The swagger is back.

The Yankees didn't receive a quality start for the first time in a week, but the offense battered Pittsburgh's pitching staff as the Bombers slammed the Pirates 13-6 for their sixth straight win.

The Good:

Alex Rodriguez.  Once again, A-Rod is swinging the bat like Thor  as he belted two more homers.  His first dinger gave the Yanks an 8-6 lead in the fourth and his second blast put the game away at 10-6.  A-Rod finished 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs.  Rodriguez now has 24 homers and 63 runs batted in.

Bobby Abreu.  El Comedulce!  Abreu is the hottest hitter on the planet right now and his resurgence is one of the reasons the Yanks are winning.  Abreu was in the middle of everything on Sunday and finished a perfect 4 for 4 with a walk, 4 runs scored, 3 ribbies and a stolen base.  He finished a home run shy of the cycle.  Over the last 10 days, Abreu's average has jumped from .234  to .272.  He's also working on a modest 10-game hitting streak.  

Hideki Matsui.  Matsui's day was solid, but it just doesn't compare to the day Abreu and A-Rod had on Sunday afternoon.  Still, Matsui's two-run double in the first inning extended the Yankee lead to 3-0 and gave Tyler Clippard an early cushion.  Matsui finished 2 for 4 with a walk and the 2 RBI.

The Bad:

Tyler Clippard.  Clippard should be kicking himself.  Clippard coughed up two separate 3-run leads and was finished by the fourth inning.  I'm sure he realizes he missed out on an easy win.  Clippard's totals: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Robinson Cano.  Oh, Robbie.  There's always one person who doesn't get an invitation to the party.  The Yanks banged out 14 hits, but Cano was the only starter to go hitless.  Cano went 0 for 5 and left 5 runners on base.  

The Ugly:

Name dropping.  There are some names that just aren't conducive to baseball.  For example: a number 3 hitter whose last name is Whiff or a starter with the last name of Ragarm.  These may be poor examples, but you get my drift.  So, when Pirate reliever Josh Sharpless entered the game to face A-Rod in the fourth with two-runners on, let's just say I felt extremely confident.  Obviously, Sharpless didn't disappoint as he gave up the three-run bomb.  Sometimes you can predict the future.

Bat Day.  Sunday was Bat Day at The Stadium.  Fans 14 and under received a Jason Giambi bat.  Yeah, the timing was a bit off.

The Yanks are off on Monday and will welcome in the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday for a three-game set.  Last season's Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb will be going for the D-backs against Chien-Ming Wang.  I'm going to place the over/under for total ground outs at 30.  Somebody warn the worms.

With the off-day, I guess there's only one thing you can do when things are going you're way:

Strut.