WHY YOU NEED TO GIVE AJ SOME CREDIT

“We did a lot of nice little things today, and that’s why we won.” --Joe Girardi

AJ Burnett deserves a standing ovation. Not because he was amazing yesterday... he wasn't, but because he received his 4th win of the season and has proven that he can be a leader on the Yankees. AJ has quieted the doubters Ladies and Gentlemen and I have no doubt that he will continue. The difference this year compared to others is confidence. AJ trusts his stuff. Yes, his curveball wasn't working for him, but he still did what he needed to do to get things done...again, not truly dominant, but he definitely helped keep the Yankees in the game. In years past, AJ has lost his mojo during the year and by September, there was struggle. But something's different... AJ is a new man this year thanks to Larry Rothschild and the Pyramid of Pitching Dominance, so expect AJ to have a good year. After all, he's overdue. Today AJ allowed 4 runs and 9 hits. He didn't walk anyone today and struck out 4. Not great, but not bad either.(photo:AP)

The best part of today was small ball and sacrifice. Yes, you know I'm a fan of that. No homers today. Wow. 7 Yankees had hits today and all of them were singles. Tex had a double... that was the only extra base hit for the Yanks. It's so weird if you think about it because this is a team that's been cranking out home runs every game this season. The Yankees hits today were built on patience. Waiting for the right pitch, not to crank out, but instead to put in play and hopefully get a run in. Today they did that and it's something I've been looking for them to do all season.

The play of the game came in the sixth inning. Russell Martin threw down to third to cut down Juan Rivera trying to steal. He got him and the best part was it completed a double play... AJ K'ed Encarnacion seconds earlier. It was heads up, no doubt.(photo: Daily News)
The Three Headed Monster appeared today and came to the rescue. There were no signs of trouble for them. The 7th, 8th and 9th were a piece of cake and Joba, Soriano and Mo are back.

Overall, nothing spectacular today, just good baseball. At the end of the day, the Yankees win and that makes me smile, but more importantly, we've tied the series and next we need to take the series. That, of course is the key. That, of course will get us to our goal in October... another championship.

Final Score: Yankees 5 - Blue Jays 4.

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