-It was a good night for the Yanks as they gained a split of the four-game series against the pesky Angels with a 7-2 victory. On the strength of Derek Jeter’s third inning two-run home run, Randy Johnson took a shutout into the seventh inning for the second straight outing but gave up two two out RBI hits to Chone Figgins and Howie Kendrick which tied it. For Johnson who notched his 13th win of the season, it was his second consecutive solid start and one in which he became only the third pitcher to ever reach 4,500 strikeouts when he fanned Tim Salmon in the fourth to get a nice ovation from the crowd- joining Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Roger Clemens (4,552). Quite an accomplishment for the soon to be 43 year-old five-time Cy Young winner and one he reflected on afterwards:

“I’ve never allowed myself to get too caught up in the accomplishments. Maybe I will when I’m done. It means I’ve been around a long time and I’ve struck out a lot of batters. That’s probably why my arm’s pretty tired.“

Well put. Of course, it’s understandable if the savvy 18-year vet didn’t want to talk too much about what it meant because he’s still trying to accomplish something here. The Yanks should just be encouraged that he’s pitched up to form against two quality clubs. Maybe that’s a good sign. They can sure use him to come up big down the stretch. And we all know what’s coming up later this week at Fenway.

As for the rest of the game, an A-Rod sac fly in the seventh took Vlad Guerrero to the warning track to put the Yanks on top. An inning later, they put the game away with four more including a Jorge Posada solo shot which was part of a three hit night for the catcher who broke out of an 0-for-25 slump. They tacked on three more including a gift A-Rod RBI infield single on a chopper Orlando Cabrera should’ve had in his sleep. Even A-Rod couldn’t believe they scored it a hit. Hometown scoring alright if we ever saw it. Hey. He’ll definitely take it.

In the same game, Jeter had three hits to raise his average to .344 along with 10 dingers and 70 RBI’s. The popular shortstop even drew some “MVP, MVP” chants from his supporters after a bunt single. The guy deserves it. I don’t think anyone could’ve expected the 32 year-old vet to have arguably his best year. It’s just not supposed to happen that way. But he is the consumate pro and that’s why any baseball fan should be able to appreciate what he brings to the table day in and day out. It kind of reminds me of a good point our favorite Daily News Sunday columnist Mike Lupica brought up about Jeter’s teammate Mariano Rivera. Though we’re not a huge fan of him, Lupica occasionally can be right (problem is he thinks he always is). His take from his Shooting From The Lip column on the great Yankee closer of the past decade:

You watched Mo Rivera cough one up the other night as he does maybe once a month, and were reminded again that he might not just be the most valuable Yankee of the Joe Torre era, but perhaps the most valuable Yankee of all time.

He does not make the most money on the Yankees, or even close.

He is not the most famous of them.

Just the best of them, after all these years.

He is the one player on his team better at what he does than any others are at what they do.

Of all the money players in the history of sports, and that means all sports, Mo Rivera has failed less in big spots than anybody else you can mention.

Think about that.

He has had his failures, you bet.

Some of them turned out to be monumental, like Game 7 of the 2001 World Series and Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox.

But more than the manager, more than Jeter, he has done the most to make this time in Yankee history special.

He is the one who makes us believe the championship teams of the Torre era were better than they actually were.

The quietest one of all, then, one of the quietest Yankees of them all, has been the most important.

Sometimes it takes a ninth inning belonging to the other guys to make you appreciate him all over again.

Mo Rivera can’t go on forever.

This may be the last season we see him close to being his best.

Appreciate him for as long as this lasts, just because nothing like this will ever happen again in baseball.

His streak of power relief pitching, excellence in power relief pitching, is as impressive as Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played streak.

Whether or not you love or hate him, Lupica can sometimes be right on point about some things. And he nails it here about Rivera. What the now 36 year-old veteran ace reliever has accomplished this past decade has been remarkable. If you take him away from any of those championship teams, there’s no parade down the Canyon of Heroes. There’s no Yankee domination either. People sometimes forget how vital he was to that first one in 1996. That bridge to John Wetteland was the most lethal probably in baseball. Opponents knew that if they didn’t get the lead by the sixth, the game was over. A decade later, it’s three more World Series titles along with an WS MVP trophy and 409 saves encounting. The greatest closer of our generation. The most valuable Yankee. Period.

-If the Yanks and Mets meet in a Subway Series, who are you handing the ball for those final three outs? Rivera or Billy Wagner?

-Not only did the Yanks get back on the winning track but they actually increased their AL East lead to two over Boston because the Red Sox fell to the Tigers 7-4 at Fenway. Detroit snapped a season worst five-game skid by knocking around Josh Beckett for five earned in six frames. If there’s such a thing as a big win when you improve to 36 over .500, this was it for the boys from MoTown. The White Sox are coming and it’s imperative that Jim Leyland’s ballclub gets the ship righted here. Those Sox btw won rather easily over the Royals 12-2 to remain 5.5 out and pulled three full games ahead of Boston and idle Minnesota for the wild card. The defending champs are getting better pitching lately and have come around. If they continue to roll offensively and pitch more effectively, they’re going to be increasingly tough to deal with down the stretch.

-White the White Sox are getting in gear, so too are the suddenly red hot A’s. They cameback from 4-2 down against Seattle to post a 5-4 win. It was their fourth in a row and moved them 5.5 ahead of the Angels and Rangers. Frank Thomas slugged his 25th dinger and Nick Swisher’s two-run shot in the eighth proved to be the difference. Their ninth win in 10 has gotten them to 14 over .500. In fact, Oakland’s 21-9 mark since the All Star break is the best in the majors. Meanwhile, with his 473rd career HR, Thomas has been hot of late hitting a sizzling .343 with five long balls and 18 RBI’s in his last 19. He’s made Billy Beane’s $500,000 gamble look great. Sure. He is injury prone and doesn’t hit for the average anymore but if you look at the production, it’s made a difference. In the 95 games he’s gotten into, he’s got 25 homers and 69 RBI’s. Now with right fielder Milton Bradley finally healthy, it’s given the Athletics a solid middle of the order that can produce. Toss in third baseman Eric Chavez and they can score more. With Barry Zito and Dan Haren anchoring the staff and Justin Duchscherer setting up for Huston Street, Oakland looks to be in good shape. If Rich Harden can comeback soon from a right elbow ligament sprain which has sidelined him over two months, even better. Before the season began, our pick to win it all was the A’s. We had them beating the Mets. Both teams are still on track for that to happen. It should be an interesting final couple of months.

-While things were significantly better for the Yanks, the same couldn’t be said for the Mets. The NL leaders were dealt a potential blow when ace Pedro Martinez was unable to get out of the first inning against the Phillies in a 13-0 blowout loss. In his fourth start since returning from the DL, the three-time Cy Young winner gave up six runs in the first for the first time in his career according to Elias Sports Bureau before departing with a strained right calf. The outing was the second shortest in his career. Wild from the outset, Pedro hit two batters, walked one and even balked. Throw in four hits allowed and it was a brief 35-pitch night for the Met hurler. In a game where Phils rookie Cole Hamels went eight shutout innings while K-ing nine to pull Philadelphia within 3.5 of the idle wild card-leading Reds, Mets’ skipper Willie Randolph was more concerned with his ace:

“He felt a twinge out there, but he felt like if it got loose, he could go out there and give us what he had…The concern, obviously, is that he’s OK. I want to wait and see when the dust settles where we stand.“

And that’s how it should be when your team sits atop the NL with a 71-46 record and is still 14 clear of the Phils. At this point, Martinez is listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated later today by a team doctor. Hopefully, it’s not that serious. But we’re also sure that even if it isn’t, the Amazin’s will be cautious before bringing him back to the mound. They can afford to be. That’s the luxury they’ve earned.

-Meanwhile, the NL West-leading Dodgers continued their winning ways with a 4-2 victory over the Marlins for their fifth consecutive win. Now eight over .500, Los Angeles is 2.5 up on San Diego. Thanks to a two-run homer from Nomar Garciaparra off Dontrelle Willis plus a solid seven from Derek Lowe, the Dodgers have now won 16 of their last 17 after starting 1-13 after the All Star break. Amazing turnaround. It’s worth noting that that 16-1 stretch is their best mark since the franchise relocated from Brooklyn back in 1958. In fact, the last time they had such a stretch was in 1953. G.M. Ned Colletti who’s assembled this suddenly contending club spoke about the big turnaround:

“We had two weeks that were horrific, but we never lost faith in the club and the club never lost faith in themselves. The end of July was not the time to say, `When does ‘07 start?‘ I believed and (manager) Grady (Little) believed that there were good players in this room who were all competitive and who all care.“

Sometimes, baseball can be a funny game. You’re in a slump and you never think you’ll get out of it. But that’s also why there’s 162 games. Colletti and the Dodgers must be given a ton of credit. A few weeks ago, they were even the laughingstock of a mock site called http://www.dodgerblues.com/content/news.html.

We doubt they’re singing many blues these days. Maybe there was a method to Colletti’s madness cause whatever it is, it’s worked.

-Congratulations to Staten Island’s own Mid-Island Little League, who advanced to the Little League World Series with a 2-1 dramatic walkoff win over Livingston, New Jersey. Knotted at one, Frank Smith’s solo home run in the home half of the sixth lifted them to victory in Bristol, Connecticut. They’ll now be one of 16 teams who will compete in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the LLWS. Around here, this is huge news. Anytime one of our teams makes it this far, it’s big time and very exciting for everybody. I can remember when South Shore used to produce very good squads while I was growing up that my former next door neighbor Anthony Sutter was a part of. Those were great times. Now, an S.I. team gets another chance to bring home the trophy. No matter what happens the rest of the way, those kids will remember this experience the rest of their lives. Best of luck!