Rays sweep Yankees

Opponent: Tampa Bay Rays
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Yankees overall record: 25-16
Series MVP: no one
Quote of the series: comes from manager Joe Girardi and his thoughts on the series

"We battled back in every game here,” Joe Girardi said. “We scored runs. We just gave up too many.”

The Yankees had a chance to sweep the series against the Tampa Bay Rays and would have been only one game out of first place.  Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened with the Rays sweeping the Yankees, leaving the Bombers five games out of first place.

Wednesday's game was rather unforgettable.  AJ Burnett was once again wild and gave up six total runs.  He gave up four in the fourth inning alone.  The offense did their best to rally back yet were ultimately defeated, 10-6.

Wednesday's game also brought bad news on the injury front.  Marcus Thames tripped over his own bat and sprained his ankle.  He is listed as day to day.  It was also announced Jorge Posada has a fractured bone in his right foot and could be out for a month.  Chad Moeller was recalled to take Posada's place yet Francisco Cervelli will continue to start.

Thursday's game brought a beating to lefty starter, Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte gave up three runs in the entire game, doubling his total for the season.  The game began as back and forth offensive action between the two teams.  However, as soon as the two teams were tied in the fourth, Pettitte gave up more runs.

The end result of Thursday's game was a 8-6 Rays victory thus concluding a forgetful series.

Something needs to be done with the roster if this losing streak continues, if not the Rays will run away with the division, similar to a pace that the '98 Yankees did.

Next Up: The Yankees begin inter-league play with round one of the Subway Series.  The Yankees will travel to Citi Field to play the New York Mets.

Yankees take series from Rays 2-1

Opponent: Tampa Bay Rays

Location: Tampa
Outcome: Yanks win series 2-1
Series MVP: CC Sabathia
Honorable Mention: Yankees Infield Defense
Yankees overall record: 4-2
Quote of the series: comes from Mark Teixeira after ending his hitless streak to end the season

"During your career you always aim for milestones,” Teixeira said. “So I made sure I went 0-for-17 to have a personal best. After that I wanted to make sure I got a few hits.”

The Yankees won their second consecutive series against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Outside of a miserable start from Javier Vazquez on Friday, the Yankees took advantage Saturday of an excellent start by Sabathia (and not great pitching from the Rays) to win 10-0.

Saturday's game was defined by Sabathia.  He took a no hitter into the eight inning with four outs remaining in the game.  The lone hit he gave up was to catcher Kelly Shoppach, his former teammate in Cleveland.  Sabathia was certainly aided by tremendous defense from the Yankees infield particularly, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.  Also, if Jason Giambi was manning first place Sabathia would have lost his no-no much earlier in the game.

Sunday, AJ Burnett had a quality start after looking shaky through the first inning.  Curtis Granderson again showed why GM Brian Cashman traded for him with outstanding play in center field.  The offense was aided by Alex Rodriguez, a two run double and Nick Swisher's first home run of the season.

Next Up: The Yankees take on the Angels tomorrow afternoon during their home opener in the Bronx.  The team will be handing out their 2009 world series rings before first pitch.  World Series MVP Hideki Matsui will make his debut in the Bronx in an opponents uniform and will also receive his ring with the rest of the team.

- Courtney