Yankees Hold Off Jays

Javy Vazquez was shaky in his return to the rotation, but the Yankee bats picked him up and New York pushed its winning streak to a season high eight games.

Vazquez seemed to have carried over his excellent work out of the bullpen in the first three innings of tonight's game, but it all fell apart in the third when he gave up a pair of home runs. The first to Lyle Overbay was a legit shot into the right field seats. Javy had some bad luck on the second one when John McDonald dented the left field pole two batters after Vazquez walked John Buck.

The Yankees got the runs back in the third and Vazquez pitched out of a little trouble in the fourth. Giving the Yankees a chance to take a two-run lead without the benefit of a hit in the bottom half.

That's when we come to the point in the game when Joe Girardi nearly booted it away. With two outs and no one on base Vazquez walked Jose Bautista on a full count and then surrendered a single to Vernon Wells that pushed Bautista to third. Girardi decided that was enough and went to the pen. Much to the dismay of Javy.

Girardi believed that Dustin Moseley would somehow be a shut down reliever in this instance, and predictably the righthander gave up a double to Lyle Overbay to tie the game. There is a time and a place to use a pitcher like Moseley, and this afternoon was not one of them.

He is an innings eater, and anything you get out of him beyond that is icing on the cake. Really the Yanks should cut ties with him while they are still in the black. Moseley has had good luck in his few outings so far, but now the cracks are showing. New York already have two of him in the bullpen with Sergio Mitre and Chad Guadin out there, there is no need for a third of the same.

The Yanks managed to pull back in front when Marcus Thames found his stroke versus Jason Frasor and deposited his 11 homer of the year into the Blue Jay bullpen. The Yankee bullpen continued its dominant run with four scoreless innings.

It was a good win for the Yanks and they have a decent shot at the sweep with Phil Hughes taking on Brett Cecil in the fourth of five straight daytime affairs in the Bronx.