The 3-game losing streak is over and the New York Yankees hold on to first place in the A.L. East, thanks to Melky Cabrera.

With
a ninth-inning triple — a hard liner that sailed over the head of
Jermaine Dye — Melky Cabrera became the first Yankees to hit for the
cycle since Tony Fernandez did in 1995.

CC Sabathia started this
game for the Yankees, but was anything but the ace the team needed him
to be, especially early in the game.

Even with an early 3-0
lead, thanks to Melky’s 3-run homer in the second, Sabathia struggled.
He allowed nine hits, including three double and two homers, in the
first four innings, and gave the lead back to Chicago as a result.

To
his credit, Sabathia did settle down and pitch scoreless frames in the
fifth, sixth and seventh innings before finally giving way to the
bullpen in the eighth.

But while Sabathia struggled for much of
the say, Melky thrived, finishing as the only Yankee with multiple
RBI’s in the contest. For the say, the Melk Man was 4-for-5 at the
plate with three runs scored and four RBI’s.

The Melk Man even
added in an awesome diving catch to save a could’a-been RBI single in
the first inning. No doubt who gets the champion’s belt after this game.

After
a leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth inning, Phil Hughes took
over for Sabathia, and got the first two outs of the frame, both via
the strike out. Hughes did allow the tying tun to reach base, however,
on a walk.

With only four outs separating the Yankees from a big
win, Joe Girardi turned to Mariano Rivera, who allowed an RBI single
that closed the gap to 7-5 before ending the inning and Chicago’s
threat.

The run belonged to Sabathia, who allowed 10 hits and five runs in seven innings on the hill.

Melky’s
triple in the top of the ninth led to an insurance run for the Yanks,
and Rivera slammed the door on Chicago in the ninth for his 30th save
(in 31 opportunities) of the season.

It’s the 12th time in his
Hall-0f-Fame career that Mo has tallied at least 30 saves, and 2009 is
the seventh consecutive season he has reached that plateau. Tevor
Hoffman, Robb Nen and Troy Percival are the only other pitchers in
major league history to record seven consecutive 30-save seasons.

The Yankees have an off day on Monday ahead of the opener a two-game series in Toronto.