Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger asked Mariano Rivera about the elbow surgery that he had back in 1992 - an operation that some had thought was Tommy John surgery.

But, that was not the case, according to Rivera. Apparently, they had expected it to required, but once they got in and looked at the ligament, they didn't need to replace it. Instead, Rivera says, they "moved" it.

Via Ben Kabak.

Tyler Kepner reports that the prospects of a Damaso Marte return any time soon are pretty dim. Even though his rehab assignment is set to conclude this weekend, Joe Girardi doesn't sound like he's expecting much. "We're not sure if he’s going to get there," he said.

Via Joseph Pawlikowski.

The first inning was not kind to Andy Pettitte. Yet, he minimized the damage. It started single, single, RBI double. After that, a ground out scored another run. But, he struck out the next two hitters to strand a runner at second and, after that, he flipped the switch.

Over the next five innings, he allowed no runs on 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 10. The last time he struck out that many hitters was when he struck out 10 on August 21, 2006 when he was with the Astros. The last time with the Yankees? October 2, 2003 in the playoffs. Regular season? July 6, 2003. And, yes, he also picked off a runner to end an inning. His ERA is down to 4.09, the lowest it's been since May 17.

Mariners' starter Ryan Rowland-Smith was good, too, though. The Yankees got one off of him when Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Jorge Posada. They added a second run to tie the game in the fifth with a Derek Jeter RBI single (Melky Cabrera scored).

The game would be tied going into the ninth. Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless seventh and Phil Hughes (the eventual winner) did the same in the eighth.

After having only four hits in the first eight innings, the Yankees got off to a quick start in the ninth with a Mark Teixeira lead off home run to break the tie. After two outs were made by Hideki Matsui and Posada, Robinson Cano hit a ground rule double and then came around to score on a Nick Swisher single, giving the Yankees an insurance run.

It wasn't needed. Mariano Rivera sat down the Mariners in order in the bottom of the ninth, collecting his 34th save and dragging his ERA back below 2 (1.98).

The Yankees have now won 11 of their last 12 and maintain a 6.5 game lead on the Red Sox.

Tonight's game will start at 10:10 PM ET once again and Sergio Mitre (1-1, 7.04) will get the ball, against Luke French (2-2, 4.31).

Recap records: Seamus: 34–20, Patrick: 31–14, Andrew: 8–9

Though Joe Girardi had thought of starting Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin back to back this weekend, he's decided against it. Peter Abraham reports that Mitre will go on Saturday, but Joba will start on Sunday. Gaudin will make the start on Wednesday and Joba's next start will be August 25.

8 singles, 4 doubles, 3 home runs. The Yankees picked up 8 runs on Mariners starter Ian Snell in 6 innings on Friday night, giving CC Sabathia far more than he would need in an 11-1 win in Seattle.

Hideki Matsui was the offensive star in this one, going 4 for 5 with 2 home runs, 4 runs and 5 RBI. Derek Jeter (homer, 2 runs, RBI), Johnny Damon (2 doubles, 2 runs), Mark Teixeira (double, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Robinson Cano and Jerry Hairston Jr. (double, 2 RBI) all had 2 hits. Every Yankee hitter reached base in this one.

On the other side, Sabathia took care of business. 104 pitches over 8 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks, while striking out a season high 10. It's the sixth start this year in which CC has allowed 3 or less hits. He's now pitched 170.2 innings this season. Brian Bruney finished with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Yankees pick it up tonight with another late game at 10:10 PM ET. Andy Pettitte (9-6, 4.14) takes the ball against Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-1, 3.86).

Recap records: Seamus: 34–20, Patrick: 30–14, Andrew: 8–9

Peter Abraham reports that, if all goes well, Joe Girardi would like Sergio Mitre to take the ball on Saturday with Chad Gaudin going on Sunday.

Bill Madden of the Daily News reports that Mariano Rivera was held out of last night's action due to a sore shoulder.

Girardi doesn't seem concerned, according to the report, and Mariano shared a similar sentiment. An earlier report by Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger said that Mariano did not travel with the team to Seattle, due to "personal reasons."

Girardi expects Mo to be available tonight. "I'd be shocked if he's not ready tomorrow," he said. Whatever it is, we hope it's nothing serious.

Via Steve Lombardi and Ben Kabak.

Brian Cashman told Peter Abraham that the Yankees have no interest in free agent lefty Mark Mulder. It's been four seasons since Mulder was last effective - when he went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 2005.

The Yankees came on top of a back-and-forth matinee affair this afternoon, thanks to a walk-off single by Robinson Cano in the 11th that gave the Yankees a 4–3 victory. With the win, the Yankees wrapped up a 6–1 homestand and remain 5.5 games up on Boston, who defeated the Tigers in Boston this evening.

After the Blue Jays erased an early Yankee lead via a long ball from Randy Ruiz in the 2nd, the Yankees jumped back on top in the 3rd with a solo shot to right from Johnny Damon. Robinson Cano added a little insurance for the Yanks in the 4th with a solo homer of his own.

A.J. Burnett was roughed up for 10 hits in 6 innings, but he would have escaped with minimal damage if not for some major control issues in the 6th inning. Randy Ruiz was able to score Toronto's second run on a single by Raul Chavez after advancing to third on a wild pitch. Edwin Encarnacion, who advanced to second on the wild pitch, went to third on Chavez' single. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Burnett looked like he might get out of this one after striking out Joe Inglett for the second out. Burnett was just one strike away from escaping with the lead before he let another pitch get away from him, this time allowing Encarnacion to score the tying run.

3–3 was where the score would remain for the next four innings, as neither team could push across the winning run before going into extra frames. The game finally ended on a drive by Robinson Cano that landed on the warning track, scoring A-Rod from second for a walk-off single.

Chad Gaudin got his first action as a Yankee today and picked up his first victory as well, pitching scoreless 10th and 11th innings and allowing just one hit.

Somewhat concerning is the condition of Alex Rodriguez, who was plunked on the elbow in the 11th and looked to be in severe pain. A-Rod did stay in the game and went on to score the winning run. Rodriguez will get the day off tomorrow night in Seattle according to Josh Thomson, although Joe Girardi says they were going to sit him tomorrow anyway.

The Yankees will hit the west coast and will play seven games out there (4 in Seattle, 3 in Oakland), before wrapping up a 10-game road trip with three games in Boston next weekend. Tomorrow night they'll be in Safeco Field taking on the Mariners, and it will be CC Sabathia who will get the nod against the M's newly acquired Ian Snell beginning at 10:10 ET.

Recap records: Seamus: 34–20, Patrick: 29–14, Andrew: 8–9

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Joba Chamberlain's next start will be on seven days rest. Joe Girardi said that Joba's starts for the rest of the season have been planned, but that he'll only announce one start at a time, to help eliminate any distractions.