: The Yankees are 31-18 in series finales. They have won their last four on the road and are 12-7 in the rubber game of a three-game series.

SWISHALICIOUS: Nick Swisher has homered in four of his last six games, including each of his last three. That marks the fifth time he’s homered in three straight games, and his first time doing so since 2008 with the White Sox when he homered in four straight. He has hit safely in each of his last eight games (.367, 11-for-30) with 11 RBI, going 4-for-9 with RISP. Six of his last 12 homers — and seven of his last 15 — have given the Yankees the lead.

FAMILIAR FACE: Twins left fielder Matt Carson never really gained traction as a minor leaguer in the Yankees organization, but he’s since gotten some big league time with Oakland and Minnesota. In Triple-A, he was once ejected from a game, and the umpire claimed it was because Carson dropped an F-bomb while arguing a called strike. Carson’s postgame response: “I’ve never used that word in my life.” I believed him. He’s that kind of guy.

UPDATE, 1:23 p.m.: If that play happens 10 more times this season, it will never end like that. Thought for sure Swisher would let it roll foul, but diving, spinning throw to first and the tumbling, shoestring catch by Cano worked perfectly. Replay shows it was the right call.

UPDATE, 1:39 p.m.: That’s it for Deduno who leaves after 30 pitches with some sort of injury. Now he’s the lefty Duensing to face the Yankees vRHP lineup.

UPDATE, 1:40 p.m.: The Twins say it’s an eye issue for Deduno. Weird.

UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: Bases loaded for Cano. Should be an ideal situation, but he’s really struggled against lefties this season.

UPDATE, 2:05 p.m.: Hard-hit ball by Cano, bad play by Revere, and two runs for the Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:09 p.m.: Cano’s double, Swisher’s single, Granderson’s triple and Duensing’s wild pitch have made it 6-1 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: For whatever reason, Casilla owns Sabathia and has another hit of him here in the fifth. In his career, Casilla is a 11-for-20 off the Yankees ace.

UPDATE, 2:54 p.m.: I honestly feel like there are few players more on top of the game than Eric Chavez, but he definitely had a mental moment there. Thought there were two outs and turned a possible double play into a single out at third base. The look on his face, however, was priceless (though I suppose that depends on how this inning works out).

UPDATE, 2:57 p.m.: Sabathia gets out of it and everyone in the Yankees dugout comes over to give Chavez a hard time.

UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Wow. Dickerson continues his audition for a roster spot next season, showing some of that grown-man power that Swisher has talked about in this park. His long home run to right-center has pushed the Yankees lead to 8-1.

YANKEES (89-64)
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez LF
Jayson Nix 2B

RHP Phil Hughes (16-12, 4.05)
Hughes vs. Twins

TWINS (64-90)
Denard Span CF
Ben Revere LF
Joe Mauer C
Justin Morneau 1B
Ryan Doumit DH
Chris Parmelee RF
Trevor Plouffe 3B
Jamey Carroll 2B
Pedro Florimon SS

RHP Esmerling Vasquez (6-4, 6.75)
Vasquez vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 8:10 p.m., MY9

WEATHER: Little bit chilly tonight in Minneapolis, but the sky is clear. Wind blowing out to right field.

UMPIRES: HP Dana DeMuth, 1B Doug Eddings, 2B Kerwin Danley, 3B Paul Nauert

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Yankees hit four home runs off Twins starter Liam Hendriks last night, marking the sixth time they hit at least four homers off a single pitcher this season. That’s the Yankees’ most such games since 2006 (also six).

JETER’S STREAK: Derek Jeter is riding a season-high 18-game hitting streak since September 4. He’s hit .370 during the streak. It’s the fourth-longest hitting streak of his career. He?hasn’t had a longer single-season streak since 19 in-a-row in 2007. He has compiled two 15-game hitting streaks in the same season for the second time in his career (he had three such streaks in 2007). The 18-game streak is the longest by a Yankee in September over the last 25 years since 1987.

IBANEZ HEATING UP: Raul Ibanez has combined to go 7-for-12 with two doubles, three homers and five RBI in his past three games. He was hitless over his previous 18 at-bats and had just two over his prior 45 at-bats with no home runs from August 21 through September 19.

UPDATE, 8:12 p.m.: The Jeter hit streak continues with a leadoff single.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Jeter’s ankle didn’t look good after that fly ball, and I’m guessing the last thing he wanted was a slow chop back to the mound forcing him to sprint up the line.

UPDATE, 9:12 p.m.: There’s Swisher’s second homer in as many days. This one puts the Yankees in front 2-0 in the fourth inning.

UPDATE, 9:19 p.m.: For the Yankees, two straight innings have ended with a strikeout-throw out. Good slide by Martin nearly avoid the tag, but not good enough to dodge it completely. Still 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

UPDATE, 9:26 p.m.: Ibanez misplayed the ball when it got to the wall, but there’s no error on the play and Parmelee has an RBI bloop double to cut the Yankees lead to 2-1 in the fourth.

UPDATE, 9:59 p.m.: Hughes is through six innings on 73 pitches. Surprisingly few outs hit to the outfield.

UPDATE, 10:02 p.m.: Martin matches his career-high with his 19th homer. It’s now 3-1 in the seventh.

UPDATE, 10:22 p.m.: Big strikeout for Hughes, who was down in the count 3-1 and came back to get Florimon before handing the game to Boone Logan. Here’s Logan to face Span with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh. This could be the ballgame right here.

UPDATE, 10:29 p.m.: Wild pitch lets one run in, and a two-run double brings in the next two. Ugly. It’s now a 4-3 Twins lead.

YANKEES (88-64)
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Raul Ibanez LF
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez 3B

LHP Andy Pettitte (4-3, 2.97)
Pettitte vs. Twins

TWINS (64-89)
Denard Span CF
Ben Revere RF
Joe Mauer 1B
Josh Willingham LF
Justin Morneau DH
Ryan Doumit C
Trevor Plouffe 3B
Jamey Carroll 2B
Pedro Florimon SS

RHP Liam Hendriks (1-7, 5.88)
Hendriks vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 8:10 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: After a cold weekend, it’s warming up again here in Minneapolis. Temperatures in the 70s, dipping into the low 60s.

UMPIRES: HP Paul Nauert, 1B Dana DeMuth, 2B Doug Eddings, 3B Kerwin Danley

TWIN KILLING: Andy Pettitte is undefeated in his past 11 starts against Minnesota (regular season and postseason combined) dating back to May 2001. In that time he’s gone 9-0 with a 2.74 ERA. In his past 16 regular-season and postseason starts against Minnesota since 1999, Pettitte is 12-1 with a 2.51 ERA, holding the Twins to three earned runs or less in all but three of those outings.

WRAPPING UP: Beginning tonight, the Yankees play their final 10 games against Minnesota, Toronto and Boston – who are a combined 60 games below .500 and own three of the four lowest winning percentages in the American League.

NO FREE PASSES: The Yankees have issued an American League-low 402 walks this season. Only Philadelphia (385) and Arizona (391) have walked fewer batters. The Yankees are on pace for their fewest walks allowed since 2003 (when they walked 375).

UPDATE, 8:18 p.m.: It’s Cano, so you expect more than an RBI 6-3, but the routine grounder does give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first.

UPDATE, 8:20 p.m.: Two-run homer by Swisher and the lead is up to 3-0 before Pettitte’s thrown a single pitch. That’s Swisher’s 23rd of the year.

UPDATE, 8:26 p.m.: Looked like Cano broke for first base immediately, but he wasn’t at the bag when Swisher turned to throw. If Swisher made the throw, it might have been a close play, but I’m not sure Cano could have beaten Revere to the bag anyway.

UPDATE, 8:36 p.m.: Big strikeout and a groundball to get Pettitte out of trouble in the bottom of the first. Yankees still in front 3-0.

UPDATE, 9:19 p.m.: Big fourth inning for Granderson. Goes deep in the top half, throws out Doumit at the plate in the bottom half. Big fist pump from Pettitte and it’s a 4-0 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 9:47 p.m.: Pettitte is at 88 pitches through six scoreless innings. That might be all from him, and if so, he’s done his part.

UPDATE, 9:49 p.m.: Ibanez goes deep to make it 5-0. Ibanez is starting to hit again.

UPDATE, 10:00 p.m.: Chamberlain coming in to pitch the seventh. A Chavez homer in the top of the inning has pushed the lead to 6-0.

YANKEES (85-63)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Casey McGehee 1B
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Jayson Nix 3B

RHP Phil Hughes (15-12, 3.96)
Hughes vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (66-81)
Brett Lawrie 3B
Colby Rasmus CF
Edwin Encarnacion DH
Adam Lind 1B
Moises Sierra RF
Kelly Johnson 2B
J.P. Arencibia C
Adeiny Hechavarria SS
Anthony Gose LF

LHP Aaron Laffey (3-5, 4.55)
Laffey vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network and MLB Network

WEATHER: Still a nice day here at the stadium. Still a slight breeze blowing from left to right.

UMPIRES: HP Lance Barrett, 1B Gary Cederstrom, 2B Lance Barksdale, 3B Adrian Johnson

TEAM THE RUN: The Yankees have stolen 19 bases in September (been caught just once). They have stolen 12 bases over their last four games, after collecting 12 total stolen bases over their previous 27 games from August 16 through September 14.

AND IN THE END: The Yankees are 30-17 in series finales and?have won their last four.

ON THE VERGE: The Yankees will look to complete their ninth series sweep of the season, which would tie their total for last year. They?are looking to complete their fourth series sweep at home and first overall since July 16-18 against Toronto. The Yankees haven’t swept Toronto twice in a season since 1999.

UPDATE, 7:30 p.m.: Couple of second-inning doubles have put the Blue Jays in front 1-0. The Yankees lineup needs to show something, which hasn’t always happened lately.

UPDATE, 7:57 p.m.: The Yankees say it all the time with Hughes: His success really begins with fastball command. So far, no fastball command tonight. He’s just hit a batter with the bases loaded to make it 2-0. If Martin hadn’t thrown out Gose trying to steal third, the lead would be even larger.

UPDATE, 8:02 p.m.: Ichiro. Home run. Red hot. 2-1.

UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.: Four-strikeout inning for Hughes. He’s the second Yankee to ever do it. A.J. Burnett is the other.

UPDATE, 8:39 p.m.: Delayed steal by Martin, and it works. Arencibia didn’t realize he was running until it was too late. Kelly Johnson follows with a fielding error and the Yankees have runners at the corners with no outs.

UPDATE, 8:44 p.m.: Bases loaded with no outs for Ichiro…

UPDATE, 8:49 p.m.: Two-run double for Ichiro. This guy wasn’t hitting for anything when that trade happened, and he went through quite a cold stretch a few weeks ago, but he’s impossibly hot right now. It’s now 3-2 Yankees.

UPDATE, 8:57 p.m.: Jeter singles in a run, the bases are loaded, still no outs and the Yankees are up 4-2. They’ve scored four runs on three hits. Ichiro has two of those hits and three of those RBI.

UPDATE, 9:00 p.m.: Grand slam by Swisher and it’s now 8-2. The Yankees still haven’t made an out this inning. Their first seven batters have come around to score.

UPDATE, 9:15 p.m.: Two-run homer by Sierra. Rothschild out to talk to Hughes, who isn’t sharp today. It’s an 8-4 Yankees lead in the fifth.

UPDATE, 9:26 p.m.: Like I always say, if Ichiro can’t get it done, just give Jayson Nix a shot. Nix comes through with a two-out double to push the lead to 9-4.

YANKEES (84-63)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Curtis Granderson CF
Jayson Nix 2B
Casey McGehee 1B
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Chris Stewart C

RHP David Phelps (4-4, 3.39)
Phelps vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (66-80)
Rajai Davis RF
Colby Rasmus CF
Brett Lawrie 3B
Adam Lind DH
J.P. Arencibia C
Kelly Johnson 2B
Yan Gomes 1B
Adeiny Hechavarria SS
Anthony Gose LF

LHP Ricky Romero (8-14, 5.87)
Romero vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., MY9

WEATHER: Still a nice day here at the stadium. Still a slight breeze blowing from left to right.

UMPIRES: HP Adrian Johnson, 1B Lance Barrett, 2B Gary Cederstrom, 3B Toby Basner

UPDATE, 7:21 p.m.: Jeter gets hit No. 200, but Rodriguez hits into a double play and first inning ends with no score.

UPDATE, 8:02 p.m.: Nix thrown out at the plate, but Chris Stewart comes through with a two-out RBI double to tie the game at 1. Would have been a go-ahead double except the ball bounced into the stands and Ichiro had to stop at third.

UPDATE, 8:03 p.m.: Good grief, Stewart just threw out Rajai Davis by about four feet. That’s pretty impressive.

YANKEES (83-63)
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Nick Swisher 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Eric Chavez 3B
Raul Ibanez RF
Eduardo Nunez SS

LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.22)
Pettitte vs. Blue Jays

BLUE JAYS (66-79)
Rajai Davis RF
Colby Rasmus CF
Brett Lawrie 3B
Adam Lind 1B
Jeff Mathis C
Moises Sierra DH
Omar Vizquel 2B
Adeiny Hechavarria SS
Anthony Gose LF

RHP Henderson Alvarez (9-12, 4.91)
Alvarez vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: A few clouds in the sky, but ultimately a perfectly nice day. If the Yankees have to play a doubleheader, might as well be on a day like this. Win blowing from left to right.

UMPIRES: HP Lance Barksdale, 1B Toby Basner, 2B Lance Barrett, 3B Gary Cederstrom

LET’S PLAY TWO: The Yankees are scheduled to play their first home doubleheader of the season (they also played one in Boston this year). The Yankees played five doubleheaders in 2011, going 2-0-3. That was their most since 2006 (also five), and they have gone 13-1-16 in doubleheaders since 2000. The only time they were swept in that span was September 17, 2006 against Boston at the original Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are playing Toronto in a doubleheader for the first time since September 11, 1986. The Yankees swept that day.

ANDY’S BACK: Andy Pettitte is making his first start since June 27 against Cleveland when he was hit in the left ankle by a groundball off the bat of Casey Kotchman and suffered a fractured left ankle.

FOR STARTERS: The Yankees are 28-19 (.596) in series openers in 2012 but have lost seven of their last eight, including each of their last six.

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: Scoreless first inning for Pettitte, who struck out his first batter.

UPDATE, 1:27 p.m.: Single. Single. RBI double. RBI grounder. Sac fly. Just like that it’s 3-0 Yankees in the bottom of the first.

UPDATE, 1:42 p.m.: Two scoreles for Pettitte.

UPDATE, 1:53 p.m.: Two errors on that play. The first letting the batter reach and the second letting the lead runner get to third. Just a bad play all-around for Swisher, who’s actually played a pretty good first base since moving over there.

UPDATE, 1:54 p.m.: Not that it matters because Pettitte is out of the inning with a double play. It’s still 3-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:08 p.m.: Vizquel just tied Babe Ruth on baseball’s all-time hits list. Meanwhile, Derek Lowe is getting loose in the Yankees bullpen.

UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: That’s probably all from Pettitte, and he came through with five scoreless innings on 75 pitches. Strong return for the veteran lefty, and he’s in line for the win.

UPDATE, 2:49 p.m.: No argument from the Yankees on the interference call. Rodriguez stepped right toward the plate. Easy call for the home plate ump.

UPDATE, 3:16 p.m.: Rough inning for Robertson who’s now allowed two runs on four hits to let the Blue Jays pull within 3-2. There’s one out and the tying run is at third with the go-ahead run at second.

UPDATE, 3:33 p.m.: Ichiro didn’t make it look easy, but he got the out to strand the bases loaded in the eighth. Now Andruw Jones has popped out on a strange play at first base. He wanted the ball ruled foul, but a replay shows that first-base ump Toby Basner got the call right.