Former AL Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske was acquired by the New York Yankees from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday for a pair of minor leaguers.

Pittsburgh will receive right-hander Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer for the former Toronto Blue Jay. In addition, the Pirates will give the Yankees cash.

The 31-year-old Hinske hit .255 in 106 at-bats this season with nine doubles, one homer and 11 RBIs, playing right field, first base and third base. He was 8-for-24 as a pinch hitter and said to be unhappy with a lack of playing time.

Through June 29 last year, he had 13 home runs en route to a 20-home run season with the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays. He won the rookie award with Toronto in 2002, when he hit .279 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs, and was a member of Boston's World Series championship team in 2007.

The 23-year-old Erickson was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts and 18 relief appearances at class-A Charleston this season. Fryer, also 23, hit .250 with 11 doubles, two homers, 24 RBIs and 11 steals for class-A Tampa after leading the South Atlantic League with a .335 average last year for West Virginia. (Source)

Two five-inning starts in back-to-back losses by Chien-Ming Wang have Joe Girardi encouraged. Yes, it's a commentary on how disappointing Wang's season has been -- even the slightest of positive outcomes has Yankee management optimistic.

But Girardi has seen enough in those starts against Washington and Atlanta to reconsider how he treats Wang's spot in the rotation.

In between a dreadful outing at Boston when Wang couldn't make it through the third inning and the Washington start, Girardi said Wang would have to be evaluated on a start-by-start basis.

Not anymore, Girardi said.

"This is a different feeling than when I made the point that this start really means a lot," Girardi said. "Every start means a lot, but he had to show us better stuff, better command and the ability to pitch deeper into a game. And he's shown us that. So he's not necessarily start-by-start anymore.". (Source)

The only good news for the Mets Saturday night was that they weren't no-hit.

Alex Cora snapped an 0-for-21 career skid against A.J. Burnett with a single leading off the sixth inning, but that was the only hit off the Yankees' righthander and the two relievers who followed.

"When you throw the ball 95 mph and have that kind of breaking pitch, and you control both of them, as a hitter you can't go strong on one or the other," David Wright said of Burnett. "And when he's mixing it in and out, throwing both of those pitches for strikes in any count and getting ahead, there's not much you can do."

While Cora's clean hit allowed the Mets to avoid more Luis Castillo-caliber Subway Series embarrassment, they hardly could feel good about their 5-0 loss. (Source)

The Mets didn't wait until the last play of the game to be done in by their defense against the Yankees.

Three errors by Mets infielders led to a four-run second inning, Alex Rodriguez added his 564th home run to pass Reggie Jackson on the career list and CC Sabathia pitched the Yankees to a 9-1 win Friday night in the first Subway Series game at Citi Field.

Fill-in leadoff batter Brett Gardner had a career-high five hits, including his third home run of the season and a triple. Rodriguez made it 7-1 with a two-run, opposite-field drive in the eighth off reliever Elmer Dessens, into the right-center field bullpens for his 11th homer this season.

Actress Kate Hudson, who has attended some of A-Rod's recent games, was looking on from the stands as he moved into sole possession of 11th place on the career list. Before homering at Atlanta's Turner Field on Thursday night, Rodriguez hadn't hit one on the road since his first swing of the season, on May 8 at Baltimore. (Source)

Friday
NYY: Sabathia (6-4, 3.71 ERA)
NYM: Pelfrey (5-2, 4.74 ERA)

Saturday
NYY: Burnett (5-4, 4.24 ERA)
NYM: Redding (1-2, 6.08 ERA)

Sunday
NYY: Wang (0-6, 11.20 ERA)
NYM: Hernandez (5-2, 4.05 ERA)

Brian Cashman originally planned to spend yesterday afternoon in Moosic, Pa., where he intended to see for himself the progress of outfielder Xavier Nady and pitcher Sergio Mitre, both of whom are with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre recovering from injuries.

But after the debacle he watched on television the night before, the general manager decided it was time for a detour. And the Yankees took notice.

With Cashman in attendance, Francisco Cervelli hit his first career homer to tie the game and snap what had been a no-hitter, and the slumping Alex Rodriguez delivered a critical two-run single to push the Yankees to an 8-4 victory that was as much needed as it was well-timed. (Source)

Jeter crumbles under the pressure again.

Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross homered, and the Florida Marlins held off a late rally to beat the struggling New York Yankees 6-5 Sunday after CC Sabathia left early with an injury.

Sabathia came out in the second inning with tightness in his left biceps and the Marlins took advantage, handing New York its fourth loss in five games — all against Washington and Florida. Sabathia is day to day.

Chris Volstad (5-7) gave up three runs in six innings. Matt Lindstrom allowed a two-run triple to Brett Gardner with two outs in the ninth, then got Derek Jeter to ground out for his 14th save in 16 chances.

Ramirez tied it with a two-run homer in the fifth, and Ross' solo shot off Brett Tomko (0-2) in the sixth put the Marlins ahead for good.

Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankees' lineup after being benched the past two games, ending his 0-for-16 skid with a two-run single in the third during his first start ever in his hometown of Miami. (Source)

The Yankees waited over five hours for this?

After one of the longest rain delays in Major League Baseball history, the Washington Nationals defeated the Yankees, 3-0, for their first winning streak in over a month.

The worst team in the majors used another outstanding effort from a young starting pitcher to hold off the powerful Yankee offense. Craig Stammen, making just his sixth major-league start, scattered six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked none to earn his first career victory.

The Yankees had more than two men on base only twice the entire game. The best chance for a comeback was in the seventh, when Derek Jeter dramatically emerged from the dugout to pinch hit with the bases loaded and two outs.

Jeter, who did not start for the second straight game, grounded up the middle to Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman, who scooped the ball on one knee and flipped it to Anderson Hernandez at second to end the threat.

In the ninth, Nick Swisher hit into a double play and Hideki Matsui flied out deep to left as Mike MacDougal notched his second save in two nights. (Source)

A bundle of baby blue balloons adorned Chien-Ming Wang’s locker at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. A white wicker gift basket sat on his chair, with a T-ball glove, a Yankees sippy cup and a rattle, among other goodies. Welcome to the world, Justin Jesse Wang, the first child of Wang and his wife, Chia-Ling Wu.

Wang became a father Tuesday morning at 9:30. On Wednesday night, at 7:05, he will try to remain a starting pitcher for the Yankees. Wang will face the Washington Nationals with the understanding that he must start showing results to keep his spot.

“I think there’s probably more pressure pitching Game 1 of a division series than that; I personally would think that,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “He also pitches for a country. So I think he’s used to pitching in pressure moments. We thought it was in our best interests to be honest with him and tell him it’s time to be the real Chien-Ming Wang.” (Source)