The Rays need to make up a game with just three left to play to force a one-game playoff with the Red Sox for the Wild Card. (AP) The Yankees gave Boston every opportunity to win Sunday night’s nightcap, and it still took the Sox 14 innings and Scott Proctor to do it. Don’t expect the Yankees, ...

David Ortiz (R) and his favorite pitcher reflect after the Red Sox's latest loss. (AP) On the morning of August 30, the Red Sox were 82-52 (.612), boasting a two-game lead in the American League East and the best record in the junior circuit. That day, the Yankees came to Boston and took two of three ...

The Rays' hopes of eclipsing the Red Sox for the Wild Card will depend heavily on how they fare against the Yankees over the season's final ten days. (AP) The Yankees have played at a .593 winning percentage or better for each of the last four months and, with ten games left in the season, they ...

A.J. Burnett: Everybody calm down, I think I'm onto something here. (AP) I cataloged the Twins miseries the last time these two teams met, so I’ll spare you a repeat save to point out that, since that series, Minnesota has shut down Joe Mauer (pneumonia), Justin Morneau (concussion-like symptoms, ...

Colby Rasmus, expected to be activated for this series, is one of several compelling young players the Blue Jays have added in the last couple of months. (AP) As I wrote two weeks ago when the Blue Jays visited the Bronx, the Jays may not be contenders this year, but they have a lot of compelling new ...

Things are so bad in Seattle, the team's official commercials show Felix Hernandez disguising himself so he can pitch more often. Above, "Larry Bernandez" hands out bobbleheads of himself to fans. Seriously. (AP) The Mariners are a terrible team . . . wait, that should have read “Newsflash! ...

Torii Hunter has helped the Angels boost their run scoring just in time for their pitching to come back to earth. (AP) There’s a chance that the Yankees are going to run into a buzzsaw this weekend. The Yankees are playing in their third city in three days tonight, and their internal clocks are ...

The Yankees and Orioles just played four games a week ago, so I don’t see much need to go into too much detail here. The two teams will play a regularly-scheduled three-game set in the Bronx Monday through Wednesday, then slide back down to Baltimore to play a controversial make-up game. For those ...

Rookie third baseman Brett Lawrie is further evidence of Toronto's recent success on the trade market. (AP) The Blue Jays have been busy on the trade market since the Yankees last saw them, making a big splash at the trading deadline by expertly working a two-pronged trade that netted them a potential ...

CC Sabathia and the Yankees have something to prove at Fenway Park this week. (AP) The question has been posed to me several times, If the Yankees and Red Sox are both shoo-ins to make the playoffs, and the primary focus of both is thus getting their players healthy and their roster and rotation sorted ...

Proof that baseball fans sometimes are smarter than baseball decision makers, the Camden Yards dugouts were more crowded than the stands the last time the Yankees and Orioles tried to play through a hurricane, in 2003. (AP) The Yankees and Orioles are scheduled to play five games in the next four days, ...

First baseman Brandon Allen was a nice upside gamble for the A's at the deadline. (AP) The Yankees are 5-1 against the A’s this season, were 9-1 against them last year, and have gone 26-5 against them dating back to 2008. I’m not sure what to add to that. The A’s aren’t a ...