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Magic number for clinching the AL West title remains at two, as Damon homers twice and Rodriguez adds a three-run blast to lead New York.

Johnny Damon homered twice, Alex Rodriguez added a three-run shot and New York defeated the Angels, 7-1, Tuesday night at Angel Stadium, keeping their AL West title celebration on ice.

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Unfortunately for New York, it is too late to stay in the MLB playoff race - they are done. It should be interesting, however, to see how well they play to close out the season. Perhaps it will give hope to Yankees fans for next year, since their beloved team (w/ the highest payroll) will miss the postseason and World Series.

On the other hand, the Angels are rolling and appear to be the favorite in the AL. The Red Sox and maybe the (young) Devil Rays will present a challenge, but it is looking like the Angels will be in the World Series. No guarantees here… there never are, but they certainly have the best chance at this point.

The New York Yankees bolstered their chances of making the playoffs by acquiring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates. The trade gives the Yankees another outfielder who will improve the batting lineup and a reliever who will be a welcome change to the bullpen.

While the trade is by no means a guarantee that New York will reach the playoffs, it puts them a leg up for the 2nd half of the season. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are showing signs that they’re just not ready to lead the division and the Boston Red Sox are going through some “Manny” problems, so the Yankees are primed to take over.

Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte were with the Yankees and ready to play against the Boston Red Sox after New York finalized a six-player trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. The Yankees are sending top outfield prospect Jose Tabata and minor league right-handers Dan McCutchen, Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf to Pittsburgh.

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