On the Yankees beat

Hey baseball fans, Darren here with you for the second game in a three game series against the Blue Jays. Roy Halladay was unhittable in yesterday's 5-0 loss, let's see what Darrell Rasner has against Toronto's Jesse Litsch.

Top 1st -- Derek Jeter didn't wait long to get the offense started with an opposite field home run. Jeter's was Litsch's 16th home run given up this year. Maybe this is the day these Yankees hitters can get it going a little. It's career home run No. 200 for Jeter, which brings us to our first poll question: Is Derek Jeter a first-ballot hall of famer? Join in! Yankees 1, Blue Jays 1

Bottom 1st -- Marco Scutaro scores on a single by Overbay. Then there was disaster. Rasner walked the bases loaded with one out, struck out Scott Rolen, but Toronto took a 4-1 lead on a three-run triple by Adam Lind. Ouch. Blue Jays 4, Yankees 1

Top 2nd -- The Yankees come out swinging, and making contact. Posada walks, Melky -- yes, that Melky -- gets a base hit, and Moeller is hit by a pitch. Gardner came to the plate with one out and got an RBI single, scoring Posada to make it 4-2. Scutaro boots it on Jeter's groundball and another run scores. Abreu struck out. A-Rod then comes through with a two-out, two-run single to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Giambi grounds out to end the inning. Yankees 5, Blue Jays 4.

Bottom 2nd -- Blue Jays load the bases again -- no surprises there -- but they don't score a run.

Top 3rd -- Gardner follows up his first at bat with a two-run double to extend the Yankees lead. That was all she wrote Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4.

Bottom 3rd -- Imagine that. A 1-2-3 inning by Rasner. He's settled down. A four-run lead will do that for you.

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Top 4th -- A-Rod hits a solo home run to extend the Yankees' lead to five runs. Cano gets a two-out double, but Melky struck out to end the inning. Yankees 9, Blue Jays 4.

Bottom 4th -- McDonald singled to lead off the inning, then Inglett singled. Rasner then settled down and struck out Scutaro, Overbay, and Stairs. Anyone see that coming?

Top 5th -- Nice double play by Toronto to end the inning, the first in which the Yankees have not scored.

Bottom 5th -- Wilkerson doubles off of Rasner, who, thought to be on a short leash this inning, doesn't allow a run, and hasn't done so since the first inning.

Top 6th -- Lyle Overbay makes up for an error at first -- it wasn't scored an error -- by making a nice catch and tagging Abreu up on a line drive at first for a double play.

Bottom 6th -- Edwar Ramirez is the first reliever to see action and does well. For all of the Yankees hitting woes, the bullen has been fairly solid. You have to give most of these guys their props -- Veras, Ramirez, Farnsworth, etc.

Top 7th -- Speaking of Veras, he'll take over for Ramirez in the seventh. Yankees leave one on in the seventh.

Bottom 7th -- Veras does his job, both teams have abandoned the fireworks of previous innings. Neither team has scored since the top of the fourth.

Top 8th -- Yankees bats have gone quiet again in the eighth, but it appears as though they've gotten all the run support they'll need. But to what extent is today's performance a microcosm for its season? The Yankees are good for bursts of offense, but have no real consistency over the long haul.

Bottom 8th -- Kyle Farnsworth retires Lind, Zaun and McDonald in order. Another nice performance by the Yankees bullpen. LaTroy Hawkins is warming in the bullpen and will come in for the ninth.

Top 9th -- Yankees can't score any insurance runs with its last time up at bat. Here come Hawkins, one of the only guys in the bullpen who, with an ERA of almost six, has yet to find his way.

Bottom 9th -- Hawkins retired Inglett, Scutaro and Overbay to end the game. A nice win for the Yankees. Offense finally got going. Be sure to look out for Kat O'Brien's game story. Take care!