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NEW YORK -- A year removed from the Mexican League and a little more than three months out of Class A, Alfredo Aceves yesterday made the big leagues.

The Yankees purchased Aceves from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to provide depth for an overworked bullpen. Dave Robertson, who had allowed 16 runs on 20 hits in his past 13Ð innings, was optioned to Scranton.

Aceves, 25, had started Sunday for Scranton and thus was rested. The Yankees signed him in March out of the Mexican League and he progressed this year from Class-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton to Scranton, going 8-6 with a 2.62 ERA overall.

"Amazing year," he said.

NEW YORK -- Jason Giambi, lifesaver.

Giambi Thursday performed CPR on the Yankees' season, coming off the bench to drive in three runs, including a game-winning single in the ninth to stave off a Boston Red Sox sweep, 3-2.

"We've got a pulse," Giambi said.

William Perlman/The Star-LedgerNew York Yankees' Jason Giambi #25 is mobbed by teammates Xavier Nady and hugged by New York Yankees' Johnny Damon #18 after his game winning hit in the 9th inning for the 3-2 win.

NEW YORK -- Joba Chamberlain will throw batting practice Saturday, which could put him back on the active roster by the series at Tampa Bay that opens Tuesday.

"We'll make a decision after (Saturday)," general manager Brian Cashman said. "When you're in the batting practice arena, then you're extremely close. The next step is getting in games."

Chamberlain, who has not pitched since Aug. 4 because of rotator-cuff tendinitis, hopes that he can come off the disabled list without a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and assumes he will used in relief, at least initially.

NEW YORK -- Here is the Yankees' best hope: That the 2008 Boston Red Sox mimic the 2007 Mets.

That is about the Yankees' only hope to extend their streak of postseason appearances. And how often does that happen?

"What we saw across town last year gives us hope," Johnny Damon said Wednesday night after the Yankees lost the series they declared must-win, getting clobbered, 11-3, by the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

"We just dug ourselves a bigger hole. ... All of us just need to be really good."

NEW YORK -- You know what makes this even worse for the Yankees?

Not that it needs to be worse, of course. The prospect of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993 is surely sitting poorly enough with the Yankees, their front office and their fans. But what makes this even worse is watching the Red Sox, and realizing how much better they are right now.

At everything.

The Red Sox took the AL East away from the Yankees last year. Right now, they're leading a wild-card race in which the Yankees are drowning. But it's not just in wins and losses where they outclass the Yankees these days.

NEW YORK -- On July 31, Xavier Nady was calling Jason Bay for hourly updates.

"Any news?" Nady would ask. "Any news?"

It was the day of the major-league nonwaiver trade deadline, and the Pittsburgh Pirates had already dealt Nady to the Yankees five days earlier.

"He definitely had a rooting interest," said Bay, who was on the block and eventually wound up going to the Boston Red Sox.

Which meant that the close pals -- Bay once spent six weeks living on Nady's couch -- were now on opposite sides of baseball's sharpest feud.

George McNish/The Star-LedgerAlex Rodriguez's struggles against the Red Sox Tuesday night were reminiscent of past problems for the Yankees' slugger

NEW YORK -- He was at the park early, as always, in the batting cage in the wee hours of Wednesday afternoon for the first of the three rounds of batting practice he takes every day. Coming off his (and maybe anybody's) worst game of the season, Alex Rodriguez saw no reason to change his routine.

"Nothing I can do about it now," he said as he buzzed between clubhouse and cage. "It was terrible, but it's in the past."

Rodriguez's past came for an unwelcome visit in Tuesday night's opener of the Yankees' last-gasp series against the Red Sox. The highest- paid player in baseball had as bad a game as he could possibly have had, grounding into two double plays, making a throwing error, striking out to end the game. He came to bat with a total of seven runners on base and failed to advance even one of them. He got booed, the way he did in 2004 and 2006, by the home fans, who were mad. When it was over, he said they were right to be mad, and that he was too.

George McNish/The Star-LedgerYankees' Alex Rodriguez has words with home plate umpire Jim Reynolds in the first inning of last night's 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Rodriguez is hitting .246 this year with runners in scoring position, including 1-for-10 with the bases loaded.

It's simple logic, really. If the Yankees meant it when they said this week's series against the Boston Red Sox was a must-win, then they know that Tuesday night's 7-3 loss means they have to win Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.

As it stands, the Yankees, who went 1-for-8 with men in scoring position, are six games behind Boston in the wild-card race with 31 to play.

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez was bad Tuesday night.

To say he struggled would be putting it mildly.

He was terrible, awful.

And he was the first one to say it.

Rodriguez's dismal performance contributed in a big way to the Yankees' 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, a game that had American League wild-card implications written all over it.

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George McNish/The Star-LedgerYankee manager Joe Girardi takes the ball from starter Andy Pettitte in the fifth inning of last night's 7-3 loss to the Red Sox,

"I wish I could say I felt terrible, but I felt decent," he said after allowing the Boston Red Sox six runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The Yankees seemed upset with some calls by home-plate umpire Jim Reynolds, but Pettitte and manager Joe Girardi wouldn't say much about it.

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerNew York Yankees' pitcher Sidney Ponson lasted four innings in his last start against the Red Sox last month. He allowed 10 hits and seven runs in 9-2 loss.

And that means Sidney Ponson is going to have to be a whole lot better on the mound for the Yankees than he was the last time he faced the Red Sox.

Indeed, he needs to be a whole lot better than he's been against the Red Sox his whole career.

James Lang/US PRESSWIRE Johnny Damon knows the Yankees are capable of making one last run at a playoff berth. And it all starts Tuesday night against the Red Sox.

Lose two of the next three games against the Red Sox, and the Yankees will be six games out of the wild card with 29 to play.

The conclusion: the Yankees must win the three-game series that opens Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

"I think so," Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon said. "That's the only way we can honestly go in an look at it."

Nick Wass/Associated PressNew York Yankees' Robinson Cano hits a double against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday. Cano would later homer for the game-winning run in the Yankees' 8-7 win.

BALTIMORE -- The Yankees will go into this week's series against the Boston Red Sox needing two things: some rest and some offensive momentum.

The Yankees Sunday scratched out a draining, 8-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles for their first three-game winning streak in four weeks.

"It was a tough game today," manager Joe Girardi said. "Extremely tough."

After a rest Monday -- much needed after the Yankees bullpen threw 12 2/3 innings in the Orioles series -- the Yankees play host to the Red Sox, who lead them by five games in the wild-card race.

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BALTIMORE -- Damaso Marte yesterday revealed he had been battling a sore elbow.

"The last week I had a little bit of inflammation in my arm," Marte said Sunday after getting four key outs for the Yankees. "I feel better."

Marte did not pitch for five days before coming in for two-thirds of an inning on Friday. He had been struggling, with eight hits and six walks allowed in six innings over eight appearances.

Before Sunday's game, Girardi was asked about Marte and said, "Physically, he's okay."

Nick Wass/Associated PressThe Yankees' Bobby Abreu singles against the Orioles in the first inning of Friday's game in Baltimore.

He had reason to beam. After surprising the Venezuelan team in the Little League World Series with a day trip here to see the Yankees play, Abreu went 5-for-5 and took part in a come-from-behind 9-4 victory Friday over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

The kids also got to see Derek Jeter's 2,500th career hit.

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BALTIMORE -- Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to return to a mound today for the first time since Aug. 4, and when he gets back into games for the Yankees, it may be as a reliever at first.

"We've always thought of him as a starter," manager Joe Girardi said Friday. "That's how I still think of him.

"There's not a lot of time to build up, so we might have to be creative how we build him up. ... We're not exactly sure how we're going to do it."

Mic Smith/The Post and Courier via APYankees pitcher Carl Pavano during a minor-league rehab appearance last month in Charleston, S.C.

"There's nothing like being in a big-league clubhouse and earning your way back," he said yesterday. "I can't say enough about the opportunity I've been given."

The oft-maligned Pavano will come off the Yankees' disabled list Saturday night to start against the Baltimore Orioles.

Pavano, who threw 88 pitches last Sunday for Double-A Trenton, will be limited to about 100 Saturday night.

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TORONTO -- Carl Pavano apparently is healthy enough to still be a candidate to start Saturday for the Yankees.

Reports had the oft-injured Pavano suffering from a stiff neck this week, but Wednesday he threw a side session with Double-A Trenton. Thunder pitching coach Scott Aldred told the Times of Trenton that Pavano looked "perfect" and was the best Aldred had seen him.

The Yankees are believed to be leaning toward Pavano over Phil Hughes and Victor Zambrano for the open rotation spot Saturday at Baltimore. Manager Joe Girardi said he would pick his starter by Thursday.

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TORONTO -- Carl Pavano apparently is healthy enough to still be a candidate to start Saturday for the Yankees.

Reports had the oft-injured Pavano suffering from a stiff neck this week, but Wednesday he threw a side session with Double-A Trenton. Thunder pitching coach Scott Aldred told the Times of Trenton that Pavano looked "perfect" and was the best Aldred had seen him.

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TORONTO -- Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday, but not as the Yankees' starter.

That spot in the rotation is still up for grabs.

In fact, Victor Zambrano is being considered along with Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano.

"There's still internal discussions about what we're going to do," manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday. "There's some other people (aside from Hughes and Pavano) that's possible. We have to see how some things come out."

NEW YORK -- With six weeks remaining and their postseason hopes in doubt, a trio of injured Yankees are on the cusp of returning, hoping to save the season.

The problem is, it might be too late.

Hideki Matsui will be activated for Tuesday night's game, barring any last-second setback, and injured pitchers Phil Hughes and (gasp) Carl Pavano are essentially guaranteed to join the rotation in the coming weeks. If they're healthy and play at full capability, they could give the Yankees a boost as they try to make up a sizable deficit for a playoff spot.

J. Conrad William Jr./Newsday via MCTThe Yankees' Brett Gardner high-fives teammates after he hit a RBI single against the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the 13th inning at Yankee Stadium Saturday.

Gardner, called up from the minor leagues Friday to take the place of the demoted Melky Cabrera, singled through the shortstop hole in the bottom of the 13th inning to score Robinson Cano from second base with the winning run in the Yankees' 3-2 victory yesterday over the Kansas City Royals.

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NEW YORK -- Not to be forgotten in the wake of Brett Gardner's heroics was the performance of the Yankees' bullpen, which pitched 6-2/3 scoreless innings to give the offense a chance to come back after going down 2-0 early.

"They did a great job, man," Derek Jeter said of the six relievers who followed starter Sidney Ponson. "Our pitching staff is outstanding. It would have been a rough one for us to lose, we had so many opportunities."

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerYankees fans react after a pop fly gets away from Alex Rodriguez against the Kansas City Royals Friday at Yankee Stadium.

Up is down, black is white and strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

The Yankees lost a game last night that felt so much like a win for so long that nobody -- not the players, not the fans, not the increasingly beleaguered manager -- could find an explanation for it.

On its face, it was a 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals, the Yankees' sixth loss in seven games. It dropped them 10 1/2 games behind first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East and a throat-catching seven games behind Boston in the wild-card race with 40 games to play.

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NEW YORK -- Injured right-hander Joba Chamberlain said his shoulder felt good after making 25 throws from 60 feet in the afternoon before Friday night's game.

"It was good -- I was able to get loose at the end," Chamberlain said. "After (10) days, when you go out there and throw, you're a little leery, but it went well."

Mark Avery/Associated PressThe Yankees will lose another starting pitcher Friday when right-hander Dan Giese is placed on the disabled list.

Dan Giese, who had been scheduled to start Tuesday at Toronto, will become the fifth Yankees starter this year to spend time on the disabled list.

After Giese today was examined by orthopedic surgeon Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees announced he had "rotator cuff tendinitis" and will go on the DL Friday.

Darrell Rasner, who started Wednesday, is likely to come back Tuesday at Toronto.

Jim Mone/Associated PressYankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, left, tries but can't catch a shallow fly ball that drops in for a single Wednesday against the Twins in Minneapolis. Standing by is second baseman Robinson Cano.

"We played a poor game," manager Joe Girardi said. "There were miscues today that hurt us. There's no excuse for it."

The 3-7 trip dropped the Yankees 6 games out of a playoff spot, after Boston's 8-4 victory Wednesday night, with 41 to play.

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Hughes is "a whole different pitcher than he was earlier in the year," catcher Chad Moeller said.

Unless he is needed in Giese's spot Tuesday, Hughes will make at least one more minor-league start before rejoining the Yankees.

Moeller, who caught Hughes on Tuesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, said the difference comes from increased velocity and a cut fastball that Hughes has added to his repertoire.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Derek Jeter admitted he would have had trouble playing Wednesday on his bruised left foot but promised to be ready for Friday night's game against the Royals.

"I'll play," Jeter said after sitting out for the second time since April 14.

Jeter fouled a ball off his instep in Tuesday's fourth inning, staying in until being replaced in the ninth by a pinch runner. X-rays were negative.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Yankees pitcher Dan Giese's start Tuesday is in question, as he came out of Wednesday's game with shoulder stiffness and is to be examined Thursday by orthopedic surgeon Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital in New York.

"It feels like someone just punched you in the shoulder real bad," Giese said.

Giese faced just three batters after relieving Darrell Rasner to start the sixth inning, failing to record an out. Giese said his shoulder stiffened up during the first hitter.

Jim Mone/Associated PressThe Yankees' Xavier Nady is welcomed in the dugout after his two-run home run in the 12th inning Tuesday in Minneapolis. The Yankees won 9-6.

A few hours after Yankees co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner bemoaned health as the reason for the team's slide, the team snapped its four-game losing streak -- but not without near disaster.

The Yankees Tuesday night blew three leads -- the last on Delmon Young's three-run homer off Rivera in the eighth inning -- before winning, 9-6, over the Minnesota Twins on 12th-inning homers by Alex Rodriguez and Xavier Nady at the Metrodome.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Hughes pitched 5 1/3 innings in Triple A Tuesday night, and if the Yankees deem him ready to return to the majors, it would likely be Aug. 23 at Baltimore.

That would give Hughes a chance for one more minor-league tuneup. He last pitched in the majors April 29.

Also Tuesday night, Carl Pavano pitched 4 1/3 innings for Double-A Trenton.

"We're not targeting really anything on these guys right now," general manager Brian Cashman said. "If they push their way into the mix, great. If they don't, that's fine, too."

MINNEAPOLIS -- While manager Joe Girardi has taken some heat during the Yankees' slide, notably for sitting Johnny Damon on Monday, general manager Brian Cashman said Girardi "is certainly part of the solution, not the problem."

Meanwhile, team co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner is blaming injuries for the Yankees' spot in the standings: nine games out in the AL East and five in the wild-card race entering Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.

Jim Mone/Associated PressThe Yankees' Alex Rodriguez grimaces after he was called out on strikes in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Monday in Minneapolis. The Twins won 4-0.

They couldn't find the one at the Metrodome Monday night.

A 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins was the Yankees' fourth straight and 11th in 16 games.

"We have to turn things around quick," captain Derek Jeter said. "At this point in the season, the position we've put ourselves in, we need to play well every day."

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Joba Chamberlain was overruled.

Chamberlain told an Associated Press reporter Monday he would resume playing catch Wednesday. But after Yankees manager Joe Girardi heard that, the plan was changed.

"I made the suggestion that he just waits till Friday till we get home," Girardi said last night, "so that he's in front of us (and) we have a chance to look at him."

Jim Mone/Associated PressYankees pitcher Sidney Ponson throws out Minnesota Twins' Nick Punto on a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning of Monday's game.

Having matched their season-high losing streak (also May 15-20), the Yankees have a nine-game deficit in the AL East, equaling their largest of the season. The Yankees are five games back of the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race, and 3½ back of the Twins.

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Joba Chamberlain was overruled.

Chamberlain told an Associated Press reporter Monday he would resume playing catch Tuesday. But after Yankees manager Joe Girardi heard that, the plan was changed.

"I made the suggestion that he just waits till Friday till we get home," Girardi said Monday night, "so that he's in front of us (and) we have a chance to look at him."

Gary A. Vasquez/US PresswireYankees designated hitter Johnny Damon hits a single in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.

But he also peeks at the batting leaders.

Damon went into Monday night atop that list, leading the American League with a .322 average. And if he hangs on for the batting title, it will mean a lot.

"It's something when I was getting ready to be drafted and coming through the minor leagues, everyone said that I would have one or a couple," Damon said. "I came close."

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- This time, at least, Ian Kennedy was humbled.

Two days after getting lit up by the Los Angeles Angels and then saying, "I'm not too upset about it," Ian Kennedy yesterday was sent back down to the minors by the Yankees.

Kennedy said he was told to work on his offspeed pitches and sinker in "any and every count" at Triple A.

Eugene Garcia/Orange County Register via MCTLos Angeles Angels base runner Howie Kendrick, scores the winning run past Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez in the ninth inning Sunday at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. The Angels won 4-3.

He was trying to save the Yankees' season.

Instead, he gave up a dribbler to Chone Figgins that somehow became the game-winning single, and the Los Angeles Angels finished off a killer three-game sweep of the Yankees, 4-3 at Angel Stadium.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It felt, one Yankees veteran said afterward, like they had been eliminated from the playoffs.

In Saturday's seventh inning at Angel Stadium, the Yankees turned a two-run lead over to what had been, until this month, a reliable bullpen. In moments the games was tied, and the first eight Angels batters in the eighth inning reached base as they rallied for eight runs and an 11-4 spanking of the Yankees.

Asked what it was like watching the hit parade, manager Joe Girardi said, "What do you think? Do you think it's fun watching that crap? It's a silly question."

After he calmed down, Girardi said, "Today's a hard one. ... This one hurts. ... That's a frustrating loss."

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- While Ian Kennedy's seemingly nonchalant attitude toward his shellacking Friday generally escaped notice of his Yankees teammates, his manager plans to talk to him about the postgame comments.

After getting ripped for nine hits in two-plus innings Friday night, Kennedy said, "I'm not going to (read) much into it. ... I'm not too upset about it. ... I felt like I made some good pitches and competed, which is all that really matters. ... I'm just not real upset about it, and I'm going to move on. I've already done that."

The words contrast those of more experienced pitchers such as Mike Mussina or Andy Pettitte, who after a poor outing blame themselves for putting the team in a bad spot.

Tomasso DeRosa/US PresswireYankees pitcher Dan Giese will be starting Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.

"Rod Carew, Bobby Grich, Brian Downing, Reggie, Bob Boone, Doug DeCinces, Gary Pettis," Giese said when asked to name the California Angels player he followed most closely as a kid.

"I liked the entire team," Giese said. "Not one guy."

Saturday afternoon Giese gets to pitch where he watched Reggie Jackson and all the rest.