The Yankees blew a golden opportunity on Monday night to gain ground on both the Rays and the Red Sox as they lost a tough one in Texas on a walk-off grand slam by Marlon Byrd. A win by the Yanks would have moved them to within a game and a half of Boston and 4.5 of Tampa Bay.

The loss was compounded by an injury to Joba Chamberlain, who left the game early with a "stiff shoulder." Joba left the game with the Yankees trailing 5-4 in the fifth and Joe Girardi said he'll probably miss at least one start in the rotation. Hopefully it wasn't anything more than being cramped up in the 105 degree Texas heat.

The Yankees tied the game at 5 in the 8th on a solo shot by the red-hot Xavier Nady. The Yankees had a shot to take the lead with Johnny Damon on 2nd with two outs in the 9th, and Derek Jeter hit a line drive that at first looked like it might find the gap in left centerfield, but Josh Hamilton made a diving catch to keep the game tied at 5 apiece.

Joe Girardi brought Damaso Marte out for the 9th after he had gotten out of a runner on 3rd, one out jam in the 8th, as Mariano Rivera was again unavailable due to back spasms. Marte just didn't have it in the 9th, however, as he walked three batters and then the first pitch he delivered to Marlon Byrd was tattooed over the centerfield wall for a game winning grand salami.

I would say it's a devastating loss, but the beauty of it is that the team gets a chance to redeem itself only 24 hours later. Andy Pettitte will take the mound tonight and will face Matt Harrison. Harrison has an E.R.A. of 7.40 and has allowed 31 hits and 14 walks in just 241/3 innings, which means the Yanks will probably score two runs or less off of him. Game starts at 8:05 ET.