Nothing like a well-pitched game to pick up the spirits.

Chien-Ming Wang pitched eight outstanding innings, Bobby Abreu stole three bases and Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon hit back-to-back triples in the sixth as the Yanks tripped up the Tigers 7-2 on a Saturday night in Detroit Rock City.  The Red Sox won so no change in the AL East standings, but the M's lost so the Yanks now stand two games back of Seattle in the wild card chase.

And I made it through this whole game without falling asleep.  Yep, I am proud of myself. 

The Good:

Chien-Ming Wang.  Wang continued his dominance over the Tigers on Saturday night.  The Wanger improved to 5-0 in his career against Detroit with his best effort in nearly a month.  The only rough patch for the Yankee ace came in the fifth when he allowed a stolen base, crossed up Posada for a passed ball and uncorked a wild pitch.  That cut the Yankee lead to 3-2, but the Bombers picked up their starter with a four-spot in the top of the sixth and Wang never looked back.  He also gave the pen a rest after they pitched 5 2/3 innings on Friday night.  The Yankee righty looked a bit shaky in his last three starts, but the Yanks went 2-1 in those games and it now looks like the old Wang is back.  The Wanger picked up his 15th win with this: 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 6 K, 1 WP.

Melky Cabrera.  Cabrera only had one hit on Saturday night, but it was a big one.  His three-run triple in the sixth broke the game open and gave the Yanks a commanding 6-2 lead.  The Melk-Man may have cooled a bit from his sizzling July, but he's still batting over .300 in the month of August and has hit safely in six of his last seven games.  Not too shabby.  Melky finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBIs.

Johnny Damon.  It looked like Damon would be the odd man out when Jason Giambi rejoined the team, but Johnny is making it tough for Torre to remove him from the leadoff spot.  His homer in the third increased the Yankee lead to 3-1 and he capped the Yankee scoring with an RBI-triple in the sixth.  Damon had his third straight multi-hit game and he's hitting a smoking .416 in his last seven games.  Keep riding the hot hand, Joe.  Johnny D finished 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 RBI.

The Bad:

Jorge Posada.  Jorgie had a rough night.  He allowed two stolen bases, picked up a passed ball and left seven runners on base.  He also went hitless at the plate.  Shake it off, Jorge.  Posada finished 0 for 5.

The Ugly:

Just let it go.  Placido Polanco had his record errorless streak for a second baseman stopped at 147 games when he committed a boo boo early in Friday night's game.  Well, now it looks like he didn't commit that error.  The official scorer met with the umpiring crew and changed the error to first baseman Marcus Thames.  Was that really necessary?  Would the scorer have met with the umpiring crew if Polanco didn't have a streak going?  Also, that error came in the first inning of a game that ended at about 3:30 in the morning.  How did the official scorer even remember that play?  Someone must have been in his ear and if that's the case, then that's really weak.  And who even cares about a second baseman's errorless streak?  I sure don't.

The Yanks will try and make it two straight against the Tigers and send rookie Phil Hughes to the hill.  Hughes has been inconsistent since returning from the DL, but he's pitched better on the road and holds an impressive 2.89 ERA away from the Bronx.  He's also held righties to a paltry .213 batting average this season.  Detroit counters with a rookie of their own -- Jair Jurrjens.  The lanky righty has only two big league starts under his belt and will be making his first appearance against a team other than the Cleveland Indians.  He's 1-1 with a 3.29 ERA so far this season.

Time to welcome the kid to the Majors -- Yankee style.