The Comeback

Has this team finally rediscovered itself? Chien-Ming Wang had a rough outing, giving up 5 runs over 6.1 innings. On the other side, Jarrod Washburn, far from being the ace of the Mariners, held the Yanks to 2 runs over 6. And after the Yanks went down quietly in the seventh against Sean Green, it looked as if the sweep would elude them as they were ready to lose 5-2.

But then came the miracle eighth. Green walked Jeter to lead it off, which resulted in a pitching change to Arthur Rhodes. After an EPIC 9-pitch at bat, Bobby Abrey doubled to center field, scoring the Captain. M's lead 5-3. Not wanting to take any chances, Mariner's closer J.J. Putz entered the game. But oh, would it prove to be a rough outing for him. It began with a six-pitch walk to Arod, which was followed by a questionable strikeout of Giambi. But still, Yanks had two on with only one out. Pinch hitting, Matsui swung at the first pitch, grounding into what should have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Putz lunged at the ball to stop it, and then almost sent it into the stands with a sloppy throw to first. Matsui was safe, Arod reached third, and Bobby scored. 5-4 M's.

Was this really happening? Was this team, which had been dying out in late innings when trailing, actually mounting a comeback? Yes. Yes they were. In an excellent display of situational hitting, Robinson Cano uppercut the ball into deep center field; that's a sac fly that allowed Matsui to get to second and scored Arod to tie the game. And then, to top it all off, Jose Molina took the first pitch he saw to right field, bringing home the winning run. That's a four run eighth inning. Mission complete!

(Well, not exactly. Mo threw 16 pitches to close it out, reducing his ERA to 0.45. But when he's in the game, things are pretty much over for the other side.)

The result of all this? A 5-game win streak for the Yankees, their second sweep of the Mariners, and finally reaching the .500 mark again. But more intangible, this team is looking like winners. There's no more of this "down-and-out" nonsense; they keep playing hard until the final out is made. If they keep this up, they may be able to turn things around before the ASB.

And what's up with the Mariners? Not only do they have the worst record in the AL (18-33), but the duo of Bedard and King Felix that was so hyped hasn't done much at all. Yikes. The FO says it won't make any drastic moves, but after today's collapse...

And hey! In Detroit, after the 19-3 romping yesterday, the Twins took the series with a 6-1 victory over the Tigers behind a solid start by Glen Perkins and a tiebreaking grand slam by Jason Kubel in the 8th. The Twinkies also return to .500 and now are only two behind the ChiSox. You know, if Boof Bonser never starts again, this team could have a serious shot at the Central.

Finally, to cap what makes a day a good baseball day, the Red Sox fell to Oakland for the third consecutive day. Yes folks, the immortal Boston Red Sox were swept out of California. Perhaps the tide is finally turning for them, too?