Melancon is moving on up

The Yankees defeated the Twins 6-4 this afternoon to sweep the season series.  They are now 51-34 and have won 13 of their last 15 games overall.  With Boston’s loss tonight, the two teams are in a tie for first place in the AL East.

Because the Yankees burned through the bullpen this afternoon, the Yankees have called up Mark Melancon according to Chad Jennings.

Melancon appeared in four games for the Yankees at the end of April and the beginning of May, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.  He walked five batters while striking out two over that span.

For Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Melancon has struck out 42 and walked nine over 39 2/3 innings.

No corresponding move has been announced yet.

Behind Burnett, Yankees defeat Twins 4-3

A.J. Burnett pitched just well enough to get the win.  He was wild, but he didn’t let it cost his team, as the Yankees defeated the Twins 4-3 to clinch their fifth straight series win.  Read all about it on Baseball Digest.

Game 84: Yankees at Twins

New York Yankees (49-34)	Minnesota Twins (43-41)
Derek Jeter SS	Denard Spans LF
Johnny Damon LF	Brendan Harris SS
Mark Teixeira 1B	Joe Mauer C
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Justin Morneau 1B
Hideki Matsui DH	Michael Cuddyer RF
Jorge Posada C	Jason Kubel DH
Robinson Cano 2B	Joe Crede 3B
Nick Swisher RF	Carlos Gomez CF
Brett Gardner CF	Nick Punto 2B

A.J. Burnett RHP (7-4, 3.83 ERA) vs. Anthony Swarzak RHP (2-2, 3.90 ERA)

Time: 8:10 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 180

Yankees vs. Swarzak

• No Yankees have any experience against Swarzak

Twins vs. Burnett

• Span: 1-7
• Harris: 2-9, HR, RBI
• Mauer: 3-10
• Morneau: 4-12, HR, 3 RBI
• Cuddyer: 2-10, 2B, RBI
• Kubel: 3-14, 2B
• Crede: 1-4
• Gomez: 1-5
• Punto: 1-9

Aceves to start; Kevin Millar speaks

Alfredo Aceves will start on Thursday in place on the injured Chien-Ming Wang.  I had a feeling this would happen after he pitched four innings on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kevin Millar was on MLB Home Plate on SIRIUS XM this morning and gave his thoughts on the new Yankee Stadium.  Here’s the transcript of that portion of the conversation:

Host, Jim Duquette: “What’s your impression of the new Yankee Stadium?”

Kevin Millar: “I’m going to be honest with you.  You know I’m going to shoot from the hip.  I’m not a big fan of it.  Nothing pops there, nothing pops.  The old stadium, you walked in, you knew this was where [Mickey] Mantle played and [Joe] DiMaggio.  It was just that old school.  I got booed a lot louder.  They didn’t boo me as loud here.  I like to get booed.  They were too nice to me here.  They’re too nice to me.  I don’t know if it’s all corporate, but they’re too nice.  But it’s just like a big, huge – it’s a beautiful facility, don’t get me wrong – but the navy blue seats, a lot of concrete and nothing pops.  I mean, nothing pops there, personally.  Now, it was our first trip in and I don’t know if I was expecting more, but that’s the truth and it’s just I loved the old stadium.”

Host, Seth Everett: “Is it impossible to ever live up to that old stadium?”

Millar: “It’s not impossible, but yes, all the comeback wins and all the memories there, of course, it’s going to take time.  And this is year no. 1 and there’s some tinkers.  Like for one, you know, it’s a beautiful scoreboard but they have the radar gun readings at the very top of the scoreboard with the pitch count.

"Fans want to know how hard the pitcher’s throwing, for instance.  You come to the game, you want to see, ‘Yeah, Brandon League’s on the mound, he’s throwing 90-what?’  You don’t want to have to look around the stadium to find it, and this is at the very top, a very little scene up there with your miles per hour where most stadiums have them above the dugouts on the second tier of the second deck so you can kind of see it easier.

"You know, it was hard to read what the guy’s hitting for the batting average.  It was tough to find certain things.  And for a stadium that’s got $1.5 billion in it, you would think it had been just some easier scenes, and I’m just using those as examples and those might be nit-picking.  But for the monuments: I wish they would’ve pulled the monuments up so you could see the monuments.  I mean, they’re behind center field and it’s kind of blocked off with the hitter’s eye so you don’t even see them.  At least in the old stadium, left center, you kind of saw them a little bit, glimpsed through over there from the bullpen area, and when you’d hit a home run to left center they’d bounce in the monuments.

"So there’s some things that, in my opinion, nothing’s really popping out.  But it’s a gorgeous scene, I guess, for the fans inside - the food, the televisions, all the marble and stuff.  But from what we see as a player, you walk in the lobby and it was straight concrete.  We walk in the locker room, beautiful locker rooms, but it was just, it was OK, personally.”

I’ve gone on record as not being pleased with new Yankee Stadium, so I don’t exactly disagree with what Millar is saying.  However, hearing it from him doesn’t exactly make me look better.

Aceves saves Joba and Ransom

Joba Chamberlain and Cody Ransom did their best to turn a 4-0 lead into an 8-4 deficit.  Ransom’s fielding error in the third inning opened the floodgates, as Chamberlain gave up five unearned runs and was out of the game after only retiring 11 batters.

However, Jonathan Albaladejo and Alfredo Aceves saved the Yankees on the pitching side, while Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui provided the offense.  Jeter hit the go-ahead home run in the fifth inning after Matsui drew the Yankees closer with a three-run shot in the fourth inning.  Posada added four hits and three RBI.

But the real story was Aceves, who pitched four innings of one-hit ball for his first career save.

The Yankees are now 15 games over .500 at 48-33, their highest amount of games above .500 this season.  They have also won 10 of their 11 games.  Andy Pettitte will look to lead the Yankees to a sweep over the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon at 1:05.

Jeter, Teixeira named All-Star starters; Rivera also named to team

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira were named American League All-Star starters at their respective positions.  Teixeira was in a hotly-contested race with Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Mariano Rivera was the only Yankee named to the pitching staff of the American League.  No Yankees were chosen as reserves.

The complete roster can be found here.

Game 81: Blue Jays at Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays (42-40)	New York Yankees (47-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Jorge Posada C
Lyle Overbay 1B	Hideki Matsui DH
Vernon Wells CF	Nick Swisher RF
Alex Rios RF	Robinson Cano 2B
David Dellucci DH	Melky Cabrera CF
Raul Chavez C	Cody Ransom 3B

Brett Cecil LHP (2-1, 5.09 ERA) vs. Joba Chamberlain RHP (4-2, 3.89 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Chamberlain

• Scutaro: 0-6
• Hill: 0-3
• Lind: 2-5, 2B
• Rolen: 2-5, RBI
• Overbay: 2-5, RBI
• Wells: 1-4
• Rios: 2-6, RBI
• Dellucci: 1-3, HR, 3 RBI

Yankees vs. Cecil

• No Yankees have any experience against Cecil

Note: Chien-Ming Wang was placed on the 15-day disabled list.  Jonathan Albaladejo was called up.

Wang likely head to DL, won’t be replaced by Aceves or Hughes

Chien-Ming Wang is most likely headed to the disabled list with a strained right shoulder with bursitis.

According to this report, Joe Girardi has already ruled out using Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes as spot starters.

The name being thrown around is Sergio Mitre, who is currently pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  In 30 1/3 innings, he has struck out 23 and walked only three, compiling a 3.26 ERA.

Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

Jorge Posada won the game for the Yankees on a walk-off single in the 12th innings this afternoon.  The Yankees defeated Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5.  Read all about it on YanksBlog.com.

Game 80: Blue Jays at Yankees (Happy birthday, USA and George Steinbrenner)

Toronto Blue Jays (42-39)	New York Yankees (46-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells CF	Jorge Posada C
Alex Rios RF	Hideki Matsui DH
David Dellucci LF	Melky Cabrera RF
Rob Barajas C	Brett Gardner CF

Roy Halladay RHP (10-2, 2.56 ERA) vs.  Chien-Ming Wang RHP (1-6, 10.06 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Wang

• Scutaro: 1-6, RBI
• Hill: 10-17, 4 2B, 3B, 3 RBI
• Lind: 1-3
• Rolen: 0-1
• Overbay: 6-14, 2 2B, 5 RBI
• Wells: 6-19, 2 2B, 3 RBI
• Rios: 4-20, 2B, RBI
• Dellucci: 2-5, RBI
• Barajas: 0-1

Yankees vs. Halladay

• Jeter: 19-79, 4 2B, 4 RBI
• Damon: 29-84, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI
• Teixeira: 4-22, HR, 3 RBI
• Rodriguez: 18-63, 5 2B, HR, 12 RBI
• Cano: 7-34, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI
• Posada: 12-42, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI
• Matsui: 11-47, 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI
• Cabrera: 7-29, HR, RBI
• Gardner: 3-11, 2B

Burnett rolls over former team

7 IP, 2 ER, 7 K for A.J. Burnett.  Over his last nine starts, he is 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA in 55 2/3 innings.  He has also struck out 63 while walking 30 over that span.

Meanwhile, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera shut down the Jays after Burnett left, sealing the Yankees eighth win in their last night games to reach 12 games over .500 again.

Robinson Cano added his 13th home run of the season and Alex Rodriguez’s 14th home run gave the Yankees a little more breathing room.

Chien-Ming Wang faces Roy Halladay tomorrow afternoon.  Yikes.

Game 79: Blue Jays at Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays (42-38)	New York Yankees (45-33)
Marco Scutaro SS	Derek Jeter SS
Aaron Hill 2B	Johnny Damon LF
Adam Lind DH	Mark Teixeira 1B
Scott Rolen 3B	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells CF	Nick Swisher RF
Alex Rios RF	Hideki Matsui DH
David Dellucci LF	Francisco Cervelli C
Raul Chavez C	Brett Gardner CF

Brian Tallet LHP (5-5, 4.47 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett RHP (6-4, 3.93 ERA)

Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Blue Jays vs. Burnett

• Scutaro: 3-12
• Hill: 2-4, HR, RBI
• Lind: 0-2
• Rolen: 3-22, 2B, 3 RBI
• Overbay: 0-12
• Wells: 0-3
• Rios: 1-3, 2B
• Dellucci: 6-18, 2B, 2 RBI

Yankees vs. Tallet

• Jeter: 3-11, 2B
• Damon: 5-16, 2 2B
• Teixeira: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI
• Rodriguez: 1-12, HR, RBI
• Cano: 4-15, 2 2B, RBI
• Swisher: 2-5, RBI
• Matsui: 6-11, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI
• Cervelli: 1-3
• Gardner: 1-3

Game 78: Mariners at Yankees

Seattle Mariners (39-38)	New York Yankees (45-32)
Ichiro Suzuki RF	Derek Jeter SS
Russell Branyan 1B	Johnny Damon LF
Jose Lopez 2B	Mark Teixeira 1B
Mike Sweeney DH	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Franklin Gutierrez CF	Robinson Cano 2B
Kenji Johjima C	Nick Swisher RF
Ryan Langerhans LF	Hideki Matsui DH
Chris Woodward 3B	Melky Cabrera CF
Ronny Cedeno SS	Francisco Cervelli C

Jason Vargas LHP (3-3, 3.79 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia LHP (7-4, 3.55 ERA)

Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 176

Mariners vs. Sabathia

• Suzuki: 15-38, 2 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBI
• Lopez: 2-8, RBI
• Sweeney: 20-69, 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI
• Johjima: 3-5, 2B
• Langerhans: BB
• Woodward: 2-9, 2 RBI
• Cedeno: 1-11, RBI

Yankees vs. Vargas

• No Yankees in tonight’s lineup have experience against Vargas.

Pettitte, with help from long ball, leads Yankees to victory over M's

(Originally posted for Baseball Digest)

The first two times the Yankees took the lead Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, Andy Pettitte gave it right back.  Once the Yankees took the lead for the third time, Pettitte was able to hold it, and the Yankees were on their way to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners to extend their winning streak to seven.

Pettitte pitched seven innings, allowing two earned runs or six hits while striking out five.

The Yankees took the lead in the third inning on Johnny Damon's 15th home run of the season, a solo shot to right field.  He has now homered 11 times at new Yankee Stadium.

The lead was short-lived, as Pettitte gave it right back in the top of the fourth.  Jose Lopez led off with a double and advanced to third on a fly out.  After a walk put runners on first and third with one out, Wladimir Balentien hit a grounder to first that Mark Teixeira bobbled.  Though he was able to get the out at second, the bobble cost the Yankees a shot at the double play.  As a result, the tying run scored.

It stayed a 1-1 game until the bottom of the fifth when Melky Cabrera snuck a ball just fair for another solo home run.  In fact, the play was so close that the umpires had to review it.  Ultimately, the call was upheld and the Yankees had a 2-1 lead.

But just like the last time they took the lead, Pettitte gave it right back in the next half-inning.  Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo home run to right to tie the game at 2.

The Yankees didn't wait long to retake the lead.  Teixeira led off the bottom of the sixth with a single.  He was then followed by Alex Rodriguez, who hit a long two-run home run to center, his second in as many days, to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  The bullpen pitched two perfect innings after Pettitte left in the seventh, including Mariano Rivera's 20th save of the season.

The Yankees haven't trailed since Joe Girardi was ejected in the sixth inning Atlanta last Wednesday.  They are now 13 games over .500, which is their highest mark this season.

CC Sabathia takes the mound tomorrow night as the Yankees look for a sweep.

Game 77: Mariners at Yankees

Seattle Mariners (39-37)	New York Yankees (44-32)
Ichiro Suzuki RF	Derek Jeter SS
Russell Branyan 1B	Johnny Damon LF
Jose Lopez 2B	Mark Teixeira 1B
Ken Griffey Jr. DH	Alex Rodriguez DH
Franklin Gutierrez CF	Jorge Posada C
Wladimir Balentien LF	Robinson Cano 2B
Chris Woodward 3B	Nick Swisher RF
Rob Johnson C	Melky Cabrera CF
Ronny Cedeno SS	Cody Ransom 3B

Jarrod Washburn LHP (4-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte LHP (7-3, 4.38 ERA)

Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: YES
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 175

Mariners vs. Pettitte

• Suzuki: 12-30, 2B, 5 RBI
• Lopez: 1-7, RBI
• Griffey Jr.: 18-53, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI
• Gutierrez: 2-8, HR, RBI
• Balentien: 3-6
• Woodward: 4-13, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI
• Cedeno: 1-6

Yankees vs. Washburn

• Jeter: 12-37, 4 2B, 4 RBI
• Damon: 9-37, 2B, HR, 4 RBI
• Teixeira: 14-49, 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI
• Rodriguez: 15-47, 6 HR, 10 RBI
• Posada: 6-22, 2B
• Cano: 2-14, 2B
• Swisher: 5-24, 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI
• Cabrera: 0-13

Rivera saves 500th, drives in run as Yanks sweep Mets

(Originally written for Baseball Digest)

Mariano Rivera entered Sunday night's game at Citi Field in search of one milestone.  When the game was over, he came away with two milestones: his 500th career save and his first career RBI.  Yes, I said RBI.

Rivera, who entered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, drew a based loaded walk against Mets' closer Francisco Rodriguez in the top of the ninth inning.  The run gave the Yankees valuable insurance headed into the bottom of the frame.  Rivera wouldn't need it, however, as he was able to nail down the Yankees' 4-2 victory to sweep their first series at Citi Field.

Another story seemingly lost in all this (as Rebecca pointed out on Twitter) is that Chien-Ming Wang picked up his first win of 2009.  But how did we get here?

The Yankees got on the board early and often in the first inning against starter Livan Hernandez.  Derek Jeter, playing in his first game of the series, led off with a double off the left field wall.  Nick Swisher then grounded to first, but Daniel Murphy threw to third in an attempt to get Jeter.  It turned out to be a mistake, as both runners were safe.  Mark Teixeira followed with a two-run double and Alex Rodriguez walked.  Robinson Cano was up next, and was bailed out by another Murphy miscue.  He grounded into a sure double play, but Murphy dropped the ball at first.  Jorge Posada hit a sacrifice fly to center to drive in the Yankees' third run.

Wang wasn't great, but he pitched a season-high 5 1/3 innings.  He allowed four hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out three.  He gave up his runs in the fourth inning on a Fernando Martinez RBI double and a Luis Castillo RBI single.

Wang was relieved by Phil Coke and Phil Hughes in the sixth inning.  Hughes would also go on to pitch a scoreless seventh before being replaced by Brian Bruney in the eighth.  Bruney's control failed him, as only six of his 15 pitches went for strikes.  This caused Rivera to be brought in for a four-out save.  But that's where the fun began.

Posada reached on another botched pop up by the Mets with Rodriguez on the mound.  Eventually, the Yankees loaded the bases on walks, bringing up Rivera with the bases loaded and two outs.  He only swung at one pitch and had a full count before taking a pitch inside for the walk.

Rivera only gave up a two-out single in the ninth before inducing a grounder to second for the third and final out.  His 500th career save was his 18th of 2009 in 19 chances.

After a day off Monday, the Yankees will begin a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at home.  Joba Chamberlain takes the ball in Game 1.

Game 75: Yankees at Mets

New York Yankees (42-32)	New York Mets (37-36)
Derek Jeter SS	Daniel Murphy 1B
Nick Swisher RF	Alex Cora SS
Mark Teixeira 1B	David Wright 3B
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Gary Sheffield LF
Robinson Cano 2B	Fernando Tatis RF
Jorge Posada C	Fernando Martinez CF
Melky Cabrera LF	Brian Schneider C
Brett Gardner CF	Luis Castillo 2B
Chien-Ming Wang P	Livan Hernandez P

Chien-Ming Wang RHP (0-6, 11.20 ERA) vs. Livan Hernandez RHP (5-2, 4.05 ERA)

Time: 8:05 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, WFAN-AM 660

Yankees vs. Hernandez

• Jeter: 8-19, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI
• Swisher: 5-14, 2B
• Teixeira: 3-6, 2 HR, 3 RBI
• Rodriguez: 11-19, 5 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI
• Cano: 4-9, HR, RBI
• Posada: 4-12, 2B, HR, 2 RBI
• Cabrera: 2-5, RBI
• Gardner: 1-2

Mets vs. Wang

• Cora: 5-18, HR, 4 RBI
• Wright: 2-8, 2B
• Sheffield: 0-2
• Schneider: 0-4
• Castillo: 1-5

Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

A.J. Burnett carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, as the Yankees eventually went on to one-hit the Mets in their 5-0 victory.  Here is the recap I wrote for YanksBlog.com.

Game 74: Yankees at Mets

New York Yankees (41-32)	New York Mets (37-35)
Brett Gardner CF	Alex Cora SS
Nick Swisher RF	Argenis Reyes 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B	David Wright 3B
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Ryan Church RF
Robinson Cano 2B	Gary Sheffield LF
Jorge Posada C	Daniel Murphy 1B
Melky Cabrera LF	Jeremy Reed CF
Ramiro Pena SS	Brian Schneider C
A.J. Burnett P	Tim Redding P

A.J. Burnett RHP (5-4, 4.24 ERA) vs. Tim Redding RHP (1-2, 6.08 ERA)

Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: YES, CW11, MLBN
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, WFAN-AM 660, XM 183

Yankees vs. Redding

• Teixeira: 4-9, 4 2B, RBI
• Rodriguez: 0-2

Mets vs. Burnett

• Cora: 0-19
• Wright: 3-15, 2B, 4 RBI
• Church: 1-8
• Sheffield: 9-30, 3 HR, 6 RBI
• Murphy: 0-1
• Reed: 0-1
• Schneider: 9-23, 3 2B, 2 RBI

Game 73: Yankees at Mets

Update – 6:25 p.m.: Jeter was scratched because he is “under the weather,” according to Mark Feinsand’s latest tweet. New lineup:

Gardner CF
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Cabrera RF
Cervelli C
Pena SS
Sabathia P

New York Yankees (40-32)	New York Mets (37-34)
Derek Jeter SS	Luis Castillo 2B
Johnny Damon LF	Alex Cora SS
Mark Teixeira 1B	David Wright 3B
Alex Rodriguez 3B	Gary Sheffield RF
Robinson Cano 2B	Fernando Tatis LF
Melky Cabrera RF	Ryan Church CF
Brett Gardner CF	Nick Evans 1B
Francisco Cervelli C	Omir Santos C
CC Sabathia P	Mike Pelfrey P

CC Sabathia LHP (6-4, 3.71 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey RHP (5-2, 4.74 ERA)

Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: MY9, SNY
Radio: WCBS-AM 880, XM 183

Yankees vs. Pelfrey

• Jeter: 1-3, 2B
• Teixeira: 4-10, 2B, RBI
• Rodriguez: 2-3, RBI
• Cano: 1-3, 2B, RBI
• Cabrera: 1-3

Mets vs. Sabathia

• Castillo: 4-16, 2B, RBI 
• Sheffield: 5-18, 2B, HR, 4 RBI
• Tatis: 0-1