On the Yankees beat

Hello Yankee fans. Marcus Henry is here to carry you through the first of a four-game set between the Yanks and the Texas Rangers.

Yankees (61-50) vs. Texas Rangers (58-54), 8:05 p.m.

Starters: Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.24) for the Yankees and Vincente (12-5, 4.52) for the Rangers.

Last starts: Chamberlain is starting to become everything the Yankees hoped he would become. In his last start against Baltimore on July 30, he struck out six in six innings and surrendered just one earned run in a 13-3 win over the Orioles. An argument can be made that he came of age against the Red Sox in Fenway Park on July 25 as he struck out nine and allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings.

Padilla isn't a starter who should be overlooked. His ERA is a little on the high side, but he's 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts since coming off the disabled list. In his last start, a 4-3 win over Seattle, Padilla struck out four and gave up three runs in seven innings.

Good times, bad times: Good times: The Yankees are riding high on the momemtum wave after knocking off the Angels, 14-9, on Sunday. But momentum goes as far as your starting pitching does. Chamberlain needs to keep it going with a stellar start. And we can't forget Xavier Nady, who has been absolutely scorching. Bad times: Yankee fans were wondering why Damaso Marte or Mariano Rivera didn't pitch against Mark Teixeira on Sunday. It turns out Rivera wasn't available because of back spasms and Marte didn't pitch because Teixeira was 5-for-6 against him.

Top 1st: Johnny Damon grounded out to third on a nice play by Ramon Vazquez for the first out. Derek Jeter flied out to centerfield for the second out. Abreu fouled a ball of his foot and was attended to by the Yankees trainer. Abreu singled to leftfield. Alex Rodriguez walked. Abreu moved to second. Jason Giambi singled to left centerfield, scoring Abreu to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Rodriguez moved to third. Nady grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing Giambi at second for the final out.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Bottom 1st: Ian Kinsler flied out to leftfield on the first pitch for the first out. Gerald Laird struck out looking. Michael Young lined a single to rightfield. Josh Hamilton grounded out to the catcher for the final out.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Top 2nd: Robinson Cano flied out to rightfield for the first out on a nice diving play by Marlon Byrd. Pudge Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop for the second out. Justin Christian grounded out to third to end the inning.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Bottom 2nd: Marlon Byrd flied out to rightfield for the first out. David Murphy grounded out to first base. Chris Davis struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Top 3rd: Damon struck out swinging for the first out. Jeter singled up the middle. Abreu struck out swinging. Alex Rodriguez struck out looking for the third out. Rodriguez appeared to have asked for time, but wasn't granted it by the home plate umpire.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Bottom 3rd: Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to rightfield. Saltalamacchia was caught stealing for the first out. He overslid the base and was tagged out by Jeter. Ramon Vazquez flied out to short leftfield for the second out. Kinsler doubled to deep left centerfield. Laird reached on a infield single to shortstop. Jeter made a diving stop that possibly saved a run. Kinsler moved to third. Young struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yankees 1, Rangers 0

Top 4th: Giambi homered to rightfield, his 21st of the year, to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Nady struck out swinging for the first out. Cano homered to right to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Pudge Rodriguez grounded out to second for the second out. Christian grounded out to short for the final out.
Yankees 3, Rangers 0

Bottom 4th: Hamilton grounded out to shorstop. Byrd walked. Murphy hit a two-run homer to right, scoring Byrd, to cut the Yankees lead to 3-2. Davis flied out to right for the second out. Saltalamacchia struck out swinging.
Yankees 3, Rangers 2

Top 5th: Damon singled to leftfield. Jeter struck out. Damon moved to second base on a balk by Padilla. Abreu grounded out to first. Damon moved to third. Damon scored on a balk by Padilla to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Alex Rodriguez grounded out to third.
Yankees 4, Rangers 2

Bottom 5th: Vazquez singled to lead off the inning. The Yankees appeared to have a double play as Kinsler hit a dribbler infront of home and Rodriguez forced Vazquez at second. Cano took the throw and fired it to first to complete the double play. But the umpires ruled that Kinsler fouled the ball off. Kinsler walked on the next pitch. Laird flied out to deep left for the first out. Young hit a three-run homer to right, scoring Vazquez and Kinsler to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead. Hamilton struck out swinging. Byrd singled to right. Chamberlain left the game with an apparent injury with the Yankee trainer. Edwar Ramirez is pitching for the Yankees. Byrd moved to second on a wild pitch. Murphy struck out swinging.
Rangers 5, Yankees 4

Top 6th: Giambi singled to short right centerfield. Nady singled to short centerfield. Giambi moved to second. Cano lined out to leftfield for the first out. Pudge Rodriguez grounded out to shorstop. Giambi moved to third, Nady to second. Christian grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Rangers 5, Yankees 4

Bottom 6th: Davis struck out swinging. Saltalamacchia flied out to left. Vazquez grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.
Rangers 5, Yankees 4

Top 7th: Jamey Wright is pitching for the Rangers. Damon grounded out to first. Jeter flied out to right for the second out. Abreu struck out swinging for the final out.
Rangers 5, Yankees 4

Bottom 7th: Brian Bruney is in to pitch for the Yankees. Kinsler flied out to right. Laird popped out to shortstop. Young walked. Hamilton flied out to centerfield to end the inning.
Rangers 5, Yankees 4

Top 8th Frank Francisco is pitching for the Rangers. Alex Rodriguez lined out to centerfield. Giambi struck out swinging for the second out. Nady homered to rightfield, just over the reach of rightfielder Byrd, to tie the score at 5. Cano grounded out to second for the final out.
Yankees 5, Rangers 5

Bottom 8th: Byrd struck out looking. Damaso Marte is in to pitch for the Yankees. Murphy tripled to left centerfield. Davis struck out swinging. Saltalamacchia flied out to centerfield to end the inning.
Yankees 5, Rangers 5

Top 9th Eddie Guardado is pitching for the Rangers. Pudge Rodriguez flied out to leftfield. Richie Sexon, pinch-hitting for Christian, struck out swinging. Damon doubled up the middle. Jeter was robbed of a hit and potential go-ahead RBI as Rangers centerfielder Josh Hamilton made a diving catch for the final out.
Yankees 5, Rangers 5

Bottom 9: Milton Bradley is pinch-hitting for the Rangers. Melky Cabrera is in centerfield for the Yankees, replacing Christian. Bradley walked. Travis Metcalf is running for Bradley. Kinsler struck out swinging. Laird waked. Metcalf moved to second. Young flied out to rightfield for the second out. Hamilton walked to load the bases. Byrd hit a grand slam to centerfield,scoring Metcalf, Laird and Hamilton to win it for the Rangers.
Final score: Rangers 9, Yankees 5

The Rangers improve to 59-54 and the Yankees drop to 61-51. Marte picks up the loss and Guardado gets the win. Game 2 of this four-game set begins tomorrow at 8:05. Stay tuned to Kat O'Brien's blog for more updates on Joba Chamberlain. Good night everyone.