--OF Brett Gardner was called up from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and made his major league debut Monday night. Gardner, the leadoff hitter and left fielder as the Yankees gave Johnny Damon a day off, was 0-for-3 with one strikeout. Gardner is one of the club's top prospects, and he was batting .287 with 34 stolen bases for Scranton. OF Justin Christian, the right-handed-hitting prospect who was called up last week when the Yankees faced several lefties, was demoted to make room. He hit .200 in five games.
--3B Alex Rodriguez smacked the 534th home run of his career in the fourth inning. The blast put him in a tie for 14th place on the all-time homer list with Jimmie Foxx. --RHP Mike Mussina again missed a shot at his 11th victory of the season, despite doing all he could to secure it. Mussina struck out eight and held Texas to just two runs in six innings, but the Rangers' Scott Feldman limited the Yankees to one run.
--CF Melky Cabrera went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .244, and he couldn't have been too thrilled to see OF Brett Gardner in the clubhouse. While Gardner started in left field Monday for Johnny Damon, who was given a day off, his presence could eventually affect Cabrera. Gardner's natural position is center field, and the club likes his speed and potential overall.
--RHP Dan Giese readjusted nicely to the bullpen, throwing a scoreless inning as he returned to a relief role. Giese had gotten off to a strong start out of the 'pen before earning a couple of spot starts due to RHP Chien-Ming Wang's injury. But after struggling Friday and watching RHP Sidney Ponson pitch well, Giese was returned to the bullpen.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6 1/2 -- Games by which the Yankees trailed the first-place Rays on the morning of July 1.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I've got to make the most of it. It is a fresh start." -- RHP Sidney Ponson, after throwing six shutout innings in the Yankees' win over the Mets on June 27. Ponson had been let go by Texas before the Yankees gave him a shot.
