The Yankees hung on to defeat the Orioles in a game they started on June 28, 8-7, and then lost the regularly scheduled contest 4-2 on Friday night in Baltimore.

I missed the completion of the first game, but I'll stick by my account and roundup from that rainy night in June, and I passed out in the fifth inning of the 4-2 loss so my recap will be short and very generic.  The win/loss on Friday night now positions the Yanks 8 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and 5 games back of the Cleveland Indians for the American League wild card lead.

The Good:

Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte was wild early on and looked like he was headed for an early shower on Friday night, but he eventually settled down and pitched a pretty good ballgame.  His undoing was giving up three runs in the third inning.  Unfortunately for Pettitte (and the Yanks), he seems to fall on the short end of pitchers' duels this season.  Pettitte dropped to 6-7 with this: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

The Bad:

Scott Proctor.  Scotty is really making it difficult for me to insist that he shouldn't be traded before the deadline.  Proctor came into the game in the eighth with the Yanks down 3-2 and gave up a solo shot to that "idiot" Kevin Millar.  I still don't think he should be moved, but he may be sliding down in Torre's pecking order.  Proctor's night: .2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR.  

The Ugly:

The Sayonara Kid.  The Yankees sent Kei Igawa back to Triple-A and recalled backup infielder Chris Basak on Friday night.  This move isn't really shocking since Igawa has been terrible since his return to the big club in June.  The Yanks won't need a fifth starter until Aug. 3 and chances are they'll insert Phil Hughes into that spot.  Maybe the Yanks should look to unload the lefty import at the trading deadline.  Anyone interested in a pitcher who can't pitch in the stretch, leaves everything up in the zone and gives up a ton of homers?  Oh, and has three years left on a hefty contract?  Anyone?

Roger Clemens will try and get the Yanks back on the winning track on Saturday.  Clemens is coming off two straight solid outings and sports a nifty 2.62 ERA during the month of July.  The Orioles will counter with lefty Brian Burres.  Burres is 4-4 on the year with a 4.33 ERA, but he's been awful of late.  In his last three starts, Burres has failed to get out of the second inning twice and has a bloated 11.42 ERA in July.

Looks like just the medicine for the Bombers.