Virtual Baseball: Higgy Gets Wiggy, as Yanks Top Pussy Cats. Manfred Meets Mike Amidst the Mesas.

In yet another thrilling, five-hour slog tonight, the Virtual New York Yankees edged the Detroit Tigers, 12-11, thanks to Kyle "Boson" Higashioka's suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the tenth inning.

It was an outstanding night for "Higgy," who was batting just .125 coming into the game, but had an inside-the-park home run (when centerfielder JaCoby Jones fell on the rain-soaked Stadium turf), and a triple (when the entire Tigers outfield fell down on the rain-soaked Stadium turf), as well as his game-winning bunt.  He also threw out two Bengals prowling the basepaths.

Yankees starter Deivi Garcia turned in yet another disappointing effort, as Detroit pounced on his servings in dashing to an 8-3 lead.  But the heroics of Higgy, a bases-clearing double by Miguel "El Matador" Andujar, and a two-run, two-out, bottom of the ninth blast from Mike Ford that tied the game at 11, stunned and demoralized Los Tigres.

The Yanks kept the game tied thanks only to a terrific, diving grab of a line drive by D.J. LeMahieu in the top of the tenth.  When the Bombers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, Manager Ma Boone was considering pinch-hitting for Higashioka but, he later admitted, he was afraid to turn the catching spot over to John Thole, the former Met just called up today after the last two fill-in catchers, Chris Iannetta and Erik Kratz, were felled, respectively, by rheumatism and arthritis.

"Tholie was a little disoriented still.  Took him two hours and $500 in a gypsy cab to get up to the Stadium," said Boone.  "Been awhile since he's been in New York."

Not to worry.  Higgy's perfectly placed bunt brought LeMahieu charging home, avoiding the tag with a perfect hook slide around the catcher.

In other Yankees news off the field today, Commissioner Rob Manfred went to meet slugger Giancarlo Stanton, where he is recovering from a long stint in the New Mexico desert at a National Guard base.

"I want to hear Giancarlo's side of what happened, before I suspend him for the next year or two," Manfred told reporters, as he went into their meeting Santuario El Rey, the long-deserted mission building by the Guard base.

There, Manfred reportedly shared a bowl of what Stanton called, "a local desert delicacy," along with some "milk of cactus."