Against
all odds, the New York Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-3, in the opener
of a short two-game series at the Rogers Center in Toronto.

It’s not so much that the Yanks winning was so unthinkable. In baseball, you just never know.

That
said, you never like your chances against Roy Halladay, especially when
New York is sending their #4 arm, Andy Pettitte, to the hill.

Making
the idea of winning even more problematic is the fact that Halladay was
significantly better than Pettitte was tonight, which is nothing
against Pettitte. You’d expect Halladay to be better.

What the
Yankees had on their side all night, however, that Halladay and the
Jays did not, was luck. This evening, Pettitte would allow one run on
four hits and four walks while striking out six in 6.2 innings.

No
doubt, the box score looks fine. However, the left-hander had AT LEAST
six absolute rockets hit against them that turned into outs, thanks to
their being lined directly at Yankee defenders.

Then, once the
Yankees got to the late inning with the lead, Mariano Rivera had one of
those rare night where his command just not there, and he was fortunate
to not give up the lead while recording another four-out save.

The
Yankees scored two runs against Halladay in the first, only one of
which was earned, thanks to a dropped ball at first from Halladay.
Still, the second run would not have scored had Alex Rodriguez not been
able to kick the ball away from catcher Rod Barajas, who was waiting
for him with the ball, at the plate, for what should have been the
final out of the inning.

“It was actually a very soft slide,”
Rodriguez said. “The ball was so exposed that I nicked it a little bit
and it popped out. I actually just got very lucky.”

The
Yankees would not score again until Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira went
back-to-back with two-out solo home runs in the top of the eighth
inning.

It was only the second time in Halladay’s career that he
has allowed consecutive homers. Those runs would prove huge when Rivera
allowed two inherited runners to score on a double down the left-field
line in bottom of the eighth, which got the Jays back to within a run
at 4-3.

Hideki Matsui would hit his own solo homer against
Halladay in the top of the ninth, giving Rivera a two-run cushion with
which to work in the bottom of the ninth.

Though he found
trouble again in the ninth, and continued to struggle with command,
Rivera manage to strand the tying runs on base while recording his 31st
save of the season in 32 chances.

QUICK HITTER: Rays Top Sox, Yanks’ Lead to 1 1/2!

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, 4-2, in 13 innings. That result extends the New York Yankees’ lead in the A.L. East
to 1.5 games!