MLB 09 The Show: Girardi takes over for Torre

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August 16th, 2008 Yankees 3 Mariners 2

The Yankees managed a split in their 4 game series with the Mariners by pulling out a victory on Sunday afternoon.

Mike Mussina (6-8, 4.94) pitched great, going 6 IP's and only allowing 6 hits and 1 ER.

Joba Chamberlain pitched the 8th and 9th inning and picked up his 3rd save of the season.

The Yankees were led by Derek Jeter, who had 3 hits and A-Rod went 2-3.

The Yankees now head to Oakland for a 3 game series with the Athletics.

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Re: MLB 09 The Show: Girardi takes over for Torre

Looks like a fun pennant race is shaping up! Bit surprised that Damon's average is that high. Good luck pushing into September!

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Looks like a fun pennant race is shaping up! Bit surprised that Damon's average is that high. Good luck pushing into September!

Thanks man. The Pennant race is really heating up. I don't know if I can catch the Red Sox but the Tampa Rays have come out out of no where to make the A.L. Wildcard a 3 team race.

Damon is actually leading the A.L. in batting. He has been my best hitter all year.

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Re: MLB 09 The Show: Girardi takes over for Torre

August 17, 2008 Yankees 1 Athletics 2 16 Innings

The Yankees did not start out their series the way they hoped in Oakland Monday night. They wasted a great start from Andy Pettitte (7.0, 7 H, 1 ER, 6 K's) and some great relief pitching by Edwar Ramirez (4.0, 0 H, 4 K's) before losing in the 16th Inning.

Everyone in the lineup had at least 1 hit, but the only run was Jason Giambi's 27th HR of the season. Damon, Posada, and Cano had the day off so that may explain the woes on offense.

The Yankees lead in the A.L. Wildcard is down to 1 1/2 games over the White Sox and Tampa Rays. The Rays are playing out of their heads right now, with a 12-2 record so far in August.

Game 2 will see Darrell Rasner vs Dana Eveland.

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August 18th, 2008 Yankees 7 Athletics 2

The Yankees, exhausted from last night's 16 innings marathon, bounced back tonight behind Darrell Rasner. Rasner (6.0, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB's, 5 K's) pitched great and earned his 10th win of the season. Rasner also broke his 2-game losing streak.

The Yankees banged out 13 hits, all singles, and were HBP 3 times in the game. We will have to wait and see if there are any fireworks in the finale of this 3 game series.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez got a much needed night off. Johnny Damon banged out 2 hits and is still leading the A.L. with a .333 batting average.

Game 3 will be Ian Kennedy (11-5, 2.88) vs Justin Duchscherer (6-9, 3.38)

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August 19, 2008 Yankees 8 A's 4

The Yankees finished their 7 game West Coast trip on a high note with a 8-4 victory over the A's.

Ian Kennedy (7.0, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K's) was brilliant and picked up his 12 win of the season. The bullpen struggled a bit, giving up 3 runs in only 2 innings.

The Yankees offense banged out 16 hits, but only 3 extra-base hits. Bobby Abreu had 4 hits while Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada each had 3 hits.

The Yankees handed Justin Duchscherer his 10th loss of the season, including his 2nd in a row against the bombers.

The Yankees now head back to the East Coast for a 3 game set at Fenway Park against the A.L. East leading Red Sox. The Yankees have struggled against the Sox this year, with a record of 4-8.

The Yankees are 5.5 game back of the Red Sox in the East, 7 in the loss column. If they have any hopes of winning the A.L. East, they will need a sweep of the Sox. After this 3 game set, the 2 teams will meet in September 3 more times in New York.

The Yankees currently lead the A.L. Wildcard by 2 games over the Rays and 3.5 games over the White Sox. The Rays open a 3 game series at home against the last place Rangers while the White Sox open up a 3 game home series against the last place Orioles.

Game 1 will be Phil Hughes (16-4, 2.40) against Jon Lester (12-4, 3.58)

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August 21st, 2008 Yankees 3 Red Sox 1

After a 7 month lay-off, I really wanted to finish this season so I fired it back up on my PS3.

The Yankees opened up a 3-game set against the 1st place Red Sox in Boston. The Yankees started the day hoping to gain some ground on the Sox and they did not disappoint.

Phil Hughes (17-4, 2.35) continued his amazing season with probably his most clutch outing of the year. The Red Sox offense is leading the A.L. in almost everything this year, but Hughes kept their bats quiet, going 7 IP's and allowing 4 hits, one of them a Solo HR by Kevin Youkilis. Farnsworth pitched a clean 8th inning before giving way to Mariano Rivera, who picked up his 33rd Save of the season.

The Yankee offense was basically Jason Giambi and nothing else. Giambi went 3 for 4 with a Solo HR to lead the Yankees. Giambi now has 28 HR's and 87 RBI's on the season.

This game was won in the 5th inning with some clutch pitching by Hughes. Mike Lowell led off the inning for Boston with a single. J.D. Drew then doubled him to 3rd.

Hughes then went to work. He caught Julio Lugo looking at a 0-2 Curveball for the 1st out. Jason Varitek then grounded a ball to A-Rod at 3B. Lowell took off from 3rd and was cut down at the plate by A-Rod. Then Hughes got Jacoby Ellsbury to chase a 1-2 Fastball at his feet to finish the inning and preserve his 2-0 lead.

The Yankees opened up a 3 game lead on the Rays for the A.L.Wildcard as the Rays lost to the Rangers 11-5. The White Sox remain 3.5 games out as they defeated the Orioles 15-0.

Game 2 will be Mike Mussina (6-8, 4.94) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-6, 6.11)

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August 22nd, 2008 Yankees 8 Red Sox 4

The Yankees took game 2 of a 3 game set with the Red Sox Saturday night. The Yankees pounced early on Daisuke Matsuzaka (3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER) putting up 4 runs in the 1st inning, capped off by a 2-Run HR from Alex Rodriguez, his 22nd of the season.

The Red Sox put up 2 in the 1st, and 1 in the 2nd and 3rd inning to tie the game at 4 before the Yankees scored 2 in the 4th and capped off their scoring in the 6th inning with a 2-Run HR from Jorge Posada.

Mike Mussina (6.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER) survived 6 innings until the bullpen came in and finished off the Red Sox.

The Yankees will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon and try and avenge their 3 game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox earlier this month.

In the Wildcard race, the Yankees opened up a little breathing room as the Rays dropped their 2nd game in a row to the Texas Rangers. The White Sox beat the Orioles and stand 3.5 games behind the Yankees. The Rays are 4 games back.

The finale of this series will see Andy Pettitte (10-10, 4.30) vs Josh Beckett (14-1, 2.31)

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August 23rd, 2008 Yankees 1 Red Sox 8

The Yankees could only keep the Red Sox bats quiet for 2 games as the Sox found their offense in a 8-1 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees still haven't figured out Josh Beckett (6.0, 4 H, 1 ER, 9 K's) as Beckett beat the Yankees for the 3rd time in 4 starts this year. Beckett is now 15-1 on the season with a 2.28 ERA and he is neck and neck with Phil Hughes for the A.L. Cy Young Award.

The Red Sox were led by Jacob Ellsbury, who went 3-4 and Manny Ramirez, who was 3-4 with his 33rd HR of the season.

Andy Pettitte took the loss, only lasting 2.1 innings. Pettitte has now lost 2 straight starts in August to the Red Sox and is 10-11 on the season.

The Yankees return home and open a 3 game series against the Texas Rangers.

Game 1 will be Darrell Rasner vs Josh Rupe.

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August 25th, 2008 Rangers 4 Yankees 12

The Yankees returned home and found their offense thanks to the Texas Rangers pitching staff, who are 29th in the Majors in ERA and it showed Tuesday night.

The Yankees jumped all over Josh Rupe (3.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER) and never looked back. Poor Josh, in his 2 starts this year against the Yankees, this is his stat line:

0-2, 27.00 ERA. 4.2 innings, 18 Hits, 14 ER.

The Yankees had 5 players with 3 hits: Jeter, A-Rod, Posada, Matsui, and Cano. A-Rod hit his 23 HR of the year, Posada hit 2 HR's and also has 23 on the season.

Darrell Rasner avenged an earlier loss to the Rangers, going 8 IP's and only allowing 1 hit. He walked 1 and struck out 8. Rasner is now 11-3 on the year with a 2.47 ERA.

Game 2 will see Phil Hughes 17-4, 2.35 ERA vs Vicente Padilla, 7-10, 5.46 ERA.

The Yankees will try and figure out Padilla, who is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA against them this year.

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August 26th, 2008 Rangers 10 Yankees 3

The curse of Vicente Padilla struck again tonight in the Bronx as the veteran pitcher beat the Yankees for the 3rd time this season. Padilla (8-10, 5.33) pitched into the 7th inning, allowing the Yankees only 2 ER's and he struck out 7.

Ian Kennedy (12-6, 2.86) pitched ok, lasting 6 IP's, allowing 6 hits and 3 ER's. However, the bullpen imploded, pitching 3 IP's and allowing 10 hits and 7 ER's.

The Ranger bats were led by Josh Hamilton, who had 4 hits, including a HR. Milton Bradley and Marlon Byrd also went deep for the Rangers.

The Yankees will look to bounce back and take the rubber match of this 3 game set.

Game 3 will see Phil Hughes vs Kevin Millwood.

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August 27th, 2008 Rangers 5 Yankees 6

The Yankees ended their 3 game series with the Rangers on a high note, beating the Rangers 6-5 tonight at the Stadium.

Phil Hughes (17-4, 2.47) got hit hard early, giving up 4 runs and 2 HR's in the first 2 innings, but he showed a lot of grit and toughness, and pitched into the 7th inning, leaving with the score tied at 4-4.

In the bottom of the 7th, with the score tied at 4, Jason Giambi stepped up to the plate. Giambi, who leads the team in HR's with 29 and RBI's with 89, took a 3-2 pitch from Warner Madrigal into the front row of the right-center stands to give the Yankees a 6-4 lead. Giambi has reallly been clutch the past couple of months and may consider re-signing at the end of the season.

The Yankees continue their home stand this weekend when the Chicago White Sox come to town. The White Sox enter the series 9.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers, so their only path to the Post Season could be the Wild Card. They are currently 3 games back of the Yankees so this is a pivotal series.

Game 1 will be Jose Contreras (7-9, 4.50) vs Mike Mussina (7-8, 4.99)

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August 28, 2008. White Sox 6 Yankees 5

The huge weekend series got off to a tough start for the Yankees. Entering play, the Yankees were 3.0 games up on the White Sox for the A.L. Wild Card spot. The Yankees still have hopes of wining the A.L. East, but they're 4 games back of Boston (5 in the loss column) so the WC may be their best change to get Joe Girardi to the playoffs in his 1st year as skipper and make it 14 straight years in the post season.

Mike Mussina took the hill for the Yankees and pitched well (5.2IP, 7 H, 2 ER) as the Yankees, led by Jason Giambi (3-5, HR(30), 90(RBI), took a 4-2 lead into the 9th inning and called upon Mariano Rivera to nail it down.

It was not meant to be.

Rivera, after getting the first out of the inning, gave up back to back HR's to Jim Thome (3-6, 2 HR's, 4 RBI's) and Joe Crede and blew his 6th save of the season.

The White Sox took the lead in the 10th inning 5-4, but the Yankees pushed a run across in the bottom of the inning off Bobby Jenks without even getting a hit. The White Sox scored again in the top of the 12th inning to win it.

The Yankees will look to bounce back on Saturday. Javier Vazquez will face Andy Pettitte.

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August 29, 2008. White Sox 1 Yankees 2

The Yankees entered Saturday needing a shot in the arm after last night's loss and Andy Pettitte delivered.

Pettitte (8.0IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's) looked like he traveled back to the late 90's, crossing up and confusing the White Sox hitters all night as he pitched probably his best game of the year right when the Yankees needed it the most.

Pettitte had a very rough August and got his 1st win of the month to even his record at 11-11. Rivera, after last night's debacle, got the night off as Joba and Kyle Farnsworth closed out the 9th inning.

The Yankees got 3 hits from Robinson Cano, and 2 hits a piece from A-Rod and Johnny Damon. Derek Jeter, who struck out his first 3 at-bats, lined an RBI single in the 7th inning for the game winner.

The Yankees will finish their 3 game set on Sunday, as Mark Buehrle (12-10, 3.44) will face Darrell Rasner (11-3, 2.47).

The Yankees are 3 games up on the White Sox for the wild card spot and 5 games up on the Rays, who are riding a 3 game losing streak.

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August 30th, 2008 White Sox 6 Yankees 1

The Yankees ended their 3 game set with the White Sox on a down note as they couldn't figure out veteran Mark Buehrle.

Buehrle was fantastic, throwing a complete game (9IP, 6H 1ER) for his 13th win of the season. The White Sox banged out 15 hits against Darrell Rasner (3.0, 6 H 5 ER) who took the loss. The Yankees rested A-Rod, Giambi, and Johnny Damon.

The Yankees now travel to Baltimore for a 3 game series with the last place Orioles. The Yankees are still 4.5 games behind the Red Sox in the East but still maintain a 2 game lead against the White Sox for the A.L. Wildcard spot.

Game 1 against the Orioles will be Ian Kennedy vs Lance Cormier.