Tonight, the Yankees erased the sting of last weekend by winning this series against a dangerous Philly lineup. This victory had many attractive components: A solid start from Jaret Wright, fine efforts from Villone/Proctor/Kyle/El Presidente de Panama and offensive production with 2 outs. Some highlights:

Just a moment...I knew I recognized Phillies catcher Sal Fasano from somewhere: When I was in college, I went to a Lynyrd Skynyrd reunion tour date in 1994 and Fasano was the bass player, I'm sure of it.

Innings 1-4 featured strong starting pitching from both Wright and the rookie Hamels. As far as Hamels is concerned, you don't ever see Jason Giambi strike out 3 times. Wright's night was highlighted by his dispatch of Howard's first at bat with a 96 mph fastball.

Top 5: Jaret converted Miguel Cairo's triple into the first Yankees run with a deep sac fly. The second best event of the inning was Ken Singleton (YES) mentioning Jeter's .400 BA in night games to set up a Ray Charles lyric reference: "Night time is the right time." Working hard to set up a Ray Charles reference forces me to forgive Singleton's flaws as an analyst.

Top 7: Melky doubled, and then was moved to third by Cairo's sac bunt. He was out at home (FC) after Andy Phillips's infield ground ball. All was not lost, however: John Damon walked, and Jeter's single drove Phillips in from 2nd, 2-0 Yankees.

The 8th was the key frame: Alex walked and stole 2nd after Jorge K'd. Bernie lined out to the left fielder and then the Yankees did all their damage: Melky, Cairo and Damon all hit RBI singles with 2 outs, 5-0. Suddenly, a tight game was in the bag for the New Yorkers.

Again, this game unfolded as they are supposed to...a lead is nailed shut by the bullpen. Hopefully 10 games over .500 becomes 20 games over .500---in the next couple of weeks.