-It’s all going the Yankees’ way now. While they were blowing out an overmatched O’s team that’s tossed in the towel, they got even better news late up north when the Blue Jays rallied for three runs off bust Eric Gagne with two outs in the eighth to comeback and beat the suddenly slumping Red Sox 4-3.

You can’t make it up with the former lights out Dodger closer who was good with Texas in the same role this year before coming over to Fenway in a setup role. Most observers felt that with him in the fold along with Japanese import Hideki Okajima pitching the seventh and eighth for second-year closer Jonathan Papelbon, the Sox would become virtually impossible to comeback on in late innings.

But it hasn’t come close to working out as Gagne has busted and Okajima has struggled mightily since August. Suddenly, a team strength looks like a weakness for the Sox who have dropped four of their last five and seen the red hot Yankees slice their once huge lead to just two and a half games and two in the loss column.

What’s more confusing about last night’s Gagne meltdown was that Terry Francona had Papelbon warming up while it was taking place. But instead of pulling him, the Boston skipper left Gagne in and watched him lose the plate after getting two quick outs. He loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit and then walked his third batter of the inning in light hitting Toronto catcher Greg Zaun to force in the tying run. Jays’ pinch hitter Russ Adams became the fifth consecutive Jay to reach base with a tiebreaking two-run double which turned out to be the difference despite Zaun getting thrown out at the plate plus Julio Lugo’s two out solo shot in the ninth off a brilliant A.J. Burnett who was going for the complete game with 11 K’s throwing 124 pitches before he was lifted in favor of reliever Scott Downs. The southpaw came on to get promising Boston rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury looking on a nasty bender to preserve Burnett’s ninth win and notch his first save.

As for the Bronx Bombers, they were busy beating up on the hapless Birds putting up six on Jon Leicester in the fourth highlighted by resurgent first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz’ upper deck three-run blast into the right field seats. Since getting a start in the final game at Fenway, he’s gone 5-for-8 with six RBI’s and come up with some web gems while playing a sparkling first.

The Yanks also had to be pleased to see center fielder Melky Cabrera snap out of a 1 -for-29 slide with a sac fly and two-run single in a five run seventh driving home three. Hideki Matsui also drove in three and is now just two RBI’s shy of 100. The captain Derek Jeter also chipped in with three hits and two runs scored.

Meanwhile, Mike Mussina had his second straight solid outing tossing seven shutout frames to pickup win No.10. The Moose was dealing allowing just three hits while walking one and striking out six against his former team. In two starts since returning to the rotation, he’s gone 12-plus without permitting a run.

More importantly, he seems to have rediscovered his stuff and fixed the problem. Maybe the time off was a blessing because his ball was really moving Tuesday and kept hitters off balance. When you see that wicked knuckle curve starting waist level and then just dipping down, it’s a good sign. He also was able to paint a few corners and catch some frustrated O’s looking.

Mussina is definitely making a case for himself for October. He’s battling rookies Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy for that fourth spot in the playoff rotation. If they each continue to pitch well, it will give Joe Torre even more to think about.
With the Tigers losing yet again at Cleveland to drop even further back (five in loss column) in the wildcard, things are definitely looking up for the Yanks. They’re also the closest they’ve been to Boston since April 21.

Even with only 11 games remaining, it’s become realistic for them to catch the Sahhhxxx and win a 10th consecutive AL East. Having won 11 of 13, baseball’s hottest team just needs to keep winning and continue to get help. In the event both teams finish tied on the final day of the season, the division would go to the Yankees because they own the season series 10-8. 

Now if they could just get A-Rod going again. The certain AL MVP has hit a little slump going three for his last 25. He’s been pulling off the ball lately. It’s just a matter of getting his timing back.

-Meanwhile, the Mets continue to limp towards the finish line. Their latest defeat at Washington- a 9-8 crusher along with Willie Randolph’s continued lack of panic even going as far as to say, “The champagne will taste that much sweeter,” referring to when they clinch, has Amazin’s fans in a state of panic.

Who could blame them? The Phillies are charging towards the finish line. They got past the Cardinals last night in 14 innings 7-4 with pinch hitter Rod Barajas out of all people delivering the game-winning two out hit. Overlooked right fielder Jayson Werth added a two-run triple for insurance as Philly won their six in a row to close the deficit to one and a half (two in loss column)- the smallest margin it’s been for them since Opening Day.

Since the streak began which included a three-game sweep at Shea, Charlie Manuel’s ballclub has shaved five and a half games off what was a Mets’ seven-game lead a week ago. You can’t make this up.

According to the AP, no major league team who was leading their division as late as Sept.12 by seven-or-more games has ever failed to finish in first.

The alarms were sounded off at WFAN this morning by show co-hosts Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason.

So can it actually happen? Tough to say. Logic says the Mets are too talented to keep losing while the Phils have too weak a pitching staff to make up that large a margin and pull off an amazing comeback which would make Jimmy Rollins look like a profit.

When you’re a team that’s scored four times in the first inning two straight nights and then watched an offensively challenged opponent light you up to the tune of 19 runs to take the first couple of games extending your losing streak to five, there can’t be a lot of positive reinforcement going on.

How bad is it for Randolph? His bullpen has been so miserable that he left John Maine in and watched a 7-3 lead evaporate as the Nats scored five times in the fifth including a BP pitch which had hit me on it that Ron Belliard hammered into the second deck for a go-ahead three-run dinger that at last check hadn’t landed.

The final line on Maine was ugly: 4.1 IP, 8 ER, 11 H, 2 HR

Yikes. Hey. They did have Scott Schoeneweis replace him. And on cue, when Randolph sent him out for the sixth, the struggling lefty gave up a home run to pinch hitter D’Angelo Jimenez. It was the well traveled journeyman’s second dinger of the season. No wonder Schoeneweis threw a fit in the dugout.

There was a plus. Guillermo Mota recorded the final out of the inning.

During this skid, the Mets have had some tough losses. This was probably the hardest because the tying run was 90 feet away in the ninth when Nats’ closer Chad Cordero who had already given up a run dug out of a 3-0 hole to fan pinch hitter Ruben Gotay on some cheese stranding runners at the corners to end it. Gotay slammed his bat in frustration.

To their credit, after Cordero recorded the first two outs, they didn’t give up. Instead, Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca singled. Then Jeff Conine drove home Green with another single to put lightning fast pinch runner Carlos Gomez at third. Though Gotay worked the count in his favor and got some good hacks, he just couldn’t come through with the big hit.

The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey to the mound tonight and hope his resurgence continues against Matt Chico.

Long after last night’s game ended, the Phils and Cards were locked in a tight game which went extras. It didn’t have to take as long as it did if Brett Myers could’ve closed out St. Louis in the 10th. But these are the Phillies. So he allowed a Scott Spezio sac fly before getting out of further trouble.

How much luck did they have? Jose Mesa actually came out of the pen to toss two scoreless innings striking out two to get his first win. Clay Condrey became the ninth Phillie to save a game this year to finally end the game which took over five hours to complete.

You know things are going your way when Mesa and some journeyman we’ve never even heard of deliver. Oh. And Barajas’ game-winning hit was his first RBI as a pinch hitter. Exactly.

They won despite only getting three innings from ace Cole Hamels who was rusty in his first start back from the DL giving up three runs before the Philadelphia pen took over and gave up just one more run the rest of the way. Not possible.

If that isn’t weird enough, the Phils’ top five of Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand were a combined 4-for-25 with nine strikeouts and no RBI’s. Yet they still managed to win because of contributions from others such as Greg Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz, Barajas and Werth (3 RBI’s).
Philadelphia is now at a season high 13 over (82-69). They still trail the WC leading Padres by the same game and a half they trail the Mets by. Both teams now have identical 83-67 records meaning it’s actually possible for the Phillies to overtake their NL East rivals for the division and send them home for the winter.

That’s what is now at stake. The Padres never seem to lose anymore. They won their fifth consecutive game last night to remain a game behind NL West leader Arizona who shutout the Giants. The Diamondbacks now have the best record in the senior circuit. So that is very much in play as well.

-What makes it even more interesting is that the Rockies are trying to make one last push. Thanks to Todd Helton’s game-winning two-run home run in the ninth with two outs, they swept a doubleheader from the Dodgers last night to get to 79-72.

The problem for them is they’re still five down in the loss column behind San Diego and have to also leap ahead of the Phils and Dodgers who they just tied.

It’s probably asking too much for Colorado to make up that ground and make the postseason but they sure are a fun team to watch. It’s ashame Matt Holiday probably won’t get to play this October.

-The NL Central is again all even because the Brewers took their fourth in a row 9-1 in Houston despite losing their ace Ben Sheets who left with a left hamstring injury and is uncertain for his next start at Atlanta.

Claudio Vargas worked four scoreless out of the pen to win his 11th while Johnny Estrada hit a grand slam and certain NL Rookie of The Year Ryan Braun added a two-run shot for his 31st as the Brew Crew slugged four homers to rout the Astros.

They got help from Aaron Harang who pitched the Reds past the Cubs at Wrigley 5-2 to improve to 16-4. He went seven giving up two earned while striking out six to get within two K’s of 200 for the season. On a better team, he might have 20 wins and be a Cy Young candidate.

Amazing considering that the Reds have only won 69 games. That means that the righty has accounted for nearly a quarter (23.2 percent) of the team’s wins. Just amazing.

He outpitched Carlos Zambrano gave up four earned in a disappointing outing.

The Cubs need their ace to pitch better if they want to take the division.