1. A Bronx pitching tale » It’s not a problem the Yankees want to think about. But as they hold off the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, New York must deal with the fact that left-handed starter Andy Pettitte may not pitch again until mid-September thanks to a serious groin injury. A setback this week has pushed Pettitte’s absence dangerously close to October. No one on the New York staff has been better in 2010, not even CC Sabathia (3.12 ERA). Pettitte has a 2.88 ERA. No one on staff has more postseason experience — a 3.90 ERA in 40 career starts. If he has another setback or if the groin doesn’t heal in time, New York turns to Javier Vasquez (4.89 ERA) in the playoffs. That shudder you heard was Yankees fans everywhere.

2 Lone Ranger » Remember that slow start Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton endured at the beginning of the season? Yeah, he’s good now. At the end of May, Hamilton had nine homers and 13 doubles with an .835 OPS. Not awful, but not the stuff of MVP’s, either. By the end of June, Hamilton had doubled his home run total and brought his OPS to an even 1.000. And he hasn’t stopped. Hamilton entered the weekend — and in Baltimore to face the Orioles — leading Major League Baseball in batting average (.353) and was second only to Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in slugging (.618) and OPS (1.023). He also had 37 doubles and three triples and made everyone forget about last year when an abdominal injury and subsequent surgery limited him to 89 games.

3. Injuries and the National League East race » After losing Chipper Jones to an ACL tear, Atlanta moved Martin Prado, one of the league’s top hitters, to third base and inserted Omar Infante into the lineup full time at second. So Jones’ loss hurt their depth, but at least the Braves had enough talent to compensate. But just as the injury cloud hovered over Atlanta it has lifted in Philadelphia. Star second baseman Chase Utley returned last week after missing almost seven weeks with a thumb injury. Meanwhile, slugger Ryan Howard has been out since Aug. 2 with an ankle injury, but should be back early next week. That’s 23 homers back in the heart of a lineup that entered the weekend averaging 5.2 runs-per-game in Howard’s absence. For the year, the Phillies’ offense is at 4.8.

SERIES TO WATCH
Reds at Giants, Monday-Wednesday
Both teams are in the middle of the playoff chase with just over five weeks left in the regular season. San Francisco slipped further away from first place in the NL West last week as the Padres caught fire. Meanwhile, the Reds have traded first place in the NL Central back-and-forth with St. Louis almost all summer. Neither team has much margin for error. Edinson Volquez (4.98 ERA), Travis Wood (2.51 ERA) and Homer Bailey (4.92 ERA) pitch for Cincinnati. The Giants counter with Matt Cain (3.11 ERA), Jonathan Sanchez (3.47 ERA) and Madison Bumgarner (3.27 ERA).