On the Yankees beat

Alex Rodriguez ran in the outfield then ran the bases today. He was at pretty close to full strength, said running at probably 95 percent. Girardi said: "Alex had a great day." The plan is for him to work out tomorrow, play third in an extended spring training game Saturday, DH in a simulated game Sunday and play third in an extended spring game Monday. If everything goes well he would then be activated and play third for the Yankees starting Tuesday.

Said Rodriguez about running with no pain: "It's a relief, but I've also been seeing the progression, so it was something that I expected."

Kei Igawa was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for today's starter, Ian Kennedy. Igawa gave a statement that was sent via media relations: "I am disappointed that I was not able to produce the results that I wanted, as well as what was expected out of the team. Moving forward, I will continue to work hard to be able to contribute to the team in the future."

Catcher Francisco Cervelli is here and will fly with the team to New York to be examined.

Pregame chatter

Yankees (20-21) at Tampa Bay Rays (23-17), 4:10 p.m.

Starters: Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.37) for the Yankees and Scott Kazmir (1-1, 2.70) for the Rays.

Hello, It's Me: Kennedy gets a second chance to make a better impression. He was demoted to the minors on May 4 after recording a horrible 8.37 earned run average in seven starts. The alternative would have been more Kei Igawa. But Kennedy did pitch 7 1/3 shutout innings for Scranton-Wilkes Barre on May 6 (including one hit and eight strikeouts).

Ray of hope: Kazmir makes his third start following a one-month stint on the disabled list. He allowed just three hits with six strikeouts in six shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Saturday. Kazmir agreed to a four-year contract worth $28.5 million on Wednesday.

Be back after the Yankees bat in the top of the first inning.

Top of 1st: Kazmir gets a 1-2-3 inning. With the lineup the Yankees have out there, it will be interesting to see what offense they can produce.

Bottom of 1st: Akinori Iwamura leads off with a home run to right. Bad start for Kennedy. Rays 1, Yankees 0.

Top of 2nd: First Yankees baserunner ........ Morgan Ensberg, who walked with two outs. Robinson Cano, fresh off a 4-for-4 night, struck out looking to end the inning.

Bottom of 2nd: 1-2-3 inning for Kennedy, including a strikeout of Eric Hinske.

Top of 3rd: Kazmir is cruising - and looking very good. Another 1-2-3 inning. He picked up his second strikeout of the game, getting Molina.

Bottom of 3rd: Shawn Riggans singles to center to start. Kennedy hits Ben Zobrist. After a good bottom of the second, Kennedy is in trouble. Iwamura walks to load the bases. Even more trouble. Carl Crawford flies out to left, scoring Riggans. B.J. Upton grounds out, runners move up. Kennedy strikes out the dangerous Pena. For a bases loaded situation and no outs, not a bad job by Kennedy. Rays 2, Yankees 0.

Top of 4th: Melky Cabrera gets the Yankees' first hit of the day, a single to left. Jeter grounds out to Evan Longoria, with Melky going to second. Melky was lucky he did not get picked off earlier in the at-bat. Giambi hits a high popup to Riggans in foul territory. Duncan flies out to left.

Bottom of 4th: Two quick outs for Kennedy before Hinske hit a double to right. Hinske, not known for his running, just beat the throw by Duncan. The throw was a little off line. Riggans followed with a two-run home run to deep left. A flat slider straight down the middle of the plate. Rays 4, Yankees 0.

Top of 5th: Ensberg walks to lead. Cano grounds into a fielder's choice. Credit Ensberg for pausing, which got him safely to second and into scoring position. Alberto Gonzalez walks. Molina flew out to center, Ensberg tagged up and made it to third, despite a strong throw by Upton. Damon hits a looper to second and that ends the inning.

Bottom of 5th: Iwamura starts with a double to right. Crawford hits a fly to center and Iwamura tags and goes to third. Upton hits another flyball to center, deep enough to score Iwamura. Rays 5, Yankees 0.

Top of 6th: Jeter gets a one-out single to center, the 2,400th of his career. That's the second hit off Kazmir. Giambi strikes out looking. Giambi hasn't had a good history against Kazmir and it's showing today. Duncan singles to left. Ensberg flies to centerfield as Kazmir passes the 100-pitch count.

Bottom of 6th: Kennedy's out, LaTroy Hawkins is in. Hawkins struck out the side in order. Impressive! Line on Kennedy: five innings, five hits, five earned runs, three strikeouts and one walk, 78 pitches.

Top of 7th: Kazmir is gone. Good start, though. Cano greets reliever Gary Glover with a single. Bobby Abreu, pinch-hitting for Gonalez, fouls out. Molina singles to right, past a diving Pena. Runners at first and second. Damon flies out to left. It's up to Melky to get the Yankees on the scoreboard. Line-drive single to centerfield, scoring Cano. Jeter singles to score Molina. Melky goes to third. That's all for Glover. Lefty Trever Miller is in to face Giambi. Giambi hits a flyball to centerfield. Rays 5, Yankees 2. Line on Kazmir: six innings, three hits, no runs, three strikeouts, three walks.

Bottom of 7th: Jose Veras is in. I thought Hawkins looked real good last inning. Why not have him go out there for another inning? But another good inning for the bullpen. Veras sets the Rays down in order.

Top of 8th: Hideki Matsui bats for Duncan, and Dan Wheeler is in for the Rays. Matsui strikes out. Ensberg strikes out. Cano flies out to left. The bats go quiet again.

Bottom of 8th: Another reliever, this time Edwar Ramirez. The bullpen remains perfect, as Ramirez gets a 1-2-3 inning. Nine up, nine down for the bullpen.

Top of 9th: Troy Percival is in to close it out for the Rays. Abreu strikes out looking. Molina strikes out swinging. All fastballs against Molina, the last one at 91. Damon flies out to left. FINAL: Rays 5, Yankees 2.

About the Yankees' pregame team meeting today:

Details were scarce, as they were clearly told not to divulge information, but here are a few little things. Mike Mussina said that aside from the fact that they had 40 guys (or so) in a small room, it was as civil/non-contentious as talking things out over drinks at a bar. Yes, they were talking about problems and playing better, but this was not throwing tables or something.

Joe Girardi had no interest in passing along any information, but he did indicate that last night's game brought on the meeting. He said: "Sometimes it's good to collect your thoughts. ... To me, it's always better to sleep on it."

So Hank Steinbrenner saw a victory. He didn't return phone calls, unfortunately, so I have no first-hand comments from him. Mussina had a couple of good lines, though, including this one after someone said he's used to the Yankees beating up on the back end of the division: "We are the back end of the division."

And did being a veteran help given all the things swirling around the team -- meeting/Hank Steinbrenner comments? "Veteran or not, it helps being here eight years and knowing that that stuff happens a lot here. There's huge expectations here. We have our own huge expectations."

And also: "You're certainly not going to go a whole year playing for the Yankees without somebody upstairs talking about you, because that happens. And you're certainly not going to go the whole year without having meetings."

Don't look now but Robinson Cano is batting .350 (14-of-40) in May. And Mussina has won his last five starts with a 2.76 ERA in those games.

Pregame chatter

Yankees (19-21) at Tampa Bay Rays (23-16), 7:10 p.m.

Starters: Mike Mussina (5-3, 4.36) for the Yankees and James Shields (4-2, 3.14) for the Rays.

Last starts: Shields pitched a one-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday. He struck out eight without walking a batter. Mussina has won his last four starts. He beat the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, allowing three runs and four hits in five innings.

Red-hot Rays: The first-place Rays try to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 12 games tonight.

Be back after the first pitch.

Top of 1st: Shields retires the Yankees in order. Not sure I like Bobby Abreu batting second. Derek Jeter in the third spot is intriguing.

Bottom of 1st: Real nice diving stop of a Carl Crawford hard grounder down the first-base line by Jason Giambi. Perhaps Joe Girardi's pregame meeting did some good. Mussina sends the Rays down, 1-2-3.

Top of 2nd: Shields retired the first five batters, including a strikeout of Hideki Matsui on a backdoor slider. Robinson Cano bounced a groundball up the middle for a single. Melky Cabrera bounced a grounder to first baseman Carlos Pena. Pena tried to get Cano at second base, but he threw the ball into the leftfield, putting runners at second and third. Score that a fielder's choice and an error. Morgan Ensberg grounded out to shortstop. A missed opportunity for the Yankees.

Bottom of 2nd: Pena avoided the shift the Yankees were using on him, grounding the ball to where Morgan Ensberg, who was playing shortstop, should've been. A single for Pena. Evan Longoria grounded into a double play. Cliff Floyd - Yes, Cliff Floyd! - singled past Cano. Dioner Navarro hit a ball off the glove of Derek Jeter. Floyd tried to go to third base, but Cabrera threw him out. Great laser throw by Melky.

Top of 3rd: 1-2-3 inning for Shields, who ended the inning with a strikeout of Abreu.

Bottom of 3rd: Mussina counters with a 1-2-3 inning. He looked good that inning. Nice movement on his pitches, good command.

Top of 4th: Matsui gets a two-out double to left-center. Cano singles up the middle, his second hit of the game, to drive in Matsui. Yankees 1, Rays 0.

Bottom of 4th: Mussina got two quick outs, including a strikeout of Upton. Pena lined a single over Derek Jeter, playing behind second base, and into centerfield. But that was it. Still 1-0.

Top of 5th: Ensberg leads off with a single. Jose Molina sacrifices him to second. Shields got a big strikeout of Johnny Damon with his signature pitch - a changeup. Abreu blooped a double inside the leftfield foul line, scoring Ensberg. Shields struck out Jeter. Yankees 2, Rays 0.

Bottom of 5th: Again, two quick outs for Mussina. Gabe Gross doubled to deep left-center. Jason Bartlett grounded to Giambi, who made a diving stop and flipped to Mussina. Mussina just beat Bartlett, sliding head-first, to the bag.

Top of 6th: Another hit by Cano - a single to center. He's 3 for 3 tonight. Only eight pitches thrown by Shields that inning. We're still 2-0, Yanks.

Bottom of 6th: Nice, quick inning for Mussina. He's giving the Yankees exactly what they needed tonight - 7 or more innings.

Top of 7th: Ensberg draws a leadoff walk. Molina again sacrifices Ensberg to second base. Damons grounds out, 5-3. Abreu also grounded out.

Bottom of 7th: Longoria drew a one-out walk. That was it for Mussina, who pitched very well. Cliff Floyd followed with a single against the new pitcher - Ross Ohlendorf. Dioner Navarro singles to center to score Longoria. But Gross lined to Jeter, who flipped to Cano to double off Floyd. Very big play to get out of the jam. Line on Mussina: 6.1 innings, five hits, one earned run, four strikeouts and one walk. Yankees 2, Rays 1.

Top of 8th: Giambi drew a one-out walk and that was all for Shields. Trever Miller relieved and got Matsui to ground into a double play.

Bottom of 8th: Joba is in. He started by striking out Bartlett. Iwamura got a one-out walk, with Joba missing on a 3-2 slider. Joba struck out Crawford and then struck out Upton on a high fastball. We move to the ninth!

Top of 9th: Cano singles to right. He's 4 for 4 tonight. But a strike'em-out, throw'em-out double play leaves the bases empty. Al Reyes is coming in to face Ensberg. Ensberg flies to right. Time to go to Mo.

Bottom of 9th: Cano, playing in short rightfield for the Pena shift, is able to track down Pena's bloop to short center. Longoria goes down swinging. Floyd grounds out to Jeter, 6-3. The Rays' home winning streak, which dates back to April 15, is over. FINAL: Yankees 2, Rays 1.

Hank Steinbrenner isn't the only one unhappy with the way the Yankees are playing. Joe Girardi had a team meeting that lasted 35 minutes today. What they discussed, they have no desire to share. But presumably something about playing better. Girardi said it was from his heart, not to do with Hank's comments.

Lineup shakeup today

Yankees
Damon LF
Abreu RF
Jeter SS
Giambi 1B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Ensberg 3B
Molina C

Mussina P

Rays
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Floyd DH
Navarro C
Gross RF
Bartlett SS

Shields RHP

He speaks to Newsday, says he still roots for the Yankees.

Hank Steinbrenner is ticked off with the team's play. Here is what he told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post:

*We've got to forget about all the injuries and start playing our butts off.

*The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing. These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money.

*We have good professional hitters and I have a lot of faith in them. I'm not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder.

*(They've) got to start playing the way the Rays are playing. (The Yankees) need to start treating it like when they were younger players and going after that big contract, like they're in (Triple-A) and trying to make the majors. That's the kind of attitude and fire the players have to have.

*There's no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We've got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it. This is going to get turned around. If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too.

Not even Mariano Rivera could pitch the Yankees to a win last night. Rivera allowed the first run he had given up all season, that in the 11th inning against the Rays, who walked off 2-1 winners and climbed into first place in the American League East.

Hideki Matsui hit a solo home run off Troy Percival with one out in the ninth, a homer that tied the game and sent it into extra innings. Joe Girardi said afterwards that he thought then: "You feel like today's the day you're coming back. Today's the day we're getting the comeback win."

But it was not. The Yankees are 0-19 when trailing after eight innings. They are also 19-0 when leading after eight. Last night was not the night they reversed the trend.

Rivera gave up a leadoff single to Cliff Floyd to begin the 11th, a hard-hit grounder to rightfield. The Rays pinch-ran Jonny Gomes, who stole second. Gomes scored on a single to centerfield by Gabe Gross. “I didn’t do my job,” Rivera said afterwards.
That sentiment is one that Rivera has not had to utter all year.
“He doesn’t do it very often,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Rivera losing a game. “It kind of shocks you when it happens.”

The bigger problem is the Yankees' lack of offense. They've scored a total of two runs in the past two games. That's not a recipe for victory.

Here's some pre-game info. Spoke with Alex Rodriguez earlier this afternoon. He's aiming to play Tuesday. He will stay here this weekend when the Yankees leave and probably play in some rehab games. He's feeling pretty good, wants to get back into games but said he has to be smart about it.

Goose Gossage, who had some critical comments about Joba Chamberlain's emotional reactions on the mound, called Joba today to give Joba his side. They're cool now, no hard feelings.

Otherwise, not too much from pre-game. Pretty quiet for once. Joe Girardi caught Andrew Brackman -- who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. That's about all the excitement.

Hey Yankee fans! After Monday’s 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay (22-16), Chien-Ming Wang will try to get the Yankees (19-20) back on track by snapping the Rays franchise-record 10-game home winning streak. The 28-year-old right-hander is 6-1 on the season with a 3.12 ERA. He is going against Edwin Jackson, who is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA.

Hard to imagine, but the Rays have won 14 of 19 overall and are a half game behind Boston in the East. Here is tonight's lineup.

Yankees
Damon dh
Jeter ss
Abreu rf
Matsui lf
Giambi 1b
Cabrera cf
Cano 2b
Gonzalez 3b
Molina c
Wang RHP

Rays
Iwamura 2b
Crawford lf
Upton cf
Pena 1b
Longoria 3b
Floyd dh
Hinske rf
Navarro c
Bartlett ss
Jackson RHP

Will be back after the Yankees bat.

Top of 1st: Damon led off the game with an infield single, but Jeter and Abreu struck out and Matsui lined out to first.

Bottom of 1st: It was a relatively easy inning for Wang. His sinker was working early as he got Iwamura and Crawford to ground out to Cano. After walking Upton, he struck out Pena.

Top of 2nd: The Yankees had something going as Giambi and Melky had back-to-back singles to start the inning, but with runners on first and third and one out, Gonzalez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Talk about a rally killer.

Bottom of 2nd: Matsui made a nice basket catch on a ball hit by Longoria. Not much else happened. Cliff Floyd (remember him?) walked and was erased as Hinske grounded into a double play.

Top of 3rd: The Yanks go down in order. Molina grounded out, Damon struck out and Jeter flied out.

Bottom of 3rd: Wang worked in and out of trouble. He allowed singles to Navarro (who was erased on a Bartlett dp) and Iwamura and walked Crawford before getting Upton to fly out to deep center. Still no score.

Top of 4th: It appears the Yankees are still in their hitting slump. Abreu grounded out to second (though he hit the ball hard); Matsui flied out to center, Giambi walked and Melky struck out. Boy, do they miss A-Rod.

Bottom of 4th: Those pesky Rays got on the board after Pena led off with a double and scored on a single by Hinske. Wang had two strikes on Hinske (with two outs in the inning) but he couldn’t finish him off. Rays 1, Yankees 0.

Top of 5th: Just like Garza last night, the Yankees are making Jackson look like an All-Star. Cano, Gonzalez and Molina go down in order.

Bottom of 5th: Cano made a nice play getting to a ball that Upton hit as the Rays are retired in order.

Top of 6th: Ok, let’s face it. The Rays have got the Yankees’ number. Following a one-out triple by Jeter, Abreu grounded out and Matsui popped out to short to end the inning and the Yankees wasted a great opportunity to score. By the way, Jeter’s hit should have only been a single, but Hinske was trying to make SportsCenter as he went for a foolish diving catch. What a dope.

Bottom of 6th: Too bad the Yankees can’t score. They are wasting a good performance from Wang. He allowed a cheap single to Floyd in the inning. That’s it.

Top of 7th: The Yankees had a runner on third with two outs, but Shelley Duncan, who hit for Gonzalez, was caught looking at strike three to end the inning.

Bottom of 7th: Wang allowed just a single to Iwamura in the inning. He is at 101 pitches.

Top of 8th: Dan Wheeler came in for Jackson (five hits with five strikeouts and one walk in seven scoreless innings) and set down the Yanks in order, striking out two. This is not looking good. One more inning to go for the Yankees. Still 1-0, Rays.

Bottom of 8th: Joba came in for Wang (1 run on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts in seven innings) and pitched in and out of trouble. He allowed a one out walk to Pena and a single to Longoria before getting the slow-footed Floyd to ground out into a double play.

Top of 9th: Matsui homered (much to the relief of the Yankees) off 37-year-old closer Troy Percival to tie the game at 1. Percival was going for his 334th career save. He is fourth on the active saves list, behind Trevor Hoffman (530), Rivera (453) and Billy Wagner (365). Yankees 1, Rays 1.

Bottom of 9th: Kyle Farnsworth entered the inning and issued a walk to Navarro before getting Iwamura to fly out to Matsui.

Top of 10th: Not much for the Yankees in extra innings as Ensberg, Molina and Damon are retired in order. Looks like Rivera is coming in to pitch the bottom half of the 10th.

Bottom of 10th: Rivera kept the Rays in check. He allowed a leadoff single to Crawford, but nothing else.

Top of 11th: The Yankees fail to score in the inning. Matsui, the hero in the ninth, grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Bottom of 11th: I bet no one saw this coming. Rivera gives up a run in a tie game and takes a loss. Unbelievable. Floyd led off the inning with a single. He was lifted for a pinch runner, Gomes, who stole second and scored the game-winner on a single by Gabe Gross. Final: Rays 2, Yanks 1.

Here are some tidbits Alex Rodriguez gave to the Associated Press after woring out in Tampa. It's not anything too new since yesterday, but here ya go:

"We're aiming for Tuesday at home," Rodriguez said after working out at the team's minor league complex. "You've got to be smart, so it's a good way to go."

The All-Star third baseman is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps. He hasn't played since April 28 and is eligible to come off the DL this Thursday.

"Everyday it's much better," he said Tuesday.

Rodriguez took batting practice, fielded grounders and ran in the outfield during his latest workout.

"I ran about 90 percent today," Rodriguez said. "It felt pretty good running. I went from an 80 yesterday to about 90 today."

Rodriguez hasn't started running the bases, which normally is one of the final steps in a rehab program. He will remain in Florida when the Yankees finish a four-games series at Tampa Bay on Thursday, and expects to play third base immediately when he comes off the DL.

"I've got plenty of time down here to do all my work," Rodriguez said. "With our team, it's important for me to be at third base. It's frustrating because I feel like I need to be out there to help the team, but, you've got to listen to the medical staff."

Rodriguez underwent a second MRI exam Monday, which showed improvement but also indicated the injury was not completely healed.

The Yankees lost 7-1 tonight. Andy Pettitte wasn't good, giving up five earned runs in four innings (four of them in the fourth). But the real problem was the Yankees' offense. They managed only five hits and no runs against Matt Garza, who came at them with well-located fastballs inside and outside the plate. The Yankees have scored two or fewer runs 10 times this season, and those are games that a team will rarely win (they've won two).

The erratic offense is one reason that they have not managed to maneuver far above the .500 mark. They have been at .500 on 16 different occasions since playing their first game this year, and have spent just three days more than a game above or below .500.

"It's been a battle all year," Pettitte said of the team. "We just, we haven't been able to put it together as a staff."

Pettitte was hard on himself, saying: "It's just pathetic on my part now."

The Yankees badly miss Alex Rodriguez (strained right quadriceps) and Jorge Posada (rotator cuff tendonitis), but any player will tell you they are capable of doing more even without that duo.

From Bobby Abreu: "No panic. We're going to be OK. Sometimes you're fighting as a team, and that's what we're doing right now."

More from Abreu on missing Rodriguez/Posada: "Of course Alex is the best player in the game. We need him, and Posada too, he's our catcher and a good switch-hitter. But we have to just go out there and do our thing. We don't have to sit and wait for them."

From Hideki Matsui: "There's no doubt that you can't substitute or replace a player like Alex or Posada, but it doesn't mean we can't score as a team."

And it is official: The Yankees will have Ian Kennedy start Thursday against the Rays. Said Joe Girardi: "We're going to give him a shot. We felt pretty good about his last outing."

They basically talked about either Kennedy or Kei Igawa starting.

Hey Yankee fans! Marc Jimenez here as tonight's blogger. With Sunday's rainout against Detroit, the Yankees (19-19) have pushed back their rotation, so Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77 ERA) will be the starter. (Bonus: Kei Igawa might not make another start.) Pettitte pitched well in his last outing, allowing two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings against Cleveland on Tuesday, but he received a no-decision after Joba Chamberlain served up a well publicized two-run homer to former Yankee David Dellucci.

Hopefully that doesn't happen tonight as the Yankees will try to contain the Tampa Bay Rays (21-16), who are suddenly looking like a real team this year. Tampa Bay is five games over .500 for the first time ever and is looking to set a franchise-best 10 straight wins at Tropicana Field. But the Rays are just 2-4 against the Yankees this season, so it won't be easy. Matt Garza (1-1, 4.91 ERA) is going tonight. He gave up a run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings in a loss against Toronto on Wednesday.

Will be back after the Yankees bat.

Top of 1st: The Yankees go down in order. Damon popped out. Jeter grounded out and Abreu struck out.

Bottom of 1st: Pettitte looked good to start the inning. He fanned Iwamura and Crawford and got Upton to ground out to Cano. Where would the Yankees be without him?

Top of 2nd: Not much cooking for the Yankees this inning. Matsui struck out while Giambi and Cabrera popped out.

Bottom of 2nd: Pettitte allowed a bloop RBI single to Navarro as the Rays got on the board. He was on his way to a 1-2-3 inning after retiring Pena and Longoria, but Gomes singled to center and stole second before scoring. It looked like Cabrera could have caught Gomes’ ball to end the inning, but he let it bounce in front of him. Rays 1, Yankees 0.

Top of 3rd: Garza is pitching pretty well. Cano reached on an infield single, but he was erased on a Molina double play. Gonzalez followed with a base hit before Damon popped out to end the inning.

Bottom of 3rd: Pettitte worked around a two-out single to Crawford and a walk to Upton by striking out Pena.

Top of 4th: The Yankees are still not able to get anything done against Garza. Jeter popped out, Abreu flied out and Giambi flied out after a Matsui walk.

Bottom of 4th: Ugly inning for Pettitte. Following a double by Longoria, he served up an RBI single to Gomes, who later scored (with Hinske) on a two-run triple by Bartlett. Then Iwamura followed with a single. Four runs on five hits (Ughh!) Rays 5, Yankees 0.

Top of 5th: The Yankees go away quietly. Cabrera led off with a single, but Cano lined out to short and Molina grounded into a double play.

Bottom of 5th: This was not one of Pettitte’s better outings. He didn’t come out for the fifth after allowing five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Chris Britton came in on relief and walked Longoria, who scored on a base hit by Navorro. Rays 6, Yankees 0.

Top of 6th: The Yankees had first and second with one out on singles by Gonzalez and Jeter, but Abreu grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Bottom of 6th: Ok, something to cheer about. The Yankees kept the Rays off the board. Yippey!

Top of 7th: This is getting hard to watch. The Yankees have just five hits against Garza. Matsui struck out while Cabrera and Cano lined out.

Bottom of 7th: The Rays got another run, making a Yankee comeback highly improbable. Jose Veras replaced Britton to start the inning and allowed a run-scoring ground out to Hinske. Gomes reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring. Rays 7, Yankees 0.

Top of 8th: Attention readers, the Yankees have finally scored a run. It only took Garza to leave the game. Molina doubled off Gary Glover and later scored on Damon’s ground out. Garza, by the way, had his best outing of the year after scattering five hits while striking out three and walking one in seven scoreless innings. He threw 108 pitches, 68 for strikes. Rays 7, Yankees 1.

Bottom of 8th: Veras gave up singles to Iwamura and Pena before Edwar Ramirez came on and struck out Longoria to end the inning. Ok, last chance for the Yanks. Matsui, Giambi and Cabrera are up.

Top of 9th: This one is over. Trever Miller replaced Glover and worked a 1-2-3 inning. Matsui struck out, while Giambi and Cabrera flied out. Final: Rays 7, Yankees 1.

Here's the pre-game news, along with the lineup:

By KAT O’BRIEN
Kat.OBrien@Newsday.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – An MRI today on Alex Rodriguez’s strained right quadriceps muscle showed that the muscle is still not completely healed, and he will not be able to come off the disabled list when eligible on Thursday.
“I don’t see him playing this week,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after hearing the results.
Rodriguez initially injured his quad April 20th in Baltimore. He returned to action that Friday, April 25th, in Cleveland, but re-injured it on Monday, April 28th, in Cleveland and was placed on the disabled list April 30th. The Yankees had been hopeful that today’s MRI would be clean, and that he could start playing in rehab games tomorrow.
But the MRI showed the muscle still has some damage. Said Girardi: “He will not play in rehab games, at least not for a couple days. It’s still not where it needs to be.”
The injury has gotten better, or, Girardi said, they would shut him down completely. Rodriguez will continue to take batting practice and field ground balls at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa. He has not begun to sprint yet.

Igawa out of rotation
Girardi also announced this afternoon that Kei Igawa would not start the next time through the rotation. Igawa made his first major league start of the season on Friday in Detroit. He gave up six earned runs in three innings plus four batters.
“Kei’s in the bullpen tonight,” Girardi said.
Girardi was not ready to announce who will start in Igawa’s place Thursday. He strongly hinted that it will be Ian Kennedy, though. Kennedy was demoted after struggling in the first month of the season. In his lone start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he allowed one hit and hit one batter in 7 1/3 innings. Kennedy’s start yesterday was rained out and he will pitch a shortened outing tonight.
The rotation for the week was announced as Andy Pettitte tonight, Chien-Ming Wang Tuesday, Mike Mussina Wednesday, undecided (Kennedy) Thursday, Darrell Rasner Friday against the Mets, Pettitte again Saturday and Wang Sunday.

Lineup
Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gonzalez 3B

Pettitte LHP

Rays
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Gomes DH
Navarro C
Hinske RF
Bartlett SS

Garza RHP

The Final Score duo debates it. Please tell us who is right here.

The best thing about yesterday's rainout is it gave the Yankees more options as far as ways to skip Kei Igawa in the rotation. I have a really, really hard time believing they would start him Friday against the Mets at Yankee Stadium.

Here are a few options:

They could bring up Ian Kennedy, who was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre at the start of the month The Yankees want to see at least two good outings by him before recalling him, and yesterday's start was rained out, so they would have to bring him up before they'd maybe like to. He'd have to pitch several innings and do well today, then come back on short rest.

If Igawa pitches, it will likely be Thursday against the Rays. If the Yankees decide to dip into the minor leagues, they could bring up Dan Giese (2-2, 1.13 ERA at Scranton), Daniel McCutchen (4-2, 2.15 ERA at Double-A Trenton) or Chase Wright (5-1, 2.54 ERA at Trenton). McCutchen might have been a stronger candidate except his scheduled start yesterday was also rained out.

Skipping Igawa is "a possibility," Girardi said, but "Kei could throw Thursday, as well."

Giese, 30, signed with the Yankees as a minor-league free agent this winter. He made his major-league debut with the Giants last year, posting a 4.82 ERA in eight relief appearances. McCutchen, 25, was a combined 14-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 24 games at Class A Tampa and Trenton last year. Wright, 25, made his major-league debut for the Yankees last year and was 2-0 with a 7.20 ERA in three games.
If the Yankees go with someone other than Igawa, they would probably try to keep Darrell Rasner pitching on his normal rest Thursday and pitch the player who is called up Friday.

Today's game was rained out. They have not announced a makeup date yet, but the two possibilities they're discussing are July 24th and Sept. 1st. Although there are several other mutual off days earlier in the season, it would either cause one team to break the players' association rule of not playing more than 20 consecutive days or is undesirable from a travel standpoint.

Mike Mussina's the Yankees' union rep, and he said Sept. 1st would be preferable if it's a day game. The Yankees start a three-city trip to Tampa, Seattle and Anaheim the next day, so it wouldn't be good to have the super-late arrival in Tampa. A day game then (it's Labor Day) would be better than July 24th though since they'd have to play 20+ games in a row with the July option.

This rainout could allow the Yankees to skip Kei Igawa. They weren't helped in their efforts to do that with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's game getting rained out. Ian Kennedy was slated to start today, and if he had pitched well, he could have pitched Friday. But now Kennedy was pushed back. Igawa may pitch Thursday or Friday, or they could replace him in the rotation.

Hey fans! Marc here as today’s blogger on this Mother’s Day. The Yankees (19-19) are trying to win 2-of-3 as Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77 ERA) will try to out duel fellow lefty Nate Robertson (1-4, 6.64 ERA) and the Tigers (16-22).

It’s raining right now in Detroit. The tarp is still on the field. Looks like they will wait to see if they can get this one in.

Stay tuned for weather updates.

Sorry folks, this one has been postponed. No word on when it will be made up.

Here's the lineup on a rainy day in Detroit. Rainy enough that there's a decent chance this game will not be played today. If it is, though, Derek Jeter is batting cleanup for the second time in his career. That got some ribbing for the captain, who hit his first home run of the season yesterday. Joe Girardi said Jeter would have been hitting fourth even if he didn't homer yesterday. He wanted to give Hideki Matsui a day off, and was trying to avoid stacking the lefthanded hitters too much.

Yankees
Damon LF
Cabrera CF
Abreu DH
Jeter SS
Giambi 1B
Duncan RF
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gonzalez 3B

Pettitte LHP

Tigers
Rodriguez C
Polanco 2B
Guillen 3B
Ordonez DH
Cabrera 1B
Thames RF
Renteria SS
Raburn LF
Inge CF

Robertson LHP

Wilson Betemit left the game in the fourth inning with what has been diagnosed as a strained right hamstring. I assume he'll be headed to the disabled list, adding to the shocking totals on the DL. If that's the case, we'll probably see Alberto Gonzalez soon.

Derek Jeter hit his first home run of the season a few minutes ago, a solo shot to rightfield with one out in the first inning. He had a 128 at-bat homerless streak to start the season, the longest streak to start a season of his career.

Here are some notes on Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi, each of whom has begun having more success in the past few days. In the past seven days, Cano is batting .318 (7-of-22) with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs. Giambi is batting .267 (4-of-15) with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs.

I talked to Giambi before yesterday's game about whether Thursday's game (in which he homered off Paul Byrd) could help jump-start him. He said: "Everybody wants to keep talking about results, and that's what matters. But I'm making contact. It'd be a different situation if I was striking out or not making contact. I feel great (at the plate)."
That's why this slump has been tough for him (still hitting only .178 on the year), because he feels like his approach is one that should bring success. "Trust me, it's not fun to be looking up and see those numbers," said Giambi, who homered last night too.
Just three players in the American League had more than Giambi's seven home runs. Of his 16 hits this season, 12 have gone for extra-bases.

Hey baseball fans, Chris Mascaro here to bring you all the live game action of the Yankees (18-19) and the Tigers (16-21). The Tigers have had the Yankees' number so far this season, going 4-0 against them.

The Yankees sit in 4th place, 4.5 games behind the Red Sox, while the Tigers are also in 4th, but just 3.5 games behind the Twins in a relatively weak AL Central thus far.

Today, Darrell Rasner (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will toss his second game of the season. Since Kei Igawa doesn't really seem like the fix for the Yanks' starting pitching problems, the onus is on Rasner to stick in the rotation until Phil Hughes heals and Ian Kennedy works out his issues down on the farm.

Jeremy Bonderman (2-3, 4.17) gets the ball for the Tigers. He was great in his last start against the Yanks on April 30 at the Stadium.

While watching the first game of the Mets doubleheader, I heard an interesting stat. Gary Cohen said that the Mets have the highest percentage of lefty at-bats in the major leagues at 67 percent. The Yankees were the second at 62. The league average? 42 percent. Surely not having A-Rod (righty) and Posada (switch hitter) in the lineup affects that stat.

Maybe that's why the Yankees are just 4-6 against lefties this season. Won't be a problem today against the righty Robertson, but I thought it was an interesting stat nevertheless.

Okay we're almost ready for baseball on FOX!!

Top of the 1st: The captain homered for the first time this season to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. Then two straight singles by Abreu and Matsui were followed by walks to Giambi and Melky, the latter walking in a run to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead.

Cano hit a rocket to second baseman Ramon Santiago with the bases loaded and one out, but he started a nifty 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and avert potential disaster for the Tigers in the first inning.

Bottom of the 1st: Matt Joyce hit his first career home run, on what looked to be an easy fly ball. But Abreu lost it in the sun and the ball carried right over the right centerfield fence to pull the Tigers within one at 2-1. Otherwise, Rasner looked okay, but the mistake to Joyce cost him.

Top of the 2nd: A 1-2-3 inning for Bonderman. Betemit and Chad Moeller gave the ball a ride, but both were warning track shots. Granderson made a nice running catch on Betemit's drive. Damon struck out for the second time today, and looks uncomfortable with Bonderman's off-speed stuff.

Bottom of the 2nd: Rasner looks like he's settled down now. He got Miguel Cabrera to fly out, struck out Gary Sheffield and got Edgar Renteria to ground out to third. He only has thrown 26 pitches, while his counterpart Bonderman already has 41. Could be a short day for the Tiger starter.

Top of the 3rd: Bonderman looked like he's settled down as well, getting Jeter and Abreu to ground out and then striking out Matsui on three nice sliders.

Bottom of the 3rd: The Tigers squandered a leadoff single by Pudge Rodriguez. Santiago bunted him over, but Granderson grounded out and Joyce popped out. Why did Leyland bunt with no outs and a runner on first? Does he think runs will be at a premium with Rasner dealing? Seemed like an odd play, especially with a guy (Santiago) who's been hitting at a .370 clip this season.

Top of the 4th: Two out hits will get you to heaven, they say. Betemit flied one to the deepest part of the park in dead center to score Robinson Cano, who walked. Yanks lead 3-1, but Betemit looks like he tweaked something on the play, and he was yanked in favor of Morgan Ensberg. The Yanks can't afford any more injuries, so I'm sure they are hoping Betemit's injury isn't serious.

The Yanks are making Bonderman work today. He's got 79 pitches through four innings.

Bottom of the 4th: Rasner has his second 1-2-3 inning of the game. He's given up just two hits through four innings, and thrown just 49 pitches so far. Just what the doctor—er, manager—ordered.

Top of the 5th: After a Jeter single, Girardi dialed up a hit-and-run. Abreu served a pitch into left field, and when Matt Joyce slipped, Jeter was able to score and Abreu moved to second. Yanks took a 4-1 lead.

Leyland lifted Bonderman after that in favor of Bobby Seay. Bonderman went 4+, allowing five earned runs on six hits, with three strikeouts and four walks.

Giambi doubled in Abreu to make it 5-1 Yanks. The run was charged to Bonderman.

Cano singled with two outs but Giambi blew past Bobby Meachem's stop sign at third base and was thrown out by Pudge trying to retreat.

Bottom of the 5th: Rasner walked Sheffield to start the inning (his first base on balls issued this season), but Jeter made a nice stab on a Renteria liner. Sheffield was moving on a hit-and-run, so he was easily doubled up. Seems like Leyland is really trying to manufacture runs against Rasner, but nothing seems to be working. Pudge lined out to end the inning. Rasner has only 60 pithes through five innings. Great effort by him today.

Top of the 6th: Ensberg walked, the fifth issued by Tigers pitching, but Damon grounded out on a fielder's choice and then was thrown out trying to steal second.

Bottom of the 6th: Granderson gave the ball a ride, but Abreu caught it on the warning track for the second out. Joyce singled with two outs, and has two of the Tigers' three hits, but he was stranded there after Guillen grounded into a force out.

Top of the 7th: 1-2-3 go Jeter, Abreu and Matsui off Seay. Still 5-1 Yanks.

Bottom of the 7th: Magglio Ordonez singled to lead the inning off, and Rasner was pulled after 87 pitches in favor of Kyle Farnsworth. He pitched wonderfully, allowing two earned runs on four hits over six innings with one strikeout and one walk.

Farnsworth gave up a single to the first batter he faced, Miguel Cabrera, and then Gary Sheffield ripped a shot down the left-field line to score Ordonez, and make it 5-2 Yanks.

Renteria had a soft pop to Cano for the first out, and then Pudge went down swinging on a 3-2 count. Placido Polanco pinch hit for Santiago and flew out to Jeter to end the inning. After some early jitters, Farnsworth did a nice job getting out of a 2nd and 3rd, no-out jam.

Top of the 8th: Francisco Cruceta came in and sat the Yankees down 1-2-3. He struck Melky out on a nasty changeup. By the way, Seay did a nice job in relief, allowing just two hits and a walk over three innings with one strikeouts and no runs.

Bottom of the 8th: Joba struck out Granderson for the first out and induced ground outs by Joyce and Guillen for a 1-2-3 inning. No fist pumps after the inning. Mo Rivera will face the heart of the Tigers' order in the ninth.

Top of the 9th: Cruceta gave up a two-out bloop single to Damon, but Jeter stranded him there after striking out looking. (Cruceta pumped his fist after the out, for the record.)

Nice job by the Tigers' bullpen keeping the Yankees within reach, with five inning of work and no runs. The offense hasn't chipped away at the lead though.

Bottom of the 9th: Mo Rivera gave up a leadoff single to Magglio Ordonez (7-of-13 off Rivera), but got Cabrera to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Sheffield grounded out to Cano to end the game.

Yanks win, 5-2.

Here's the recap:

WP--Rasner (2-0)
LP--Bonderman (2-4)
HR: NYY 1 (Jeter, 1st), DET 1 (Joyce, 1st)

Yankees (19-19)
Tigers (16-22)

Darrell Rasner threw six innings, allowing two earned runs of four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs, and Bobby Abreu went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs.

Take care everyone!

Here's the lineup for this afternoon's game. For those of you planning to watch, I hear Shelley Duncan's lineup introduction is outstanding. It's on Fox with a 3:40 p.m. start time.
No news yet on Jonathan Albaladejo. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada both had good days this morning in Tampa. Jeff Karstens threw 42 pitches in a simulated game today.
Joe Girardi said he hadn't yet talked with Brian Cashman about Kei Igawa making another start, so the plan has not changed as yet as far as Igawa starting Wednesday.

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Betemit 3B
Moellerr C

Rasner P

Tigers
Granderson CF
Joyce LF
Guillen 3B
Ordonez RF
Cabrera 1B
Sheffield DH
Renteria SS
Rodriguez C
Santiago 2B

Bonderman P

Kei Igawa's first major league start may have been even worse than the numbers indicate. And that's even with him giving up six earned runs on 11 hits in three innings plus four batters. The Tigers had just two (TWO!!) swings and misses against him in 64 pitches. That's brutal.

Yet, after the game, Igawa seemed to have no realization how badly he pitched. He said he wished he had gotten more strikeouts, and that the Tigers found holes with their ground balls. Really?? They launched shots to the outfield all game against him. Joe Girardi said Igawa only commanded his fastball for strikes. Igawa, though, said he thought his changeup was good and slider not too bad.

Hmmm, something's not translating.

Oh, and Jonathan Albaladejo is going on the disabled list. He's headed to New York in the morning to have an MRI on his right elbow.

Hey fans. The last time these two teams played, the Detroit Tigers (15-21) swept the Yankees (18-18) in a three-game series at the Stadium. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again. The Yankees have Kei Igawa starting tonight. You remember him, right? The Yankees signed Igawa last year, but he was ineffective as a starter and was demoted. Well, he’s back. Given that Phil Hughes is hurt and Ian Kennedy has under-performed, Igawa has a second chance to show what he can (or cannot) do. At Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Igawa went 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He is going up against Kenny Rogers, who is 2-3 with a 6.27 ERA.

Top of 1st: The Yanks had something cooking with two on and one out, but Rogers, the crafty veteran, got Matsui to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Bottom of 1st: It wasn’t a pretty inning for Igawa. He got hit hard, allowed a leadoff double to Ivan Rodriguez, who later scored on sacrifice fly by Carlos Guillen. He allowed a double to Ordonez, but escaped further trouble when he got Miguel Cabrera to fly out to end the inning. Tigers 1, Yankees 0.

Top of 2nd: The Giambino homered to right to tie things up. Wilson Betemit followed with an infield single, but got picked off by Rogers to end the inning. Yanks 1, Tigers 1.

Bottom of 2nd: Nice inning for Igawa. No further damage has been done. Let’s see if he can settle down now.

Top of 3rd: The Yanks had first and second with one out on a double by Cabrera and a walk by Jeter, but Abreu struck out and Matsui hit a weak grounder back to Rogers.

Bottom of 3rd: Not a good inning for the Yanks. First Duncan couldn’t handle a throw by Jeter. Then Betemit failed to few plays. Pudge ripped an RBI double past him; he could not bare hand a weak grounder from Polanco; then Ordonez lined a run-scoring single past him, before Sheff hit an RBI double. Tigers 4, Yanks 1.

Top of 4th: The Yanks go down in order.

Bottom of 4th: Igawa’s major league career may just be over. He gave up four singles in the inning, including RBI base hits to Pudge and Polanco, forcing Girardi to take him out. Jonathan Albaladejo came in and didn’t allow anymore runs. Ordonez struck out looking to end the inning. Igawa’s line: six runs on 11 hits in three innings. Tigers 6, Yanks 1.

Top of 5th: The Yankees are just not getting any timely hitting. Cano and Cabrera each singled in between a Moeller strikeout, but the Captain hit into an inning-ending double play.

Bottom of 5th: Betemit made up slightly for his poor fielding by starting a double play on a ball hit by Sheffield. Yankees keep Tigers off the board. Let’s see if they can get to the old man and score more runs.

Top of 6th: Not sure if they Yankees are bad or Rogers is really good? Might by a combination of the two, I suppose. The Yankees had second and third on a single by Duncan and a double by Giambi, but Betemit grounded out to third to end the inning. Still 6-1, Tigers.

Bottom of 6th: Albaladejo left the game with a right hand injury. Let’s hope he is ok. LaTroy Hawkins relieved him and got Polanco to line out to second and Guillen to ground out to first. Granderson, who hit for Raburn, singled, stole second and went to third on Moeller’s errant throw.

Top of 7th: OK, the Yankees got one back. Cano led off the inning with a ground-rule double, which ended Rogers night, and moved to third on a wild pitch by Zach Miner before trotting home on a single by Moeller. Tigers 6, Yankees 2.

Bottom of 7th: 1-2-3 inning for Hawkins. He got Ordonez and Cabrera to ground out to Jeter then struck out Sheffield.

Top of 8th: Yanks go down in order. One more inning to go, folks.

Bottom of 8th: Looks like Betemit won’t be playing third base again anytime soon. He has looked awful there. Renteria hit one to him to start off the inning and he made another error. Luckily, the error didn’t cost the Yankees as Thames grounded out, Granderson struck out and Pudge flied out. Edwar Ramirez pitched the inning by the way after Hawkins pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings.

Top of 9th: The Yankees scored three runs off closer Todd Jones on a run-scoring groundout by Cano, an RBI single by Jeter and an RBI double by Abreu. But after intentionally walking Matsui with two outs, Jones got Duncan to fly out. Final: Tigers 6, Yankees 5.

Here are some pre-game notes and the lineup in Detroit:

*Kyle Farnsworth was pleased about his suspension being reduced from three games to one game, saying: "I thought it was going to be two at the least. I think it all worked out good."

*Joba Chamberlain does not plan to change anything about the way he shows emotion on the mound, despite all the critics on sports talk radio, ESPN, Jim Rome and the like.
"It is what it is. I got to where I'm at because I am who I am. I'm not going to change that."
He mentioned several players who are very emotional in the game, such as Manny Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano, and said that's who they are. He said he wouldn't mind if a hitter -- David Dellucci or anyone -- showed emotion after beating him.
Joe Girardi said he has no plans to say anything to Chamberlain about showing less emotion. "I don't believe Joba's showing anybody up."

*Brian Cashman said Alex Rodriguez will have an MRI Monday morning. That means Rodriguez could play in an extended spring training game as early as Tuesday, and perhaps be ready to come off the disabled list Thursday.

*The Padres claimed left-hander Sean Henn off waivers.

Lineup
Yankees
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Duncan 1B
Giambi DH
Betemit 3B
Cano 2B
Moeller C

Igawa LHP

Tigers
Rodriguez C
Polanco 2B
Guillen 3B
Ordonez RF
Cabrera 1B
Sheffield LF
Renteria SS
Thames DH
Raburn CF

Rogers LHP