Here Come The Yankees ... Howdy Do!

Everything is coming up pinstripes lately, and Boston fans are none too happy, of course. Andy Pettitte earned his 200th win and Mariano Rivera escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as the Yankees beat Orioles 2-1 Wednesday, New York pulling to within 1½ games of first-place Boston. Do I need to mention at this point that the Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays, 6-1? I thought not.

Hideki Matsui homered and The Dread Pirate Doug Mientkiewicz scored on a wild pitch for New York, which has won four straight and 12 of 14. The Yankees also opened a 5½-game lead over Detroit in the AL wild card race. Although the way things are going, that will be Boston's problem. So exactly how devastating will this be if New York actually wins a division which the Red Sox were leading by 14 games in May? Would it be worse than, well, all the other times?

• Dodgers Fail To Touch 'Em All. The first edition of Alyssa Milano's TBS Hot Corner is here! Come with Alyssa as she takes you on a tour of Dodgers Stadium. Of course it's just as the Dodgers are losing to the Rockies, 6-5, to fall 6 1/2 games back in the NL West, making Alyssa's tour seem like a walk through a graveyard.

• No Place Like Dome. It's been a long time since we've checked in with the Twins, so let's just say that Matt Garza somehow managed to win at home — the first time he's done that in his career — in the Twins' 4-2 victory over the Rangers.

• East Enders. The Mets finally figured out the Nationals, beating them 8-4 behind David Wright's three RBI to end a five-game losing streak. The Phillies lost to the Cardina;s 2-1, so New York has a little breathing room in the NL East at 2 1/2 games.

• Lou Ball. The Cubs beat the Reds 3-2 (Griffey injured! Who could have seen that coming?), and the Astros beat the Brewers 5-4, meaning that Chicago is back in first place in the NL Central by one game. Maybe that will stop the conspiracy nuts for a little while.