ESPN

All the rules in the world can't prevent an injury from happening if it's meant to happen. Last night, after throwing his 97th pitch of the game in the fifth inning, Joba Chamberlain felt tightness in his right shoulder. Joe Girardi immediately rushed to the mound with the Yankees trainer and decided to take the cautious route and removed Chamberlain from the game. After the game, Girardi was optimistic that things weren't too serious.

"He has a little stiffness. We believe it's muscular," Girardi told reporters after the game. "We'll see what the tests reveal. I don't think he'll be shut down a long time."

Chamberlain will return to New York today for tests and will more than likely miss his next turn in the rotation. However, the Yankees can ill-afford to lose Chamberlain for long, after already losing Chien-Ming Wang to a foot injury and Phil Hughes, who is currently preparing for a rehab assignment in Triple-A Scranton. The team already called up Dan Giese to take Darrel Rasner's spot in the rotation. Rasner has been, in a word, lousy, posting a 7.51 ERA in his past nine starts. Sidney Ponson, who has a 4.81 ERA in his six starts in pinstripes, is also not a long-term solution.

What other options do the Yankees have after Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte? Not a lot. Ian Kennedy has been pitching well in Triple-A, with a 4-2 record and a 2.14 ERA in his past nine games, but was 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA for the Yankees earlier this year. Hughes was 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA before his rib injury. Are the Yankees in such dire straits that they may have to hope Carl Pavano, currently rehabbing in Class A, can come all the way back from his elbow surgery? He's pitched only twice since the end of the 2005 season.

And then there's Mariano Rivera, who was unavailable to pitch for the second consecutive game Monday due to back spasms. Girardi says he expects Rivera to be ready if he is needed Tuesday, but back spasms can be unpredictable. At least the Yankees have a Plan B in place, having acquired Damaso Marte from the Pirates, but with the starting rotation in shambles, how many games will there be to save?

It kind of makes you wonder if getting a left fielder and a catcher at the trade deadline were the most important moves this team could have made.

Past editions: 8/4: Liriano wins | 8/3: Sabathia fires another gem | 8/2: Liriano back

Roy Halladay allowed a home run to Bobby Crosby in the eighth inning, but other than that, it was business as usual for the Blue Jays' pitcher, who struck out eight and improved to 13-8 on the season. Oakland pitching continues to struggle; Monday night it was Sean Gallagher's turn in the barrel, allowing five runs (four earned) in three innings. A's starters are now 1-10 with a 6.86 ERA since the All-Star Break. … After severe lightning forced umpires to call the Houston-Chicago game after two rain delays, LaTroy Hawkins received credit for an unexpected save, his first since 2005. … Although the 10-9 record for the year may fool you, Gil Meche is as hot as anyone. Meche struck out nine Red Sox hitters in six innings to win his fourth straight game and improve to 7-1 with a 2.66 ERA in his past 11 starts. In the loss, Dustin Pedroia had three hits, extending his hitting streak away from Fenway to 25 games. … Cliff Lee was successful, but Aaron Cook was not. The two pitchers each went for their 15th victory of the season Monday. Lee beat the Rays, 5-2, and is now 9-2 in his 13 road starts on the season. Cook, on the other hand, faltered against the Nationals, failing to pitch at least six innings for only the third time in 24 starts this year. … Francisco Rodriguez blew his fourth save of the season -- his third at home -- although Mark Teixeira booted a ground ball that would have ended the game, and all four runs the Orioles scored were unearned. The Angels came back in the ninth to win, and K-Rod tallied the victory. … Raul Ibanez, still in Seattle despite a slew of trade rumors over the past few weeks, had six RBIs in the seventh inning, including four from a grand slam. … The Giants scored four runs for Matt Cain, matching their output over his previous four starts combined. Cain finally earned his 7th win of the year, lowering his ERA to 3.60. Cain is now 8-4 lifetime in August. … Ryan Braun hit his 30th home run of the season, making him just the second player to do so in each of his first two major league seasons. The other? Albert Pujols. We hear he's still pretty good. … Freddy Sanchez of the Pirates made his first start after sitting out nearly a week due to back spasms and went 3-for-5 with a run scored and one RBI.