The Moose is back!

OK, maybe not back, but he pitched his best game in months, Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano came through with big hits and the pen did just enough as the Yanks dropped the Blue Jays 4-1 for their seventh straight victory.  The Bombers were out-hit 7 to 4, but made their hits count as they kept serve with the Tigers and remained four games up in the wild card chase.  The D-Rays managed to blow another one against Boston so the Red Sox lead in the AL East still stands at five.

The Good:

Mike Mussina.  By Zeus' beard, I think Mussina has finally figured it out!  I wasn't expecting much from The Moose, but he really put me in my place.  I'm not a huge fan of the radar gun, but Mussina's fastball was registering at 90 to 91 mph on Wednesday night and Blue Jay batters were fouling off pitches the other way.  Mussina also kept the ball down and had some nasty bite on his breaking stuff.  The Moose kept the Blue Jays off balance and was getting ahead of batters.  He was actually pitching on Wednesday night.  Good show, old boy!  I don't know if he has another one of these in him (or if he'll get another chance), but it was great to see a bit of the old Moose.  Mussina's winning totals: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.

Hideki Matsui.  Matsui may be coming out of his funk.  Godzilla got the Yanks on the board early with a two-run opposite field double in the first.  In the top of the fourth, he battled back from an 0-2 count and worked out a walk which began a two-run Yankee rally.  Both are good signs.  Matsui finished 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a run scored, a stolen base and 2 RBIs.

Robinson Cano.  Don't cha know!  Cano extended the Yankee lead to 4-0 with a two-run single to left in the fourth.  It was Robbie's 81st and 82nd runs batted in on the season.  Canu continues to make his claim as the best seventh/eighth place hitter in the league.  Cano also made some dandy plays in the field including a pretty snare on a line drive that turned into a double play in the fifth.  Cano finished 1 for 4 with with 2 runs batted in.

The Bad:

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod finished 0 for 3 on Wednesday night with a walk and a run scored, but he earns my wrath for his defense.  His throwing error in the eighth gave the Blue Jays their only run of the game and also ruined Joba Chamberlain's perfect line.  True, it goes down as an unearned run, but Rodriguez's blunder still messed up Joba's string of zeroes.  It also forced Torre to bring in Rivera for a four-out save.

The Ugly:

Frankenstein's pain.  Shelley Duncan had an MRI on Wednesday and was diagnosed with a bone bruise on his left pelvis and a small inguinal hernia.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that it looks like Duncan won't need immediate surgery and is scheduled to rejoin the Yanks on Thursday in Toronto.  In a strange coincidence, Shelley's brother Chris left the Cardinals earlier in the week to determine if he needs season-ending surgery on a sports hernia.  I guess it's something between the brothers.

The Yanks go for the sweep on Thursday and will give the assignment to Ian Kennedy.  The rookie has pitched well in his two starts this season (1-0, 2.25 ERA) and will be making his first start north of the border for the Yankees.  The Blue Jays will counter with the talented but oft-injured A.J. Burnett.  Burnett missed the entire month of July with a sore shoulder, but he's pitched well since his return from the DL.  He's 8-7 with a 3.56 ERA on the season.  Burnett beat the Yanks way back in April with a sparkling start (7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 5 K). 

Let's see if the rook can make it a crazy eight in a row for the Bombers.