After losing the first game of the series 5-1 to a dominant Roy Halladay (7-1), New York won the next two games to take the series and move to within 4.5 games of first place in the division.
Injuries continue to plague the Yanks, as Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, and Phil Coke all missed significant playing time in the Toronto series.
On Wednesday night, that didn't matter much. Rookies like Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, and Francisco Cervelli propelled Andy Pettitte (3-1) and the Yanks to an 8-2 victory. Gardner also picked up his first major league home run in the game, a 2-run shot off Scott Richmond.
Jeter and Matsui were back in the lineup for the series finale, and both contributed to a well-pitched 3-2 Yankees win. CC Sabathia (3-3) threw 8 solid innings and the Yankees staged a late comeback with an RBI single from Jeter to tie the game and a go-ahead solo home run from Matsui in the 8th. Mariano Rivera came in and worked a 1-2-3 inning for his 7th save. Johnny Damon also continued his hot hitting, tying a Yankee record with 10 consecutive games with an extra-base hit (Paul O'Neill and Don Mattingly each managed 10 games, as well).
The Yankees finished up their road trip 4-2 and are back to the .500 mark heading into the next homestand. Alex Rodriguez will play his first game at the New Yankee Stadium Friday night against the Minnesota Twins.
