Yankee Stadium

Lincoln Center was picked as the site of Notre Dame’s pep rally, featuring the marching band and the leprechaun. A goal post now stands where Alex Rodriguez usually takes his hacks and another is planted in front of the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame is playing in the Big Apple for the first time since 1969 and, even though the only thing the Irish will be fighting for against Army tonight is bowl eligibility, it’s an event. New York has always been a sort of home away from home for the Fighting Irish.

Johnny Cueto pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and the Cincinnati Reds closed out their extended visit to New York by beating the Yankees 5-2 Sunday. The Reds rallied late against CC Sabathia, sending the Yankees to their fifth loss in six games. Aroldis Chapman closed it out as Cincinnati took two of three at Yankee Stadium, right after splitting a pair at Citi Field against the Mets. Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff NEW YORK — It's 6:48 p.m. and the tarp is on the field as a light rain falls. Obviously the game will not be starting at 7:10 p.m. as scheduled. Unofficially, we have been told the teams will try and play the game tonight even if they have to play in some rain. Because it's the last series in New York for the Sox, MLB officials have the call on this one. As more information becomes available, we will pass it along.

Andy Pettitte stood on the mound at Yankee Stadium with his hat pulled down low, peering in at the catcher over the glove held high in front of his face. It's an image Yankees fans know well. This time, though, No. 46 was back on a big league mound for the first time in a year and a half. It was hard to tell. Pettitte pitched effectively into the seventh inning Sunday, but gave up a pair of two-run homers in New York's 6-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. "To me, he looked like he hadn't missed a beat," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Kyle Davies won his second consecutive start since being called up from the minors and the struggling Kansas City Royals earned a rare victory at Yankee Stadium, shutting down New York, 2-1, last night to snap an 11-game road skid. David DeJesus hit an RBI single and the Royals got splendid relief work from Ron Mahay and Joakim Soria to win for only the third time in 18 games. They also got a break from plate umpire Ed Montague in the eighth inning. With two on and two out, Jason Giambi appeared to check his swing on Mahay's 3-2 pitch near his ankles.

NEW YORK - When Jonathan Papelbon raised his arms as he watched Dustin Pedroia's grand slam soar into the netting above Monument Park, there was joy. There was excitement. And there was the knowledge that, in one swing of the second baseman's bat, "that's the nail in the coffin," as the closer said. Papelbon, presumably, was speaking about last night's game, an 11-3 Red Sox win over the Yankees on an ugly night for the home team in the Bronx. But he also could have been talking about the Yankees' season.

NEW YORK -- Eddie Layton, the Yankee Stadium organist and ballpark fixture for 37 years, died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 79. Mr. Layton joined the team in 1967, when the club began using organ music at Yankee Stadium, and played until his retirement after the 2003 season. Tucked away in a booth on the press-box level, Mr. Layton entertained fans for decades, often by hitting just a few notes. He would reward outstanding plays with a brief rendition of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and would sound a short trill after high-and-inside pitches.

Paul McCartney is coming to Yankee Stadium. The team announced Wednesday that the 68-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will perform his first concert at Yankee Stadium on July 15. Tickets go on sale Monday. McCartney has been part of several high-profile shows in New York ballparks. The Beatles played before more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium to open a North American tour in 1965, one of the most memorable performances by the Fab Four. After Shea Stadium was torn down, McCartney returned in July 2009 to play three sold-out shows at its replacement, Citi...

NEW YORK -- Acclaimed singer Robert Merrill, the opera baritone who felt equally comfortable at opening night in the Metropolitan Opera House or opening day at Yankee Stadium, died Saturday at his home in New Rochelle, family friend Barry Tucker said Monday. Family members said he died while watching Game One of the World Series on television. Reference books gave conflicting ages for Merrill: 87 or 85. His voter registration record listed his birthday as June 4, 1917. Mr. Merrill, once described in Time magazine as "one of the Met's best...

Johnny Cueto pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Ryan Ludwick delivered two big hits and the Cincinnati Reds closed out their extended visit to New York by beating the Yankees 5-2 Sunday. The Reds rallied late against CC Sabathia, sending the Yankees to their fifth loss in six games. Aroldis Chapman closed it out as Cincinnati took two of three at Yankee Stadium, right after splitting a pair at Citi Field against the Mets. Cueto (5-1) gave up a two-run homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth.

Even Kevin Millwood was caught up in Andy Pettitte's return to the big leagues. Still, he was happy to play the spoiler. Millwood pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and Casper Wells and Justin Smoak each hit a two-run homer, lifting the Seattle Mariners past Pettitte and the New York Yankees 6-2 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. "I was watching him," Millwood said of Pettitte, who hadn't pitched since retiring after the 2010 season. "I think everybody was kind of curious.

Buck Showalter sat by his desk as his cellphone beeped loudly every 30 seconds or so, no doubt with texts and emails of congratulations. He didn't want to think about his 1,000th win as a major league manager. He already was focusing on No. 1,001. "I'm very appreciative of the players making me feel really young tonight even though I'm an old goat," Showalter said after his Baltimore Orioles beat the New York Yankees 7-1 Tuesday. Brian Matusz ended his 11-month losing streak, and Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy homered off struggling Phil Hughes to give...

Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven neat innings and teamed with catcher Russell Martin to nab Nick Markakis at the plate in the key play of the game, lifting the New York Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 Monday night. Eric Chavez hit an early two-run homer as the Yankees beat Baltimore once again. They are 4-0 against the Orioles this year, 43-15 over the O's since 2009 and have not lost any of the last 14 season series to them. The loss denied Buck Showalter his 1,000th win as a big league manager — his first victory came in 1992 next door at the old...

Hiroki Kuroda was behind 4-0 after five batters and left fielder Brett Gardner will be out of the lineup for at least 15 days. From beginning to end, it was a rough night for the New York Yankees. Justin Morneau hit two mammoth homers off Kuroda, and Jason Marquis won his Minnesota debut with his healthy daughter in attendance to lead the Twins past New York 6-5 Wednesday night. Robinson Cano hit his first home run this season and Derek Jeter his fourth before a crowd of 36,831 — the first below 40,000 at the new Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK - As Joe Girardi talks, he clearly sees the image in his mind, Carlton Fisk waving his arms at the ball. He watches the catcher hop, watches the ball go out. He even makes the waving motion with his hands. That's the impression Fenway Park has left on the Yankees manager. Not a rivalry game, not a game in which he played, but Fisk's moment of history in 1975, when Fenway played a role in a great baseball scene. "That's my most vivid memory," Girardi said. "And then it would be Bucky Dent's home run. " While the second part of his answer...

It's not often that a man with three Cy Young Awards, 182 major league wins, 2,653 lifetime strikeouts, and a career winning percentage of .705 finds himself in the position of having to prove himself, but perhaps as much as any pitcher on the Red Sox' staff, Pedro Martinez was faced with just that at the beginning of the postseason. Sure, Martinez answered the bell for each of his turns in the starting rotation during the regular season, but because of the team's hopes of preventing the slender Martinez from wearing down, he became primarily a six- or...

PEDRO'S CONQUERED TERRITORY, USA -- It is the sober light of the Day After. You are David Cone. You have been quoted as speaking of the Friday night Pedro Martinez performance in apocalyptic terms. You have now had the benefit of a good night's sleep. Like members of Congress, who are permitted to alter remarks to their satisfaction before they are committed to history in the Congressional Record, you are now being offered an opportunity to rethink, or, as Roger Clemens would say, to "re-correct" yourself for the official Baseball Record.