Nothing Comes Easy

An 11-2 lead in the third inning should be a sure thing, shouldn't it? Well, with Ponson on the bump, nothing is a sure thing. The Aruban and Edwar let the Tigers claw their way back to 11-8 before the Yanks tacked on a few more runs and cruised the rest of the way to a 13-9 win.

Phil Coke became the second Yankee to impress in his ML debut today, tossing a scoreless frame in the 7th and striking out two. The kid looked solid, smooth mechanics, fastball topped out at 94 and his slider (in the low 80's) had late movement and plenty of bite. Welcome to the Bronx, kid.

The top of the order was dominant today. Damon, Jeter, Abreu and A-Rod combined to go 11/18 with 6 walks, 10 runs and 8 RBI. If they can click like that, well, nevermind. It's still over. The Sox are beating the O's 6-4 in the bottom of the 7th in Boston right now. Still, it'd be nice to see some quality offensive baseball the rest of the way.

It's off to Tampa for the Yanks. Mussina vs. Garza tomorrow.

Player of The Game: Damon.
Team Record: 73-64
Damon: Zilch