You gotta love baseball.

It was shaping up to be another heart-breaking loss for the Yanks, but Alex Rodriguez belted a solo homer in the top of the ninth against Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon and Mariano Rivera set down the heart of the Boston order in the bottom of the ninth that capped a 6-5 Yankee win.

The Yankees battled back after blowing a 4-0 lead by scoring single runs in the eighth and ninth to take two of three this weekend at Fenway.  

The Good:

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod was down 0-2 when he rocked a Papelbon delivery the other way for his 20th homer of the season.  It's amazing how often Joe Morgan, Jon Miller and ESPN discussed A-Rod's week during the telecast (the "Ha" moment in Toronto, the stripper photograph, his possible involvement in the JFK assassination), but A-Rod had the final word.  He finished 2 for 5 with 2 RBI, a run scored and the game-winning bop.

Robinson Cano.  Cano's triple against tough lefty Hideki Okajima brought the Yanks even at 5-5 in the eighth.  It turned out to be a bitter-sweet inning as the Yankees failed to get Cano in from third with nobody out, but it gave the Yanks hope and set the stage for A-Rod in the ninth.

Mariano Rivera.  It wasn't easy, but Rivera slammed the door in the ninth against the meat of the Red Sox order.  Rivera retired Ortiz, Ramirez and after hitting Kevin Youkilis, struck out Mike Lowell for his 5th save of the year.  The Sandman's line: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP.  The reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. 

The Bad:

Bobby Abreu.  Abreu collected two hits on Sunday night batting in the number 3 slot, but butchered another ball in right during the Red Sox 5-run fifth.  He made up for it in the bottom of the eighth as he somehow nabbed a ball heading for the gap off the bat of Dustin Pedroia.  Still, his half-assed attempt at the ball in the fifth (either play it on a hop or try and make the diving catch) had me steaming until the ninth.

The Ugly:

Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte was cruising until the fifth.  After the Yanks spotted him a 4-0 lead in the top of the inning, Pettitte responded by allowing three straight hits to load the bases.  He struck out Julio Lugo for the first out, but something went wrong.  Terribly wrong.  Posada motioned to the Yankee dugout and Torre and the trainers rushed out.  Pettitte assured all that he was fine, but that turned out to be a filthy lie.  Pedroia stepped up and cleared the bases with a double, Abreu spazzed out in right and Pettitte's night was done.  Turns out Pettitte tweaked his back, but doesn't expect to miss his next start.  A long-term injury to Pettitte would be devastating.  Pettitte's ND: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

The Yankees needed this game and showed heart after blowing another lead.  It was also encouraging to see them battle back against Okajima and Papelbon, the two finest relievers in the Red Sox pen.

The Yanks travel to the Windy City for a four-game set with the White Sox starting on Monday night.  Clemens is still nursing his groin so the ball will go to Matt DeSalvo.  DeSalvo's head must be spinning since he was sent to Triple A on Friday.  Clemens is now looking to make his debut on Saturday against the Pirates  in New York.  Kei Igawa was originally slated to make the start, but I guess the Yanks had second thoughts since Igawa's pitching motion has been taken back to formula since his demotion to Tampa.

Jon Garland will make the start for the ChiSox.

Maybe this Sunday night game will act as a catalyst for a Yankee resurgence.