On July 2, we mentioned that you could vote for Mariano Rivera as the MLB Clutch Performer of the Month for June 2010.

MLB.com's Tim Brown reports that Mo took home the honor, receiving 37% of the vote. Brennan Boesch came in second with 24%. Rivera pitched 13 scoreless innings in the month.

Thanks Mr. Diaz for the tip.

Andy Pettitte was brilliant again. He worked eight strong innings and allowed only one run due to his own throwing error. He was able to work out of jams in the sixth and eighth and his teammates tied the score late to give him a chance.

in the top of the ninth with Jeter on first, Nick Swisher collected his fourth hit of the night, a double which put runners on second and third with only one out. Mark Teixeira popped out but A-Rod delivered against hard throwing David Aardsma with a clutch two run single to right to give the Yankees the lead at 3-1.

Mo came on in the bottom of the ninth and pitched a perfect inning for his 20th save in 22 save opportunities. Despite the reports about him going to miss the All-Star game with a soreness in his side and right knee he showed no sign of being injured.

Casey Kotchman battled with a twelve pitch AB but eventually struck out. Josh Bard grounded to Tex unassisted for the second out and Josh Wilson battled to 3-2, but then flew out to left to end the game.

Rivera lowered his ERA for the 2010 season to 1.05. He now has 546 saves for his career.

Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger reports that Mariano Rivera has removed himself from the 2010 American League All-Star Team roster due to injury.

According to the story, he's been pitching through an oblique injury since May and also some inflammation in his right knee, affecting his ability to push off. Though he's kept pitching, he'd rather take the All-Star break off in an effort to get healthier.

As David mentioned, Mariano Rivera has been named to the 2010 American League All-Star team. It's his 11th All-Star appearance and his 3rd consecutive.

Mo rebounded nicely on Monday night in Oakland with a perfect ninth inning to record his 19th save of the 2010 season.

Javier Vazquez was great for seven innings. He allowed only three hits and was helped with great defensive plays from A-Rod, Curtis Granderson and Colin Curtis.

The Yankees scored two runs early and Texeira added a home run late to give the Yankees a two run lead back.

Rivera got Sweeney to ground out unassisted to first then retired Suzuki and Cust on fly balls to the outfield. The save was number 545 for his career. His 2010 season ERA now stands at 1.08.

On Sunday afternoon, Mariano was named an AL All-Star for the 11th time in his career.

Mo is human after all. He had not surrendered a run in 16 appearances but on the home stand finale, Mo gave up three hits in an inning for the first time this year and one of them was a looping single to center off of DeWayne Wise to score the tying run and hence blow the save.

The Yankees won in the 11th on a pinch hit single off the bat of Marcus Thames who had just returned from the DL for the game.

Rivera is 2-1 on the season with 18 saves in 20 save opportunities and his ERA rose to 1.11.

The July 4 issue of The New York Times Magazine has a great cover feature on Mariano Rivera, which you can read on their website. They also have a very slick accompanying video feature describing how Mo dominates hitters. Check out the cover below.


Thanks Mr. D'Agostino for the tip.

Joba Chamberlain could not hold a one run lead in the eighth and as a result eliminated the chance for Mo to get another save. Rivera entered in the ninth with the scored tie at home and did not give up a run.

John Buck led off the ninth by grounding to third for the first out. Rookie Hoffpauir lifted a soft single to right center on a 3-2 pitch. Fred Lewis grounded into a force play short to second for the second out. That brought up Alex Gonzalez. On a 1-1 pitch Mo came inside and it looked like the pitch hit Gonzalez. However, the umpire ruled that the pitch hit the bat and it was ruled a foul ball. Gonzales struck out swinging on the next pitch to end the inning. Rivera lowered his ERA for the 2010 season to 0.86.

The Yankees could not muster any offense against the Jays bullpen and David Robertson eventually gave up an RBI single to Gonzales on a hanging curve ball. He was replaced by Chan Ho Park and he was able to get the second out but then walked in a run with the bases loaded to give the Jays a 3-1 lead. He then threw gasoline on the fire when DeWayne Wise tripled to right center to clear the bases and make the score 6-1 which ended up being the final.

The Blue Jays and Yankees continue the series this afternoon with Ricky Romero facing Andy Pettitte.

Over on MLB.com, you can vote for Mariano Rivera as June's Pepsi Clutch Performer of the Month. Rivera's competition for the honor include Adrian Gonzalez, Brennan Boesch, Josh Hamilton, Josh Johnson and Troy Glaus.

Thanks Mr. D'Agostino for the tip.

CC Sabathia was cruising but could not quite get through the eighth inning. A key passed ball from Jorge Pasada moved the baserunners to second and third and they scored on a two run single from Russell Branyan which, at the time, tied the score at two.

In the Yankee half of the eighth, Texeira got a one out single and A-Rod followed with a two run homer into the right field grandstand to give the Yankees the lead at 4-2.

Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 18th save in 19 tries. Milton Bradley battled but eventually flied out deep to right field. Bradley, a switch-hitter actually batted right handed to avoid the cutter from Mo. Jose Lopez grounded out to third on the first pitch and Josh Wilson struck out swinging to end the game.

The save for Rivera was the 544th of his career. His 2010 season ERA now stands at 0.89. Sabathia was credited with the 10th win of the season and joins fellow Yankee Phil Hughes and Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz for second places in wins behind David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays who leads the AL with 11.

The Yankees salvaged one win of the series after being manhandled by Cliff Lee on Tuesday night and King Felix Hernandez last night in the first two games of the series.