Last night was the first time the Yanks' bullpen has taken a loss since July.
Last night was the first time the Yanks' magic number didn't move down since last Sunday.
That 14 is the only left for the Yanks to play for, and with 20 games to play, their future is entirely in their hands for the first time in a long time.
Today, that future depends on AJ Burett. He righted the ship last Monday: after 3 rocky outings, he put together 6 innings of one run ball, balances his 7 baserunners against 8 strikeouts.
The Orioles throw Brian Matusz, a 22-year old rookie lefty. He's been good his last two starts (vs Cleveland and Minnesota), allowing only 5 earned in 14 innings of work. In 37.2 innings of work, he's carrying 35 Ks against 12 walks, so the stuff is there. Take out a pair of clunkers against the Angels and Toronto, and Matusz looks like a serviceable major league starter already. And he's only 22.
Here's to 7 innings of good AJ, and hits up and down the lineup.
Play ball!