Yanks win 7th Straight 7-3 vs Jays

The eyes of the baseball world were on the NY teams Friday afternoon, as the Yanks and Mets were the only matinees around the majors.  The Yankees won their 7th straight, tying their season-high win streak from back on July 3-July 9.  For the first time since re-joining the team as a starter, Ivan Nova didn’t look sharp.  So, Nova was out before he could record the final out of the 5th – leaving Boone Logan to finish off the frame with 2 on.  The Yankees bullpen was strong the rest of the way, with Logan, Robertson, Wood and Mo tossing 4.1 innings of no-hit ball to finish off the win.

That the win came on a day when Girardi proclaimed Alex Rodriguez on track to re-join the starting lineup Sunday got me thinking.  The offense has been surprisingly good in these dog days.  In the 13 games since ARod last played, the Bombers are 10-3.  During that stretch, they’ve scored 6.9 runs per game, including 7.1 runs over the 7-game streak.  Tex and Cano each contributed RBI’s today, but even more notable was another 2-for-3 day for The Grandy Man.  In a small sample – OK, a tiny sample – Curtis Granderson is batting 6-for-10 with 4 extra base hits and 6 RBI’s in the month of September.  The work with Kevin Long seems to finally be paying off for Granderson.

Among all the good, maybe the best note was the much-needed day off for the Captain.  Since August 15th, Derek Jeter has batted .157, with more strikeouts (12) than hits (11).    Compared to Granderson and his 3 straight multi-hit games, Jeter has had exactly ONE multi-hit game in the Yankees last 20.

Javy Vazquez makes his return to the Yankees rotation Saturday in game 2 of the series with the Jays.  But, an even bigger mound moment will take place before the game when Andy Pettitte throws a simulated game with A-Rod.  If all goes well for Pettitte, his next step could be a minor league rehab start.  And, you could make the case that the Yankees need Pettitte more this year than they ever have before.

Side Note:  Good day at the plate for former Yankees great Alfonso Soriano, as he went 2-for-4 with a 3-run home run against Mets knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey.