The LoHud Yankees Blog

The top of the first inning wasn’t over, and already Joe Girardi was on the field arguing with home plate umpire Ed Rapuano. It was that kind of night here in Boston, a night fueled by plenty of emotion, and largely decided by those who were able to contain it.

Francisco Cervelli
The Yankees backup catcher is perhaps the most emotional player on the roster, and he was in the middle of everything tonight. He was behind the plate when CC Sabathia and Boone Logan got out of huge jams, he hit a towering home run off John Lackey, and he stood toe-to-toe with Jarrod Saltalamacchia after Lackey seemed to retaliate with a pitch to the back.

“I don’t remember (what was said),” Cervelli said. “A lot of Spanish. At that moment, I forgot my English. But it’s part of the game, I’ve got a lot of energy.”

Girardi seemed certain Lackey’s pitch was intentional, Cervelli thought the same thing, and so did Sabathia, who was among the agitated Yankees who seemed ready to fight after the plunking.

What would have happened if Sabathia had stayed in the game to pitch the next half inning?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know.”

CC Sabathia
Speaking of Sabathia, while Cervelli was a bundle of energy behind the plate, Sabathia was a picture of calm on the mound. He gave up 10 hits tonight, and he seemed to be in trouble constantly, but he made huge pitches. Adrian Gonzalez was 0-for-4 against him with three strikeouts and a ground ball that ended the sixth inning.

“I was just trying to make pitches,” Sabathia said. “They put some tough at-bats together and tonight I was able to make pitches. They had a lot of runners on base, lot of opportunities but we could make pitches when we needed to. I felt like I had good stuff, felt good, felt strong all the way through. I tried to make sure I controlled my emotions and make pitches.”

Sabathia seemed indifferent to the fact this was his first win against Boston this season. The Yankees needed to win this game, and whatever happened in the past didn’t seem to matter.

“It was a big win against a team we’re chasing,” Sabathia said. “And I look forward to pitching 5 days from now.”

Boone Logan
Can’t forget this guy. He wasn’t in the middle of a near fight like Cervelli, and he didn’t find his way through six innings like Sabathia, but his back-to-back bases-loaded strikeouts in the seventh were huge.

“I haven’t been more relaxed all year,” Logan said. “I know it’s easy to say that after what happened, but that’s the honest truth. I was composed, and the louder the fans got, the more locked in I got.”

Against this lineup, Logan knows this might not be the last time the Yankees need him this series.

“Coming in, I have good confidence right now,” he said. “I’ve been pitching well lately, which is what you need coming in facing the second-best lineup in the league. With all the lefties, there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to be getting in a couple of games.”

On an emotional night, the key might have been the one guy who kept his cool. Here’s Sabathia.

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• There were a handful of good lines in the clubhouse tonight, but the best might have come from soft-spoken Larry Rothschild. He was asked whether he said a bad word to get himself ejected after Cervelli was plunked. “More than one,” he said.

• Girardi was ejected with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He argued that Saltalamacchia swung, but the umpires ruled it was a hit by pitch. “The explanation to me is, he said, ‘He got hit, which caused him to swing,’” Girardi said. “That was the explanation I got. He clearly swung to me, and that’s an important out. It’s not like me to blow my top very often, but this is an important game.”

• Girardi said, without question, Curtis Granderson was hit by a pitch in the first inning. The umpire ruled that it hit the bat.

• After Cervelli’s long home run, he clapped his hands when he got to home plate. That might have upset Lackey and led to the hit-by-pitch. “Every time I get a base hit or a double, I clap,” Cervelli said. “That’s me, that’s my game, and I don’t try to do anything bad to another player. That’s me, and if they feel a different thing, I say I’m sorry. But I’m not trying to.”

• Asked about his emotional response to Logan getting out of the seventh, Cervelli said, “That’s Cervelli.” Seriously. It was a Rickey moment. Hilarious.

• Girardi said there was no hesitation leaving Sabathia in to finish the sixth inning with his highest pitch count of the season. The Yankees had Cory Wade getting lose in the fifth, and Girardi told Rothschild to sit Wade down after Sabathia got through that inning. It was basically a given, to Girardi, that Sabathia was going back out there. “There’s situations that he’s ready for,” Rothschild said. “And he’s had some extra rest the last four or five starts.”

• Sabathia threw 128 pitches, matching the second-highest total of his career.

• Girardi said it’s possible the Yankees could line up the rotation so that Sabathia gets an extra day before his next start, but it’s not certain they’ll do that. No one seems especially concerned about the pitch count, especially not Sabathia.

• Turns out, Russell Martin is a little banged up after being hit in the toe and the thumb in Baltimore. “We’ll see how he feels (tomorrow),” Girardi said. Martin said it’s a none issue. “I’m alright,” he said.

• Huge play by Robinson Cano to get the second out in the fifth inning. “He’s done that for me a couple times this year,” Sabathia said.

• Girardi’s ejection was hit second of the season, 16th of his career and 11th as Yankees manager. He was also ejected once as a player. The two ejections tonight were only the Yankees second and third ejections of the season.

• Brett Gardner broke an 0-for-14 skid with his seventh-inning single.

• Mariano Rivera got his 35th save of the season, making this his 11th season in which he’s saved at least 35 games. That’s one shy of Trevor Hoffman’s record for 35-save seasons.

Associated Press photos

Alex Rodriguez used two terms yesterday to describe the status of his sprained thumb. He said he thought it was a “one-day injury” and a “day-to-day” one.

At the time I considered them the same thing. How wrong I was. A-Rod is out of the lineup again today, making the thumb at least a two-day injury.

“Give him today and we’ll see how it is tomorrow,” Joe Girardi said.

He felt well enough to field ground balls and do team toss. That means he’ll at least have a glove on, which he said is the most painful part. Girardi said there was a chance, though it sounded slim, that if he feels so pain-free during those drills that he begs back into the lineup, he’d get the green light. But with the manager tending toward caution I think it’s unlikely.

Rodriguez was seen with a giant wrap on his left hand yesterday in the dugout, but Girardi said that looked scarier than it was.

“That’s Geno,” Girardi said of trainer Gene Monahan. “These are old-school medicines that Geno puts on people.”

Rodriguez suffered the injury backhanding a ball on Sunday.

• Brian Cashman said the current roster is likely going to be the one you see down the stretch and in the playoffs. He doesn’t see the club making any deals.

“I’m going to continue to scan everything, but no, I’m not optimistic that we’re going to do anything,” he said. “I think this is most likely what we’ve got.”

• Trevor Cahill, tonight’s Oakland starting pitcher, has not been bad this season. His 4.17 ERA is just a bit above average. But the Yankees have absolutely destroyed him. He’s 0-2 with a 14.54 ERA in two starts against them this year, and 0-4 with a 13.50 in four career starts.

“This is a young man that has good stuff but we seem to be able to make him work,” Girardi said. “We got some fortunate hits off him last time. We got some walks that hurt him.”

• Today is Brett Gardner’s 28th birthday. I asked him if he ever feels like he’s getting old or worries what age will eventually do to his legs, which are essentially his livelihood.

“Some days you feel young and some days you feel old,” he said. “Sometimes you get tired but for the most part, knock on wood, this season I’ve been healthy and I’ve felt really really good. Age is just a number.”

He leads the team with 36 stolen bases. He is the first Yankee since Alfonso Soriano in 2001-03 to steal 30 bags in consecutive seasons.

With the Yankees languishing offensively, Nick Swisher breathed life into the club with his home run in the eighth inning. With the Yankees on the verge of an unlikely victory, he wanted to finish what he started. But no such luck.

Swisher’s fly ball with the bases loaded in the ninth inning went 390 feet but stayed in the park for the last out of a 6-5 defeat to the Oakland A’s.

“You always want to be the guy in that spot, at least I do,” Swisher said. “You always want to be the hero. And for a while I thought I was.”

Off the bat he was thinking grand slam. It was only when CF Coco Crisp settled under it with his back nearly touching the wall that he knew it was not to be.

Swisher’s three-run homer with two outs in the eighth had started the rally. Before that the Yanks had been listless against A’s righthander Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy was locating well and never looked worried until the home run, which sent him to the showers.

Jorge Posada went yard to make it 6-4 in the ninth. The Yanks eventually loaded the bases for Mark Teixiera, who fouled out.

“I’d love to come through there,” he said.

Robinson Cano walked on a close 3-2 pitch to force in the fifth run.

• Jeter went 3 for 3 with a walk, raising his batting average to .295. It’s the second-best mark on the team behind Cano.

His third hit was the 3,053rd of his career, tying Rod Carew for 22nd on the all-time list. Carew was 39 when he got his last hit, two years older than Jeter is now.

Despite the big night Girardi opted to bunt him with two on and no outs in the ninth. He said his decision was based on factors. For one, Granderson and Teixiera were coming up next. For another, he wanted to stay out of the double play.

• Alex Rodriguez received X-rays during the game, which came back negative. He has a sprain of the left thumb and is considered day-to-day.

“We’ll just go day by day,” Girardi said. “Hopefully he’ll be better tomorrow.”

• Bartolo Colon denied that he is getting tired from being a full-time starter. Colon hasn’t started a full season since 2007. He’s already thrown more innings this year than he did in the three previous years combined.

His performance has slipped since the all-star break. He’s surrendered nine runs over his last two starts.

“I feel really healthy, very strong,” he said through an interpreter. “All I have to do is keep working hard and see what happens.”

He was fine with today’s outing, saying, “I think I pitched good.”

He admitted to going away from his two-seam fastball because he’d been taken deep on that pitch twice in his last start. He used only four seamers today, except for two occasions.

• See if you can figure this one out: the Yanks are 21-21 in series openers and 56-28 in all other games. Is it a sample size thing or does it mean something? Why would they slack off in the first game of every series?

• Cano extended his hitting streak to 14 games, longest by a Yankee this season.

To paraphrase Michael Corleone: every time he thinks he’s in, they pull him back out.

A day after Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankee lineup from his long DL stint, he was a late scratch today because of a totally separate injury. Rodriguez jammed his left (non-throwing) thumb in Sunday’s win over the Twins. A Joe Mauer ground ball caught him the wrong way on a backhand.

“I just jammed my thumb a little bit on that play where Mauer hit it,” he said. “It kind of swelled up a little bit. Hopefully it’s just a day.”

The plan was to get it X-Rayed by Dr. Chris Ahmad after speaking to reporters. But Rodriguez said repeatedly that it felt like a one-day injury.

It was sore during yesterday’s off day, when he and a few other players attended a charity event. Today he was in the original lineup and took two rounds of early batting practice with Kevin Long. I saw him flexing his hand repeatedly toward the end of that BP. Apparently the pain was too much and he opted to come out.

“The good news is the knee feels great,” he said. “The knee feels great, body feels good, and hopefully it’s just a bump in the road here.”

Eric Chavez will play third base.

• A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit the East Coast today at about 2 p.m. Though it was centered in Virginia, it could be felt in New York. By some people at least. Girardi was working out at the Stadium and said he didn’t feel anything, though some members of his coaching staff did.

Curtis Granderson doesn’t even know where he was when it hit.

“Once I was in the cab,” he said, “I got a text saying did I feel that. I said feel what? I didn’t feel anything.”

• With Rodriguez out of the lineup, Curtis Granderson was dropped into the 3-hole to provide power. Mark Teixiera was moved to cleanup. Derek Jeter takes Granderson’s usual 2-spot. Brett Gardner moves from ninth to leadoff.

• Girardi on Bartolo Colon’s second-half fade: “It just seems like he hasn’t been able to put people away. And he’s gotten into some deeper counts. They fouled more pitches off on him. And then eventually its kind of led to some mistakes that he’s made. So to me it’s the location, getting back to the location, and the movement, and the late movement, that’s worked for him.”

• Colon has thrown more innings this year than the last three years combined. Girardi said he might skip one of his starts after this turn through the rotation.

• Aaron Laffey and Gustavo Molina cleared waivers.

Here’s what was shown on television.

A.J. Burnett had just walked Joe Mauer in the second inning. When Joe Girardi pulled Burnett from the game, Burnett began walking off the mound, turned suddenly and cursed toward Girardi and the gathered Yankees. Girardi seemed to react, but it was hard to tell whether he said anything back to Burnett. When Burnett got to the dugout, went straight to the stairs leading to the Yankees clubhouse. When Girardi got to the dugout, he also went directly to the stairs leading to the clubhouse.

Here’s what was said after the game.

“You can write what you want,” Girardi said. “You can say what you want, but he was pissed because he thought he struck out Joe Mauer. I asked if they thought it was a strike and the guys said they thought it was a strike.”

Girardi grew truly agitated when asked about following Burnett into the clubhouse.

“This is silly,” he said. “This is really, really silly. You know what? We had a fistfight, is what we had. I came in and looked at the pitch. Our video room is right down there. Everyone always seems to want to blow it up about A.J., A.J., A.J. Nothing happened between me and A.J. I went and looked at the pitch. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of people looking for something between me and A.J. Me and A.J. have mutual respect for each other. I cheer for this guy, he cheers for me and we cheer for this team. I want the guy to do well. Everyone’s always trying to say there’s something between me and A.J. What do you want, the pitcher to want to come out of the game? I mean, this is ridiculous.”

It might have seemed ridiculous to Girardi, but watching the scene unfold, it seemed ridiculous for another reason. Burnett seemed to be showing up his manager on the field, and Girardi seemed to be chasing his pitcher to have a chat about those actions. That’s certainly what it looked like.

“No,” Burnett said. “Russ came out and he said, ‘That’s a strike.’ I said, yeah. I was not talking to Joe, absolutely not. No matter how mad I get, that guy’s taken my back every day I’ve been here, (including) last year. No matter how boiling I’m going to be, I’m not going to say a swear at him. Not him. No chance.”

Girardi was supportive as ever after the game. He said he still has confidence in Burnett and the Yankees will work to get him back on track. But this is a bad Twins lineup, and Burnett couldn’t pitch out of the second inning. Freddy Garcia comes off the disabled list in a week, and then the Yankees have to make a rotation decision.

“We’re still on a six-man rotation just because we need to,” Girardi said. “We need this guy to pitch. That’s the bottom line; we need him to pitch like he’s capable of pitching.”

Here’s Burnett.

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Here’s Girardi.

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• Burnett said he and Girardi had a conversation “two or three innings later” so that Burnett could explain saying what he said coming off the mound. “We talked about it, for sure,” Burnett said. “I made sure and told him, look man, not you. I told him, as ticked off as I am, not at him. No chance.”

• Burnett said Girardi didn’t tell him to come back to the dugout after he was pulled from the game. “You don’t have to tell me that,” Girardi said. “I’ve been around the game long enough. I came in, put my stuff down and went back to the dugout.”

• Both Girardi and Burnett seemed to think his curveball was alright at moments tonight, but he had no control of the fastball. “It’s a hiccup, man,” Burnett said. “I had a bad night. I’m going to be frustrated and upset about it, but I’m going to come ready to work and ready to get back on a roll. It’s not going to stop me.”

• Burnett thought his last pitch to Mauer was a strike, but he also seemed to know he had no room for argument. “You’re not going to give somebody a strike who’s all over the zone,” he said. “That’s the case there.”

• Martin on ball four to Mauer: “If it missed, it missed by a hair. He called that pitch later in the game. Nothing you can do to change that, but it was a good pitch. He just didn’t call it. Whether it was a strike or not; if it missed, it missed by an inch or two. Normally you get that pitch if you’re around the zone. He hit the spot.”

• Martin on Burnett: “It just seemed like they were hitting every fastball that he threw over the plate. He had a hard time locating his curveball for a strike, and when that happens, they kind of just spit on the curveball, spit on the breaking stuff and wait for their fastball. When they got their fastball, they didn’t miss it.”

• Burnett’s 1.2 innings were his fewest in a start since he threw one inning on June 20, 2004 against Atlanta as a member of the Marlins. His 61 pitches were the fewest he’s thrown in a game since September 27, 2010 in Toronto. This was his shortest start as a Yankee.

• Four of Burnett’s five hits went for extra bases. He entered tonight’s game tied for fifth in the American League with 59 extra-base hits allowed.

• Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 12 games and is hitting .373 in that span. Cano’s season-high hitting streak is 13 games.

• Martin played second base for the first time in his Major League career. He’s played third three times this season.

• Andruw Jones went deep for the second time in as many games. This one did not go into the third deck.

•  On the day he got to the Yankees, Aaron Laffey made his debut and allowed two runs on five hits through three innings. He said before the game that he grew up a Yankees fan. “My dad was a big-time Mantle and DiMaggio fan,” he said. “I just kind of fell into the same role. Growing up watching some of these guys, it’s just an honor to be in the same locker room as them.”

Associated Press photos

The Yankees have gone 21-11 without Alex Rodriguez, last seen playing for them on July 7 before undergoing knee surgery four days later.

“A lot of guys have stepped up and swung the bats extremely well, but adding Al back, he can help out any team,” Derek Jeter said. ”Any time someone gets hurt, you can’t sit around and say, ‘Wait till he comes back.’ You have to continue to play. That’s what we’ve been able to do.”

But life without A-Rod appears to be coming to an end. He’s expected back during the four-game series in Minnesota that begins Thursday night.

“It makes our lineup so much deeper,” Mark Teixeira said. “It makes our bench deeper. It just gives us more options late in games, or maybe if we need to rest a guy here or there. It makes our team much better.”

The Yankees ended up 8-4 in this last 12-game span against the White Sox, Red Sox, Angels and Rays.

“I thought they were an important two weeks and I thought we played well,” Joe Girardi said. “I think we’ve played well the second half. … With the injuries that we had to our bullpen, the uncertainty of our rotation when we left spring training, the injury to Derek, the injury to Alex, this club has persevered.”

The Yankees struggled with injuries down the stretch last year, especially to Teixeira, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. Girardi had to sit guys, and the Yankees finished a game back of Boston, drawing the wild card instead. 

“There was so much made of last year,” Girardi said. “People thought, ‘Were we trying?’ Yeah, we were trying to win. I want to play here as many games as I can if we’re fortunate enough to get to the playoffs. That’s the bottom line. Our team was built for this park. So why wouldn’t we want to win our division? But you can’t run guys out there if they’re hurt. The big thing is, we’ve got to stay healthy.”

In tonight’s opener of the three-game series in Kansas City, A.J. Burnett and Felipe Paulino are the scheduled starters.

So all this time spent speculating about the rotation cut and there’s no decision because Freddy Garcia cuts a pitching finger. Joe Girardi revealed it after the game.

“I think it was a kitchen accident,” Girardi said. “Players shouldn’t use knives.”

Girardi said he has known about this for four or five days, which is about when it happened. Garcia got through a bullpen session without throwing his splitter. But he tried to throw splitters on flat ground today and couldn’t. Girardi said the ball was rubbing against the cut on the side of the finger, so he was scratched from Sunday’s scheduled start. A.J. Burnett is down to start instead.

So the decision is on hold. Girardi would only go as far to name his rotation for the three-game Kansas City series, Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia. But weather.com is predicting a 70 percent chance of rain for Sunday, so that might impact things again.

Girardi is hopeful Garcia will only miss this one start.

“But obviously we have to make sure it’s healed before we have him even try,” Girardi said. “And he’s going to have throw a bullpen before he tries to pitch in a game. I don’t really see it as being a deep, deep cut. But it’s enough where it effects his split.”

*Girardi said Phil Hughes “mixed his pitches today as well as I’ve seen him.”

Hughes fanned six and walked one, while allowing the two runs and four hits over six. And he was able to block out the swirl about his place in the rotation.

“There are always circumstances with everything,” Hughes said. “It’s hard enough to pitch a big-league game with a clear conscience.”

Jorge Posada, meanwhile, was back in a big way after being benched last Sunday. After five games of sitting, he had a grand slam, two singles and six RBI. Girardi told him afterward he would get another DH start tomorrow. Girardi said Posada is going to play, that he will still get some DH work and maybe some backup work at first if Mark Teixeira is the DH.

“Georgie is very professional,” Girardi said. “That’s the way he’s always been. I knew he was dying to get back in there. I knew that. It’s tough not putting him in the lineup. Georgie and I have a long history together. We were teammates and won together. I think he’s a great player. I think he’s a great man. So it’s difficult because I know how much he wants to play.

“And I want him to have success. That’s the bottom line. We want him to drive runs and do all that. At times it’s been a struggle this year. Sometimes I have to make tough decisions. But I know he was itching to get back in there. Georgie will be 60 years old and he’ll be itching to get back in there. That’s the type of guy he is.”     

Posada passed Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra for sole possession of sixth on the Yankees’ all-time grand-slam list. This was No. 10. It was a very satisfying day for him.

“It’s special,” Posada said. “I got an opportunity to play. It’s tough to sit around. It’s not easy sitting here and everybody’s playing. It’s tough.

“I just have to be prepared for that opportunity. From now on, I have to look at the lineup card and be ready. I haven’t given up.”   

The fans asked for a curtain call after the slam and he popped out of the dugout after Russell Martin’s ensuing single. They have been great to him throughout, and he appreciates it.

“I play for them,” Posada said.

*Curtis Granderson has hit five homers over his last five games. His 33 homers not only tie him for the MLB lead with Jose Bautista, but they are the most by a Yankees center fielder since Bobby Murcer launched 33 in 1972.

*Alex Rodriguez went 0 for 3 as the DH in his second rehab game for Single-A Tampa at Dunedin.

*Out of the gifts Derek Jeter received at the pregame ceremony to honor him for reaching 3,000 hits, the one that stood out the most to him was the 225-pound stainless-steel sculpture of himself that Posada and CC Sabathia commissioned on behalf of the players.

“I really appreciate that,” Jeter said.

“He said, ‘Where am I going to put this at?’ ” Posada said. “I said, ‘You’ve got plenty of room in that house in Tampa.’ “

Phil Hughes takes the ball today against the Rays in what could be his last start until the Aug. 27 split doubleheader in Baltimore. We shall see.

The rotation is about to be cut to five and unless the Yankees are trying to throw everyone off the scent, no signs have been pointing toward Hughes.

CC is CC, even though he’s been off a bit lately. Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia have done well. Brian Cashman endorsed A.J. Burnett as a starter yesterday. Joe Girardi said Wednesday that Ivan Nova wasn’t pitching for a job in that night’s start against the Angels, and he threw well again. Girardi didn’t directly answer a question yesterday about how Hughes’ performance today could impact the decision. And Hughes has bullpen experience.

Today Girardi was asked how Hughes has handled all the curves thrown at him, including pitching in relief Sunday in Boston and having his Tuesday start skipped.

“I think he’s handled it well,” Girardi said.  ”It’s a not a fact that we’ve wanted to bounce him around. That’s not what we’ve tried to do. He started off slow. He ended up going on the DL. He was on the DL for a while. He’s been through a lot this year. But his personality has remained pretty constant.”

Girardi said he hasn’t spoken to Hughes about the situation.

“I’m just going to let him go do his work,” Girardi said.

Whatever the Yankees decide, it’s expect to be announced tomorrow or Monday.

“It’s tough,” Girardi said. “But when you look it at, we’re all trying to win. We’re all trying to get to the same point. And you can help in a lot of different ways. That’s the bottom line. I’m sure that there are guys who don’t play every day who would like to play more. But you’ve got to all pull together and be prepared when you’re called upon.”

So who would you chop from the rotation?    

*Alex Rodriguez was supposed to play about half the game at third tonight for Tampa at Dunedin after starting as the DH in his first rehab game last night at Dunedin. But the Yankees are going to have him DH again and probably have him do more informal situational work in the field tomorrow. Girardi said he could still play a couple of games in the field for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and be ready to go. That Triple-A work is expected to be done Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with two RBI last night.

“It’s hard to be better than a home run and a double in three at-bats,” Girardi said. “I guess he could’ve got another hit. But that’s a good sign.”

As for how the Yankees will use him at first when he returns, Girardi said, “The one thing that we can do is we can possibly DH him a couple of times a week, two or three times a week. We’ll have that option. If we have to work him back slowly and get him in shape where he can play four or five days in the field, we can do that as well.”

*Derek Jeter will be honored with a ceremony before today’s game, saluting his 3,000-hit achievement. Jeter said his parents will be here, but that he doesn’t know what’s planned for the ceremony.

Now the Yankees’ two most reliable pitchers are struggling, CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera.

Sabathia gave up a franchise-record-tying five homers and a season-high-tying 10 hits in the 5-1 loss to the Rays.

“It’s a humbling sport,” Sabathia said. “Today was definitely humbling.”

Last time out, he gave up a season-worst seven runs in a 10-4 loss at Fenway. And the time before that, he only gave up two runs over eight, but he also allowed 10 hits in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. The fastball command has been faulty of late. Four of the homers came off fastballs. He’s up to 190 2/3 innings, but Joe Girardi said his fastball was still humming at 96, 97. So the manager doesn’t think it’s fatigue.

“I just think players go through this,” Girardi said. “If this game was easy, there would be a lot of more big-league players and a lot more teams.”

Rivera just got to watch the game after three straight off outings this week.

“Mo’s a victim of his own success,” Mark Teixeira said. “This guy has been lights-out, automatic for 15-plus years, and so if he has a bad week, the bells start going off. That’s the world that he’s created.”

“Hopefully, we can get back on track,” said Sabathia, who has lost consecutive starts for only the third time since joining the Yankees for the 2009 season.

Meanwhile, the Yankees couldn’t get on track against David Price, who allowed just the run and six hits over eight. He mixed his pitches and hit his spots.

“They weren’t getting really good swings out there tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “David had good command of his off-speed pitches.”

 *Alex Rodriguez’s rehab assignment began well – first swing, home run. He went 2 for 3 with the solo shot and an RBI double for Single-A Tampa at Dunedin, working as the DH until leaving for a pinch hitter in the seventh. Saturday night at Dunedin, he will play about half the game at third. There’s a chance he will be playing at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Tuesday night and Wednesday night, according to Brian Cashman.

*Saturday’s starters are Phil Hughes and Jeremy Hellickson. Derek Jeter will be honored for his 3,000 accomplishment prior to the 4:10 game. The gates will open at 2, and fans are encouraged to be parked in their seats at 3:45.

The day after Mariano Rivera’s third straight outing in which he allowed at least one run – and this time it was a three-run homer – Joe Girardi was warning against thinking this is the beginning of the end for the 41-year-old closer.

“I think people, when players are older, are always looking for a sign,” Girardi said. “There are too many times when that sign is not there yet, but they’re looking hard for it. As I said about Derek (Jeter) when he was going through a little bit of struggle, I wouldn’t bet against him. And lo and behold, he gets hot. He’s been playing extremely well.

“(Rivera) has had a couple of days in a row where he has given up runs. I remember in 2009, he kind of got off to that slow start and people were saying, ‘Is this the beginning of the end?’ And let’s not forget, I think he threw two innings in Game 6 against the Phillies. He might have given us five outs against the Angels.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to jump to conclusions.”  

Rivera has given up an extra-base hit in a career-high-tying three straight games, allowing a homer in each of the last two.

“Great hitters go in slumps and you say, ‘Wow, can you believe this guy is in a slump this long?’ ” Girardi said. “It’s just the game of baseball. Mo has been so close to being automatic that when he has a blip, it’s more of a news story than somebody else.”

Girardi doesn’t see any mechanical failure.

“He looks to me the same as he’s looked for years,” Girardi said.

So what would be a bad sign? 

“I think if he got in a lot of three-ball counts,” Girardi said. “If he starts walking people or starts really getting behind people and not having the ability to throw strikes, I would say something was really off. But we’re not seeing that. We’re seeing him throw strikes. We’re seeing him miss a little bit and guys are hitting him.”  

*Phil Hughes gets the ball tomorrow against the Rays, standing on the mound and presumably the bubble, because the rotation is about to be hacked from six to five. A.J. Burnett is presumably standing on the bubble with him. But he doesn’t have another start before a decision is made. Freddy Garcia is Sunday’s scheduled starter.

“Our idea is to pare things down, but you wait to see what happens tomorrow; you wait to see what happens Sunday,” Girardi said. “I don’t really have to make a decision until Monday. We can prepare guys to start, but I don’t have to make a decision. I’m more worried about tonight.”    

Tonight CC Sabathia will try to bounce back against Tampa Bay after allowing a season-high seven runs against the Red Sox.

“Whether it’s in a bounce-back (game) or not a bounce-back, I expect him to be really good,” Girardi said.

There will also be a rematch between Jeter and David Price, who served up that homer for his 3,000th hit here on July 9.

“It was a special day right before the All-Star break when Jete and Price matched up,” Girardi said. “It ended up being a great day for our club as well, a 5-4 win.”