I guess all it took to wake up the Yanks was a game with the Red Sox.

Andy Pettitte pitched seven gutsy innings, Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon both went deep and the Yankee pen sparkled again as the Bombers downed Boston 5-3 under a full moon at The Stadium.  The victory cuts the Red Sox lead in the AL East to seven games and slices the Mariners' lead in the wild card to 1.5 games (as of this writing).

I suppose the sky isn't falling after all.

If you're interested in seeing (or reading) what a Red Sox fan thought of Tuesday's game check out Erin's live blog.

The Good:

Andy Pettitte.  The Yanks needed another big effort from Pettitte on Tuesday night and once again the veteran lefty delivered.  It wasn't easy and it wasn't always pretty (Andy blew a first inning 2-0 lead and gave up a game-tying homer to Jason Varitek in the seventh), but Pettitte made the big pitch when he had to and in the end, that's what mattered.  Pettitte won his sixth straight start and picked up his 12th victory of the season with this solid effort: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HR.

Johnny Damon.  Johnny D continued his late-season resurgence -- his two-run homer in the seventh was the game-winner.  I've been a bit tough on Johnny over the course of the season, but he has really turned it on.  Damon is batting .333 in August and has developed into a pretty decent left fielder.  It looks like the Yankee "A" lineup will consist of Damon in left and Matsui in the DH spot.  Hey, whatever works.  Damon finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and the 2 big RBIs.

Derek Jeter.  DJ entered Tuesday night's game battered and bruised and mired in a 5 for 23 slump. But The Captain always seems to come through against the BoSox.  Jeter's solo shot in the fifth gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead and stopped Matsuzaka from settling into a groove.  Jeter finished 1 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and a run batted in.

The Bad:

Joba Chamberlain.  It was Joba's first look against the Red Sox and the rookie right-hander allowed two runners to reach base.  What the hell's going on here?!  I kid, I kid.  It's just been so long since Chamberlain has allowed a walk and a leadoff one to boot.  Actually, it was a positive to watch him work out of a semi-jam in the eighth.  It showed he has the intestinal fortitude for this stuff.  Still, the two runners allowed is going to kill his WHIP.  Joba's totals: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

The Ugly:

A shattered psyche.  Seems like everyone has been screaming for Mike Mussina's head (and with good cause), but the veteran right-hander's state of mind may be in a worse shape than his fastball.  Here's what The Moose had to say after his shellacking on Monday:

"Right now, I let go of [the ball] and I don't feel anything good is going to happen.  It's tough to pitch that way. You can't play the game that way, to feel you have no control over anything, and that's how I feel right now."

Yikes.  I'm not sure if Torre is going to give Mussina another chance, but with The Moose sounding so down, I would say it's a long shot. 

The series continues on Wednesday night as Roger Clemens and Josh Beckett take their turns.  People may call this a battle between two Texans, but Clemens was actually born in Ohio.  Yeah, you don't really hear that often.  Anyway, The Rocket was roughed up in his last start against the Tigers and will be making his first appearance against his former team this season.  He's 8-5 with a 3.85 against Boston in his career.  Beckett will be making his third start against the Bombers on Wednesday.  He's 1-0 with a 5.53 ERA against the Yanks in 2007.

Let's see if the Ohio-native can teach the kid from Texas a few things.

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