Joba goes deep, Jeter lets one bounce off his butt en route to third

Joba Chamberlain proved me wrong again tonight, going deep into the game to set the Yankees up for the 8-4 win. Chamberlain went into the sixth inning, tossing 99 pitches and allowing only a couple runs before giving way to the bullpen. His recent stability has killed all rumors of him heading back to relief after a couple four-inning, 100-pitch debacles.

And tonight Derek Jeter continued to show his renaissance, making lithe plays at short and continuing to thieve around the basepaths. (I especially liked the top of the ninth, when he slid into second and the pickoff throw bounced off his butt. He advanced to third then was knocked in by a Johnny Damon single.)

The Yankees were back in full form, and as much as I'd like to wish for consistency, I'll take outbursts like this whenever I can get them. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira both had two hits, and Alex Rodriguez was a pleasant surprise in the clutch when he singled home two runs to start the Yankee scoring.

Mariano Rivera almost got a hit of his own, but he settled for a flyout and striking out the side to end the game. His effort in getting the Yankees out of an eighth-inning jam, with two runners on base and only a two-run lead, gave him his 16th save in 17 chances.

Tomorrow New York faces Atlanta again with a chance to take the series and stay even with the Red Sox, who have jumped five games ahead in the American League East.

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