Yanks roll again in Kansas City, win fifth in a row

For the second night in a row, the Yankees jumped on top in the first inning and never looked back, pounding the Royals 9-4 to take the first two of a four game series.

KC starter Scott Elarton was brutal in his return from the disabled list, which was to be expected since he pitched to an ERA near seven in his minor league rehab stint.

The Yanks scored seven off Elarton in less than two innings, which was plenty of support for starter Chien-Ming Wang, who wasn't terribly sharp - likely due to an extended wait as his teammates batted around in each of the first two innings - but picked up his 11th win of the season.

Derek Jeter was one of four Yankees who had a multi-hit game, picking up three singles and a double to move ahead of Jorge Posada for the team batting lead - .335 to .334. Posada and Bobby Abreu each had a pair of RBIs, and the Yankees scored nine more runs despite leaving 14 runners on against a Royals staff that didn't seem terribly interested in throwing the ball over the plate.

Meantime, in Cleveland, the Red Sox won for the second night in a row, moving the Yankees within 4 1/2 games of the Indians in the race for the AL Wild Card.

With the Yankees on a winning streak, the only question now is how long will it take Mike Mussina to dump a bucket of cold water all over it when he takes the ball Wednesday night. My money is on the third inning.