The New York Yankees got a big win on Tuesday night as they defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-7. The win combined with the Boston Red Sox loss to the Tampa Bay Rays puts the Yankees 1/2 game ahead of the Red Sox. The half game is in the loss column, meaning the Yankees have one less loss but same amount of wins.

Should Nova still be in the rotation despite his shaky start?

Ivan Nova got the win for the Yankees despite struggling in his 5 1/3 innings of work. He allowed 9 hits, 7 runs, walked 1 and struck out 2. It's a far cry from his last 8 starts in which he was 7-0 with a 3.00+ ERA. Will this start affect his standing being in the starting rotation?

In my opinion it shouldn't. It simply was a bad game for Nova. Considering what Nova has done so far this season, one rough game shouldn't be his downfall for being removed from the rotation. The main focus still appears to be on AJ Burnett and Phil Hughes.

The pitching stars of this game was the Yankees' bullpen. They recorded 11 outs without allowing a single hit, not walking anyone, and striking out 5. The combination of Boone Logan, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera seems to be gelling for the Yanks.

The offensive star of this game for the Yanks was Robinson Cano. Cano hit an important 3-run home run to give the Yanks an 8-5 lead. In the game he was 2-5 with 4 RBI.

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