Yanks: 5th Straight Win

New York Yankees(18-11), 1st Place in AL East.


With Gary Sheffield possibly headed for the DL; Hideki Matsui hit a three-run home run that not only gave the Yankees their fifth straight win, a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, but also gave Joe Torre his 1,000th win as Yankees manager in a 8-5 victory.

Joe Torre has a record of 1,000-645. "A thousand is a lot of wins, especially when you signed a two-year contract back in '96. The Yankee record book is a special place to be. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here this long."

Chien-Ming Wang(2-1) had a shaky six-inning outing: allowed three uns, seven hits, no walks, and had three strikeouts.

New York, which improved to an impressive 11-0 in day games, had a five-run inning for the third straight day.

With the game tied 1-1 in the fourth-inning, Hideki Matsui and Kelly Stinnett dealt the blows that sealed the fate of the Texas Rangers. Matsui homered, and Stinnett blew the game wide open with a two-run single.

Matsui went 2-for-2, with two runs, and three RBIs. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5, with two runs, and two RBIs.

The Yankees are once again having problems with their bullpen: two runs, two hits, and three walks.

Tanyon Sturtze has an ERA of 5.79.

The Yankees begin a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox that is scheduled to start Tuesday night.