Derek Jeter

Boy, you never know what those New York Yankees will think of next. They had already turned a rainout on Tuesday into a finger-pointing circus that gave that term Water-gate a whole new meaning. Then they held a news conference last night to announce that their manager was still their manager. Then, finally, in a truly shocking turn of events, they tried something completely different: They actually played baseball. Good idea. The Yankees rampaged back to win a very big ball game, 3-2, over the Baltimore Orioles, in 10 innings last night.

JUSTIN VERLANDER was at his best in a marquee pitching matchup that lived up to its billing. Verlander came within four outs of another no-hitter, outdueling an angry Jered Weaver as the Detroit Tigers beat the visiting Los Angeles Angels yesterday, 3-2, in a testy game that grew particularly heated in the late innings. "That was a lot of fun," Verlander said of a game that was hyped as a battle between AL Cy Young Award candidates. Maicer Izturis lined an RBI single to left field with two outs in the eighth for the Angels' only hit. Verlander (15-5)

Phillies fans might not have been interested in hearing a pep talk about teamwork last night from Derek Jeter, but at least the Yankees shortstop popped up on the right show - NBC's "The Biggest Loser. " Jeter was scheduled to be a celebrity guest on the "reality" show, where contestants are vying to lose weight. His role: To stoke up the players in a challenge involving baseball. The episode was filmed, of course, long before producers could have known for sure that Jeter's Yanks would be in the World Series.

DETROIT - Justin Verlander struck out 11 in eight gritty innings and Jose Valverde stopped a Yankees rally for the second straight night, whiffing Derek Jeter with two on to close out the Detroit Tigers' 5-4 victory over New York on Monday. Delmon Young hit a tiebreaking homer in seventh off Rafael Soriano and the Tigers took a two-games-to-one series lead in the best-of-five American League division series, pushing the Yankees to the brink of elimination. Verlander and Yankees ace CC Sabathia were back on the mound after their Game 1 matchup was halted early by bad weather Friday night.

Yankees star Derek Jeter received a threatening letter that reportedly warned he'd be "shot or set on fire" if he didn't stop dating white women. The FBI is investigating "racially threatening letters to Jeter and others across the country," special agent Scott Wilson said yesterday by phone from Cleveland. He declined to comment further. Jeter downplayed what he called the "stupid letter," saying he did not perceive it as a specific threat. The New York Daily News reported yesterday that the hate mail to the Yankees' 31-year-old captain called him a "traitor to his race" for dating white women.

Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte made sure the New York Yankees didn't miss Derek Jeter - at least for one game. Giambi homered twice, Pettitte pitched seven scoreless innings and Jeter watched from the clubhouse with a dislocated left shoulder as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays in Toronto yesterday, 10-1. "You can't replace a player like Derek Jeter, but there are so many great players on this team," Giambi said. "We'll just try to fill in the blanks and battle through it until Derek is back.

Home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom was hit by a pair of pitches from Texas starter Scott Feldman on Saturday night, but didn't appear to be seriously hurt by either one. Cederstrom was hit on the bottom of his face mask and his chest protector on a change-up by Feldman in the second inning. It appeared Rangers catcher Matt Treanor didn't expect the pitch and never got his glove up in time. Cederstrom was laughing immediately after the play as a Milwaukee Brewers trainer briefly checked on him. The next inning, Treanor missed a ball in the dirt and it hit Cederstrom square in stomach, doubling him over.

The New York Yankees might have caught a big break: All-star shortstop Derek Jeter probably won't need surgery. Team doctors yesterday said Jeter's injury should be treated conservatively instead of with an operation that could have sidelined the heart and soul of the Yankees for most of the season. Instead, Jeter could be back in about a month. He will get a second opinion Monday from Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Jeter injured his shoulder in a violent collision Monday night in the team's season opener.

The New York Yankees placed Derek Jeter on the 15-day disabled list yesterday, a day after the star shortstop strained an abdominal muscle on a checked swing against Tampa Bay. The Yankees filled Jeter's spot with righthander Scott Brow, acquired earlier in the day in a trade that sent righthander Willie Banks to Arizona. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said that efforts to block the city from building a baseball stadium in Manhattan may force him to move the team out of New York.

Hot PHILLIES: Chase Utley. If Phillies fans are looking for good karma it should be noted that Utley hit a home run in Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. His first home run last night was in the third inning, his second was in sixth, both off CC Sabathia. YANKEES: Derek Jeter. The Yankees shortstop is well versed in postseason baseball, hitting .308 in 132 career postseason games. In 32 World Series games before last night, Jeter hit .302 with three RBI and eight home runs.

YU DARVISH overcome a rocky start and got a big boost from the powerful Texas lineup, winning his much-anticipated major league debut in the Rangers' 11-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. After giving up four runs while throwing 42 pitches in the first inning, then allowing another run in the second, Darvish (1-0) settled down and later retired 10 in a row while pitching into the sixth. Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer in the third for Texas to tie the game at 5, then Mitch Moreland and Josh Hamilton both went deep in the fourth to give Darvish an 8-5 lead.

The Boston Red Sox have gone from one of the quietest managers in baseball in Terry Francona to a guy who seems determined to challenge Ozzie Guillen as the loudest. Bobby Valentine has been the Red Sox manager for about five minutes and he's already taking pot shots at the Yankees. In one fell swoop on Tuesday, Valentine said Derek Jeter didn't need to make the flip-to-home relay in the 2001 playoffs that stands as one of the most celebrated plays in Yankees lore, and fondly recalled the time when Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek "beat up" Alex Rodriguez in 2004.

DETROIT - Curtis Granderson made two spectacular catches against his former team and A.J. Burnett came through when the Yankees needed him most, leading New York past the Detroit Tigers, 10-1, last night to send their AL Division Series back to the Bronx for a decisive Game 5. Derek Jeter rebounded from a game-ending strikeout Monday, putting the Yankees ahead to stay with a two-run double in the third inning. Granderson also had an RBI double and New York broke it open with six runs in the eighth.

DETROIT - Justin Verlander struck out 11 in eight gritty innings and Jose Valverde stopped a Yankees rally for the second straight night, whiffing Derek Jeter with two on to close out the Detroit Tigers' 5-4 victory over New York on Monday. Delmon Young hit a tiebreaking homer in seventh off Rafael Soriano and the Tigers took a two-games-to-one series lead in the best-of-five American League division series, pushing the Yankees to the brink of elimination. Verlander and Yankees ace CC Sabathia were back on the mound after their Game 1 matchup was halted early by bad weather Friday night.

DETROIT - Justin Verlander struck out 11 in eight gritty innings, and Jose Valverde stopped a Yankees rally for the second straight night, whiffing Derek Jeter with two on to close out the Detroit Tigers' 5-4 victory over New York last night. Delmon Young hit a tiebreaking homer in seventh off Rafael Soriano and the Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five ALDS, pushing the Yankees to the brink of elimination. Verlander and Yankees ace CC Sabathia were back on the mound after their Game 1 matchup was halted early by bad weather Friday night after only 1 1/2 innings.

NEW YORK - Unable to finish off a ninth-inning rally in the rain, New York was beaten by Max Scherzer and the Tigers, 5-3, on Sunday to even their best-of-five American League division series at a game apiece. The Yankees tried to rally late on solo homers by Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Jorge Posada hit his first postseason triple in the ninth and Detroit catcher Alex Avila slipped on a slick on-deck circle, preventing him from catching a foul pop for the final out. That seemed to be just the break the Yankees needed to complete a stirring comeback from a four-run deficit.

St. Louis moved a step closer to the top of the National League wild-card standings Saturday, when Chicago's Carlos Marmol forced home the tying run with a bases-loaded walk to Ryan Theriot with two outs in the ninth inning, then threw a game-ending wild pitch to give the Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the visiting Cubs. The Cardinals moved within two games of wild-card-leading Atlanta, which lost, 4-1, at Washington. Cardinals star Albert Pujols walked in the sixth and has reached safely in 40 consecutive games, breaking a tie with Tampa Bay's Johnny Damon for the longest streak in the majors this season.

James Shields and the Tampa Bay Rays got the sweep they needed to charge back into the playoff race. Shields came within two outs of his 12th complete game this season, B.J. Upton hit his first grand slam and the Rays routed the fading Boston Red Sox 9-1 yesterday at St. Petersburg, Fla. Tampa Bay moved within 3 1/2 games of the AL wild card leaders, sweeping the three-game series to go a season-high 17 games over .500 at 81-64. The Rays have won 21 games in a row when scoring five runs or more.

Maybe the Yankees are better without Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter . New York beat Baltimore, 8-3, in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, with A-Rod resting his sore thumb, and Jeter out with a swollen right knee after fouling one off his kneecap in the third inning of the first game (a 2-0 loss in which he set a team record by appearing his 2,402d contest in a New York uni, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle ). Then they did it again Monday night. Of course, on Sunday, Orioles starter Brian Matusz may have had something to do with it. The lefty, who has has lost seven straight decisions, gave up a three-run homer to Curtis Granderson in the third, then back-to-back dingers to Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher in the sixth, before being lifted for Chris Jakubauskas , who promptly gave up a homer to Andruw Jones . It was the first time the Yanks had hit three successive homers since May 20, 2009.

THE NEW YORK Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in a game, with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson connecting yesterday in a 22-9 romp over the visiting Oakland Athletics. In nearly a century of storied slugging, the Bronx Bombers never enjoyed a day like this. On a dreary afternoon, some fans headed home with the Yankees trailing, 7-1, after three innings and rain still falling in a game that began after an 89-minute delay.