NEW YORK -- Trying to hit a knuckleball is like trying to kill wasps with a shovel, and facing the Boston Red Sox's Steven Wright on Friday night, the New York Yankees didn't kill too many wasps, to put it mildly.
But that isn't the reason they lost, 5-3, in their first game after the All-Star break and the beginning of a brutal 10-game homestand to once again fall below .500. After all, they did manage to score three runs off Wright in the sixth inning, which is more than most teams have managed off him this season, and which qualifies as a serious outburst for the Yankees offense.