A Lot on the Line

With each game becoming more and more important, each team is striving to win more to ensure a spot in the playoffs. The Yankees are in first place in the AL East with a 73-52 record, but the Rays and Orioles are right behind them. The Rays were on a winning streak but the Oakland A's just beat them, by the skin of their teeth last night in a 5-4 win. Tampa Bay is now 3.5 games behind the Yankees, and the Orioles are 5 games behind. The closest the Rays were was earlier in the week when they were two games behind the Yankees (when they got swept by the White Sox). It is more important now than ever for the Yankees to hold onto their lead, and increase it when they can. CC Sabathia was activated from the DL last night and started against the Indians. He held them to one run and the Yankees won 3-1. In a loss to the White Sox, Ivan Nova injured his shoulder and was placed on the 15 day DL due to inflammation in his rotator cuff. Other than that, the Yanks have not seen any really bad injuries as of late that would prohibit them from performing their best. Considering who the Yankees lost for a long period of time, including the all time great closer, Rivera, they have performed very well. The Yanks have lost four of their great players, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, and most importantly, their closer, Mariano Rivera, but with all the great players down, the Yankees have gotten the job done. Their record is superb, their offense has been great, their pitching has been stable, and the guys that have stepped up in the absence of ARod and Brett Gardner have been awesome. Both Pettitte, who fractured his left fibula, played catch on Friday and had no ill feeling and ARod, who fractured his left fibula, will be evaluated on Monday. An October return is possible, depending on what the doctors say on Monday.

Let's just talk about Jeter the Great for a second! In the past 27 games, since July 25th, his batting average is .381 (45 for 118) with six home runs and 16 RBI's. Three of the home runs have been hit in consecutive games, which is a first for Jeter.

Nick Swisher is also having a very productive season. This season his average is .273 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI's. Nick homered to right center in the seventh inning last night to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead, and the win.

Today's pitching matchup for the second game against the Indians is H. Kuroda (12-8, 2.96 ERA) against J. Masterson (9-11, 4.73 ERA). While both teams were on a losing streak (Yankees - 3, Indians - 9), the Yankees managed to pull through with CC on the mound dealing and great base running, along with Nick Swisher's home run. Let's see if the Yanks can come out with another win. Of course, let's go Yankees!