May 1-3 (LAA @ NYY)—After winning the first game of the series, the Yanks also won the second game, but in untraditional fashion, especially against the Angels. New York scored first, picking up 4 R in the first inning off of Jered Weaver. But Andy Pettitte (ND, 2-1; 5.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K) struggled in the sixth inning giving up all 5 of his ER in that frame. Mark Melancon allowed an additional R in the sixth and Jose Veras gave up 3 more R in the seventh to give the Angels a 9-4 lead. But the character of this Yankee team was beginning to take shape as they battled back by scoring 4 R in the eighth and another 2 in the ninth when Jorge Posada hit a walk-off 2-R 1B off the Angels new closer, Brian Fuentes, to win the game 10-9. The third game turned out to be the series finale as the next game would be postponed by rain. Sabathia was shaky again (L, 1-3; 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R/4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and fell to 1-3 on the season as the Yankees lost 8-4. The Yanks scored 3 R in the bottom of the ninth, but it was certainly a case of too little, too late. (Series 2-1; Record 13-11; AL East -3.5, 3rd)
May 4-5 (BOS @ NYY)—In a short, two-game series against their arch rivals, the Yankees couldn’t bounce back after losing the series finale to the Angels and dropped their fourth straight game against Boston 6-4. Phil Hughes (L, 1-1; 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R/3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) took the loss while Mark Teixeira’s 2 HR weren’t enough to carry a sluggish Yankee offense. The second and final game of the series was much of the same as the Yankees fell behind early 4-0 in the first inning due to some poor pitching by Joba Chamberlain (L, 1-1; 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 12 K). Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t ever recover and ended up losing the game 7-3, even though Chamberlain picked up a career-high 12 K. (Series 0-2; Record 13-13; AL East -4.5, 3rd)
May 6-7 (TB @ NYY)—In another short series against another division rival, the Yankees struggles continued as they dropped the first game to the Rays 4-3. A.J. Burnett pitched okay (ND, 2-0; 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K) but took another no-decision as the Yankees, who fell behind 3-0 and then tied the game in the eighth with a 3-R 2B by Mark Teixeira, couldn’t muster enough offense to take a lead. Phil Coke then gave up the go-ahead HR to Carlos Pena in the top of the tenth for the loss. The second game was much of the same as the Yankees fell behind by four in the third, tied it in the fifth, fell behind by two in the seventh, tied it in the eighth, fell behind by two in the ninth, and then lost it 8-6. Pettitte (ND, 2-1; 6.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, BB, 5 K) got another no-decision while the bullpen took another loss. The fact that the Yanks lost their fifth straight at home wasn’t all that surprising because of the way they had been playing. But how they lost it was. With the game tied at 6 going into the top of the ninth, Mariano Rivera gave up back-to-back home runs to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, which proved to be too much for the Yanks to overcome. (Series 0-2; Record 13-15; AL East -5.5, 4th)
May 8-10 (NYY @ BAL)—Reeling and moving in the opposite direction, having lost five straight, the Yankees found themselves in an almost parallel scenario as when the season began on Apr 6—C.C. Sabathia was starting for New York on the road in Baltimore against Jeremy Guthrie. But this time the Yankees had one major difference–Alex Rodriguez was back in the lineup after completing his rehab. If there were ever a moment in the season that could be labeled as a turning point, this was it. In the top of the first inning, after Derek Jeter grounded out, Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira worked back-to-back walks. 
And with the Oriole fans booing him vociferously for his admission during Spring Training of using PEDs while in Texas, A-Rod took the first pitch he’d seen of the season and crushed it to left field that gave the Yankees not only a 3-0 lead in the game but also their first lead in any game since the sixth inning of an 8-4 loss to the Angels almost a week before, which was a span of 41 innings. As Michael Kay said at the time, it was “a fairytale swing,” and little did he know what a great story A-Rod was beginning to write that season. Unlike his opening-day performance in Baltimore, Sabathia (W, 2-3; 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 8 K) was absolutely dominant in this game, pitching a complete-game shutout in leading the Yanks to a 4-0 win. This was the C.C. Yankees fans had expected when he signed a long-term contract over the winter, and this was the offensive lineup the team had envisioned even before spring training began. All was well in the Yankees Universe. That was until the next game when the Yankees went down in flames 12-5 off a horrific pitching performance by Hughes (L, 1-2; 1.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 0 K). But in the rubber match, Chamberlain pitched well enough (W, 2-1; 6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K) and the Yankees overcame an early deficit, scoring 4 R in the seventh to win the game going away 5-3. Mo picked up his 6 S and Damon picked up his team, hitting the go-ahead 3-R HR. (Series 2-1; Record 15-16; AL East -5.5, 3rd)
May 12-14 (NYY @ TOR)—Coming off a good road series win in Baltimore, the Yankees traveled to Toronto where they ran into the buzzsaw that is Roy Halladay, losing the game 5-1. Burnett (L, 2-1; 7.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K), returning to face his former team and a hostile Rogers Centre crowd, got off to a good start by not allowing a hit until the fourth inning. But in that frame, he allowed 3 R, which was more than enough for Halladay who pitched another complete-game gem and improved his record to 7-1 on this young season. In the second game of the series, Pettitte (W, 3-1; 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R/1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) picked up his 3 W of the season, backed by a 5-XBH, 5-R offensive breakout in the second inning, which propelled the Yanks to an 8-2 win. In the final game of the series, the Yanks battled back to win again, this time 3-2, tying the game on Jeter’s RBI 1B in the seventh and taking the lead for good on Matsui’s solo HR in the eighth. Sabathia pitched very well (W, 3-3; 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 5 K) to earn his 3 W and Mo pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 7 S. (Series 2-1; Record 17-17; AL East -4.5, 3rd)
May 15-18 (MIN @ NYY)—This entire series was another season-defining moment as the Yanks had three straight walk-off wins and swept the four-game set against the Twins. In the first game of the series, after a decent performance by Hughes (ND, 1-1; 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K) the Yankees found themselves trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth and facing one of the best closers in the game in Joe Nathan. Brett Gardner tripled to lead off the inning and then scored on Teixeira’s RBI 1B. A-Rod walked and after Matsui struck out, Nick Swisher grounded out to first to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Nathan intentionally walked Robinson Cano to get to Melky Cabrera , but the strategy backfired as Cabrera swung at the first pitch and dunked it into left field to cap the comeback and give the Yankees a 5-4 walk-off win. Another event that emerged from this particular walk-off win was the first pie in the face by A.J. Burnett. Burnett was acquired during the offseason more for his skill than his personality, but his pie-in-the-face routine became a staple at the new Yankee Stadium and was highly anticipated each time the Yanks won the game on the last play. The second game didn’t disappoint as the Yankees rallied in the eighth to tie it at 4-4 off an RBI 1B by Teixeira; and then in the eleventh inning, after Teixeira walked, A-Rod hit an 0-1 slider deep to left field for his first HR at the new Stadium and for the game-winning HR and the second straight walk-off win, this time 6-4. Chamberlain (ND, 1-1; 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K) started the game, but Alfredo Aceves, a player the Yanks picked up from the Mexican leagues, earned the first of his ten wins of the season, the most of any reliever in the majors. The next day, the Yankees rallied again, this time in the seventh inning, to tie the game at 2-2 and eventually won it 3-2 on a walk-off solo HR by Damon in the tenth. Burnett (ND, 2-1; 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 6 BB, 7 K) got yet another no-decision, but was happy to pie Damon as the Yanks won their third straight walk-off and fifth straight overall. The fourth and final game of the series saw another Yankee win, but not in such dramatic fashion. Pettitte (W, 4-1; 6.2 IP, 12 H, 4 R, BB, 3 K) picked up the only win by a Yankee starter in this four-game series and was staked to a big, early lead as the Yanks scored 6 R in the first inning highlighted by Teixeira’s and A-Rod’s back-to-back HR. Tex, who has made an incredible offensive resurgence since A-Rod came back into the lineup, also homered in the 7th, which proved to be the game winning run as the bullpen held on for the 7-6 win. (Series 4-0; Record 21-17; AL East -4.5, 3rd)
May 19-21 (BAL @ NYY)—A last-place Orioles team came into the Stadium probably with hopes of not being swept. But it was not to be as the surging Yankees put the spanking on the O’s. In the first game, Sabathia (W, 4-3; 7.0 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 7 K) pitched his second straight dominant performance against Baltimore and let the offense do the rest. A-Rod hit a 2-R HR in the first, which was plenty of run support to help the Yanks win 9-1, but the Yankees added seven more in the seventh, highlighted by Jeter’s 3-R 2B and Teixeira’s 2-R HR. In the second game of the series, the Yankees again came out swinging and won it 11-4. Swisher, Cano, and Cabrera went back-to-back-to-back in the third inning and the Yanks added more late-inning runs. Hughes (W, 2-2; 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, BB, 9 K) pitched well enough to pick up the W and Rivera earned his 8 S when he came in to get the third out of the eighth with the Yanks up 5-3. Mo also pitched the top of the ninth inning, even though New York was ahead 11-3. In the third game, Chamberlain (ND, 1-1; 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K) started but left in the first inning after taking a liner off his knee. In his place, Aceves pitched 3.1 IP to earn his 3 W and the Yankee offense did the rest, scoring 4 R in the first and 2 R in second. Mo came in to get his 9 S and nail down the Yankees 7-4 victory and their ninth straight win. (Series 3-0; Record 24-17; AL East -1.5, 3rd)
May 22-24 (PHI @ NYY)—In this 2009 World Series preview, and after scoring seemingly at will against the Orioles, the Yankee offense was shut down by the defending champion Phillies. In the first game, Brett Meyers out-pitched Burnett (L, 2-2; 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 7 K), but both starters allowed 3 HR each as the Yankees lost 7-3. In stunning fashion, the Yankees scored 3 R in the ninth off the Phillies’ closer, Brad Lidge, who was perfect in save opportunities in 2008, to win the second game of this series 5-4. Pettitte (ND, 4-1; 7.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K) started the game but was in line for the loss until the Yankees came back to earn their 6th walk-off win of the season. After Damon led off the inning with a walk, Teixeira struck out, but then A-Rod homered to RF to tie the game at 4-4. Cano then singled, stole second, and scored on Cabrera’s RBI 1B to center. In the rubber game, Melky Cabrera’s heroics tied the game at 3-3 again off Lidge in the ninth. But the Yanks couldn’t cash in in the tenth when Jeter and Damon started the inning with back-to-back 1B. Sabathia (ND, 4-3; 8.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K) started for New York, but Brett Thomko took the loss as he gave up the go-ahead 2B to Carlos Ruiz in the eleventh, which scored Chase Utley and handed the Yanks a 4-3 loss. (Series 1-2; Record 25-19; AL East -1.0, 3rd)
May 25-27 (NYY @ TEX)—Returning to the site where he had to leave because of a pulled hamstring after no-hitting the Rangers through 6.2 IP back in 2007, Hughes (W, 3-2; 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K) had his best pitching performance in a Yankee uniform and earned his 3 W of the season. Offensively, A-Rod had his best showing since returning from the DL earlier in the month, going 5-5 with 2 2B and 4 RBI and leading the Yanks to an 11-1 win on Memorial Day. In the second game, Chamberlain (ND, 1-1; 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K) didn’t get past the fourth and Aceves (L, 3-1) lost his first of the season as the Rangers slapped him around for 3 R in 2.0+ IP to beat the Yankees 7-3. However, in the rubber match, the Yanks got terrific pitching from Burnett (W, 3-2; 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K) to win the game 9-2 and the three-game series and move into a first-place tie with the Red Sox in the division for the first time this season since opening day. Led by Matsui’s two HR, the Yanks pounded out 15 H and beat up on the Rangers once again for another easy win. (Series 2-1; Record 27-20; AL East 0.0, T-1st)
May 29-31 (NYY @ CLE)—Behind the solid pitching of Pettitte (W, 5-1; 5.0+ IP, 6 H, R, 5 BB, 1 K) and Rivera (10 S), the Yankees were able to beat Cliff Lee for the only time this season in four attempts (once to open the new Stadium on Apr 16 and twice more in Games 1 & 5 of the World Series). Jeter sparked the offense in the second inning with an RBI 1B, Gardner scored on Teixeira’s RBI ground out later in the inning, and Swisher capped it in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored Cano and helped the Yankees win 3-1. In making his first start against his old team in Cleveland, Sabathia (W, 5-3; 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 8 K) was terrific in the second game of this series and his offense gave him plenty of support to win 10-5. Cano had 3 RBI while Jeter and Damon each picked up 2. In the third game, Hughes (ND, 3-2; 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, BB, 6 K) and the Yanks fell behind 4-0 against former Yankee Carl Pavano who again pitched well. But again his bullpen couldn’t hold it as the Yankees stormed back to tie the game at 4-4 on a 2-R 2B in the eighth that just missed leaving the park. However, David Robertson allowed an inherited run to score on an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, and the Yankees lost 5-4.
(May 17-11; Record 29-21; AL East +0.5, 1st)
