• Yankees 16, Royals 8: It was bound to happen and it took a little while, but Alex Rodriguez became the 22nd player in Major League history to hit 500 career home runs and the youngest player to reach that mark. A-Rod got it done early in the game, hitting a three-run shot in the 1st inning of yesterday's win against the Royals, which is the same team he hit #499 off of on July 25th. For future trivia usage, A-Rod hit the first pitch he saw from Royals starter Kyle Davies into the left field stands and he becomes the 3rd player to reach the milestone in a Yankees uniform (Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle). Like the first inning, the rest of the game was a run-fest, with the two teams combining for 33 hits. The Yankees are now 10 games over .500 for the first time this season. Nationally, #500 for A-Rod is overshadowed by Barry Bonds tying Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 in San Diego, a mark that Rodriguez should break if he stays healthy and continues to play. Bonds had 180 fewer home runs when he was Rodriguez's age.
• Cubs 6, Mets 2: Perhaps John Maine didn't get enough work in his last outting when he pitched a rain-shortened 5-inning complete game. He didn't even last that long in yesterday's game. Maine was pulled after only 2 2/3 innings as he allowed 6 Cubs runs in the 3rd inning, all with two outs. That was all the Mets would give up, but it was also all the Cubs would need. In the inning, Maine hit one batter, walked three, and gave up four hits. It was his first loss in three starts. Ted Lilly held the Mets to only two runs, both on Moises Alou solo home runs, over 7 2/3 innings.
• Cyclones 7, Tigers 2: The Cyclones avenged an extra inning loss Friday night with an easy win Saturday. They broke open the tie game, scoring 5 total runs in the 5th and 6th innings.

Alex Rodriguez came to the plate in the fifth inning with the Yankees trailing 4-3, one out and the bases loaded. He was batting .197 at the time with runners in scoring position. There are currently 135 major league players who are hitting BETTER than A-Rod in that same situation. He looked poised and ready to break out of it...and then he hit into a rally-killing double pay to end the inning. If he were in New York, he would have been booed. In Toronto he calmly took of his helmet and went back to work in the field. In the ninth inning he got another chance with the score tied 4-4, A-Rod drove in two runs and lead the Yankees to a 7-4 win over the Blue Jays. more ›

The Yankees took three games over the weekend from a struggling Toronto team to increase their record to 71-39 overall and expand their lead over the Red Sox to 10.5 games. In the first three games of the four game series the Yankees outscored Toronto 25-6. Friday 11-4, Saturday 6-0 and Sunday 8-2 more ›

Kevin Brown struck out seven and allowed only four hits over the 8 innings. Barry Zito got into trouble in the second inning and that lead to 3 runs. It wasn't entirely Zito's fault as Alex Rodriguez reached base on left fielder Eric Byrnes error. Jorge Posada flied out to center for the first out of the inning. Then Hideki Matsui singled to right, A-rod to second. Ruben Sierra then doubled to left field and A-rod scored moving Matsui to third. Newly acquired John Olerud then doubled to deep left scoring Matsui and Sierra. more ›

The Yankees most consistent pitcher of late, Orlando Hernandez, officially became a Yankee pitcher yesterday when he pulled up lame in the 3rd inning. Hernandez suffered from a tight hamstring. No word yet on whether this will affect his next start. Somehow the likes of Juan Padilla, Bret Prinz, Scott Proctor, and Tom Gordon held the Blue Jays in check long enough for the Yankee offense to score 4 in the 8th inning and 2 in the ninth inning for their fourth straight win over the Blue Jays this year. (Box Score 7-4) more ›

Ted Lilly pitched six and two-thirds of three hit, shutout baseball. Lilly struck out six and walked only two. Lilly was relieved by Terry Adams. Adams pitched his way out of the seventh inning. Vinny Chulk relieved Adams and Struck out three in an inning and two-thirds before giving up the home run to Ruben Sierra. Chulk took the loss to move his record to 0-2 with a 3.07 ERA. more ›

Hentgen lasted only two and two-thirds innings, giving up eight earned runs, seven hits, four walks and striking out zero. Vazquez managed to go six innings, giving up nine hits, three earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Felix Heredia, Juan Padilla and Paul Quantrill finished off the game, without allowing another Blue Jays run and allowing only two more hits. more ›

Victor Zambrano took the hill for Tampa Bay and he has beaten the Yankees three times this year. The fourth win would not e in the cards for Victor on this day. Zambrano struck out seven in five and two-thirds innings and gave up three earned runs. Zambrano ran his record to 9-6 on the year. more ›

Freddy Garcia, once a player named in trade speculation, is gone. The Mariners said that Dioner Navarro and Robinson Chano were just not enough for him, so they traded him to the White Sox. Who does that leave for the Yankees to go after? Kris Benson, Russ Ortiz, Ted Lilly and Jamie Moyer are some of the names that rumored to be available. The big name out there is Randy Johnson. With Arizona falling further and further behind in the race in NL, all eyes are on the Big Unit. more ›