It wasn't pretty, but at this time of the year, it doesn't have to be.

Alex Rodriguez continued his torrid hitting, Joba Chamberlain pitched two emotional innings and the seventh inning proved lucky once again as the Yanks edged the Royals 3-2 in Kansas City.  Ian Kennedy struggled in his second big league start, but gave the Bombers five "bend but don't break" innings and the pen took it from there as the Yanks won their third straight and now lead the Detroit Tigers by three games for the wild card.

The Good:

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod connected for a homer in his first at-bat on Friday night (and his third straight in as many ABs) to give the Yanks a quick 1-0 lead.  Rodriguez still doesn't look he's firing on all cylinders (and that's pretty scary), but even at "X" percent, he's still the best hitter in the league.  A-Rod now holds the Yankee record for most homers in a season from a right-hander batter (he held the previous mark with 48 HRs during his 2005 MVP season) and is one away from hitting 50 in a season for the third time in his career.  Rodriguez finished 3 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

Joba Chamberlain.  Chamberlain's dad made the trip to KC to watch his kid pitch for the first time in the bigs and he wasn't disappointed.  Joba came into the game in the seventh to protect a 3-2 Yankee lead and pitched two scoreless innings.  It wasn't perfect and it wasn't without it's drama (Billy Butler nearly took Joba deep for the final out of the seventh), but in the end Chamberlain kept his perfect 0.00 ERA intact.  If you haven't heard, Joba's dad is disabled (he contracted polio when he was nine months old) and raised Chamberlain as a single parent.  I'm not going to get all mushy here, but it was something to see Papa Chamberlain cheering his son on.  Good stuff.  Joba's line: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Bobby Abreu.  Oh yeah, Abreu.  El Comedulce drove in the winning run on Friday night with a booming two-out double in the seventh.  Abreu has been swinging a hot stick lately (.389 during the first week of September) and drove in his 92nd run of the season.  Way to go, Bobby.  Abreu finished 1 for 5 with the game-winning ribbie.

The Bad:

Robinson Cano.  Canu was the only Yankee who didn't reach base via a walk or hit on Friday night.  He also struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning.  Robbie saw his average drop just under .300 on the year (.299) with his hitless night.  Cano finished 0 for 4 with the big K and left five runners on base.

The Ugly:

Shutting down.  The Yanks announced that Luis Vizcaino has soreness in his shoulder and won't pitch during the weekend series with the Royals.  Vizcaino has been shaky in his last two appearances (1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K), but the Yankees feel he should bounce back with a little rest.  Let's hope so.  Vizcaino leads the Bombers with 70 appearances, but feels his discomfort isn't due to overuse.  I'm sure it hasn't helped.

Andy Pettitte will try and stretch the Yankee winning streak to four on Saturday night.  Pettitte was a perfect 6-0 in August, but he was smacked around by the D-Rays in his only September start (6.1 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 2 HR).  The Royals will turn to Brian Bannister.  Bannister has had a terrific season for Kansas City (12-7, 3.16 ERA) and is 4-0 in his last four starts.

Time for the Yanks to bring Bannister back to earth.