Baseball

The Yankees haven't trailed in a ballgame since the sixth inning of last Wednesday's contest against the Braves.  That's a span of 58 innings.

Andy Pettitte made sure that streak would continue until at least Thursday.

The lefty gave up just two runs on six hits and one walk through seven innings to earn his team-leading eighth victory of the season, as the Yanks beat Seattle 4-2 for their seventh consecutive win.

Wednesday, for the first time all season, the Minnesota Twins ascended to two games over the .500 mark. It is hard to believe that, given this situation and the fact that there are only nine more games before the All-Star break, the team would be looking to buy at the deadline.

Usually, if a team has stumbled around the .500 mark for the entire first half of the season, they are looking to sell and rebuild for next year. However, with the rest of the AL Central playing below expectations as well, the Twins are right in the thick of the fight. 

So, Lou Piniella is finally starting to show signs of the manager we all thought he was.

He's sent troubled Milton Bradley home. He's sat down struggling Alfonso Soriano. He's even gotten thrown out of a game—Wednesday versus the Pirates on what appeared to be a bad call at first base.

But he needs to continue to be the tough guy and continue to sit Soriano. Sadly, it's not likely.

Now, I don't say this simply because Soriano's replacement, Sam Fuld, had a great game on Wednesday. I say this because Soriano has hit below the Mendoza line in June.

The NL East has proven to be the free-for-all many thought it would be. The Atlanta Braves are in fourth place, but are only three games out of first place on July 1.

The New York Mets are injured and their roster is depleted, yet they broke out of a five-game losing streak against Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo on Wednesday.

The Florida Marlins have shot up the standings to within a half-game of first place after a 17-11 June.

The Philadelphia Phillies hit the skids in June with an 11-15 mark, but are still at the top in the division.

In just his fourth season as the Red Sox closer, Jonathan Papelbon has already made a place for himself in the Boston record book.

With his 20th save in 22 chances Wednesday, Papelbon became the club’s all-time saves leader as he notched No. 133.

Starting in 2006—when he recorded 35 saves (the third highest total ever for a rookie closer)—Papelbon has steam-rolled past his predecessors, continually moving up the team's all-time saves list.

On Wednesday night, the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 behind seven strong innings from rookie Randy Wells.

Derrek Lee hit a two-run homer in the victory to win the three-game series in Pittsburgh.

But the news from the Steel City wasn't Lee going yard, or Wells dominating another team.

It was Lou Piniella getting ejected and showing emotion for the first time in what feels like a year.

In the sixth inning, on a bang-bang play that appeared to have been blown by the first-base umpire, Piniella left the dugout to argue that Wells was safe.

Riding a six-game winning streak, the New York Yankees made it seven consecutive wins on Wednesday night by beating the Seattle Mariners by a score of 4-2.

Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Alex Rodriguez smashed a two-run homer into Monument Park, breaking the tie and lifting the Yanks past the M’s.

The New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners 8-5 Tuesday night in the Bronx to move 12 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Yankees' hurler Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89 ERA) yielded three runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings to help the Yankees notch their sixth straight victory in the no-decision.

Bombers manager Joe Girardi said he is pleased with Chamberlain’s efforts to date, and he insinuated that he is not worried his precocious ace will cower under pressure and begin to smoke meth with his estranged mother, Jacqueline Standley.

Taking a look into this baseball season many fascinating stories have developed. Zack Greinke has showcased his stuff early and Josh Johnson has turned from a dynamic prospect into the real deal.

Who has been the best so far though? You have the big names at the top of starting rotations like Johan Santana and Roy Halladay. Then you have the surprising names like Edwin Jackson and Tim Wakefield.

Teams are banking on these proven veterans and their young guns to hold their own in the second half of the season.

The Toronto Blue Jays ended the Tampa Bay Rays' seven game winning streak, but not before dropping two of three to a team that has surpassed them in the AL Eastern division.

The Rays were the hottest team in the majors in June and a lot of it was due to their starting pitching coming around.

In the first two games of the series against the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay received sterling performances from Jeff Niemann and Matt Garza, while getting timely hitting as the long ball powered the offense.