Mariano Rivera’s sixteenth save of the season Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium followed a pretty good pitching duel between CC and King Felix. A big seventh-inning two ribbie double from Robbie Cano don’t-cha-know negated a cheapie two-run short porch shot by old mate Raul-so-Cool the inning before.

A sac fly by big lug Lyle plating Robbie (after the double) while fans bought last call brewskis was enough for the Robertson/Rivera finish and a 4-3 Yanks final.

I was drawn to the contest by the starting pitching matchup, I ended up getting the added bonus of Curtis Granderson’s first game back from a broken arm and yet another 1-2-3 ninth inning by the greatest closer in the history of the game.

My ticket with fees and special charges cost $7.95 through Stub Hub.

Mo hasn’t blown a save all year. He says he’ll retire at season’s end. A few days ago, Yankee beat writers decided it was newsworthy to reveal a dugout spat between Mo and teammate Joba Chamberlain. As David Waldstein of the Times described it, Mo asked Joba to lower his voice before Saturday’s game in Kansas City. Waldstein says Mo was being interviewed. Nearby, Joba was shouting above a layer of sound coming across the P-A system. Rather than heeding Mo’s reasonable request, Joba mouthed off at #42. “Don’t shush me,” Joba told Mo. “I’m serious. Don’t ever shush me.”

Since Mariano has two decades of accumulated good will with the men and women who cover him, Waldstein and a few others felt compelled (or perhaps horrified at Joba‘s conduct) to write about the incident. It makes Chamberlain look like the immature, disrespectful fool he’s been portrayed as. But more so, it’s a snapshot of the type of interaction between teammates that surfaces occasionally over the course of a long season. It probably didn’t belong in the paper.

King Felix was done after six innings in this one. Just 97 pitches. One earned run. Eight K’s. Before the game, he could be seen trying to loosen his back. On the mound, Hernandez arched backwards to stretch his spine several times an inning. Mariners skipper Eric Wedge said he took the King out when he did because of the back problem. With his hat tilted purposely off-center, Hernandez sported a new tattoo on the right side of his neck. It depicts his zodiac symbol (Aries) although looks more like a sprouting plant to me.

Sabathia also got knocked out earlier than usual although he was effective, too. 10 K’s in 6.1 innings (112 pitches) with the Ibanez short line-driver homer his only real big mistake.

Pollen is at peak levels here the last week or so. My sneeze count during the game exceeded the combined pitch count of both teams. My pockets could not contain all of the crumpled up brown-colored Stadium napkins used to blow my nose. My head felt like a bowling ball. Ten-dollar Buds offered zero temporary relief.

Attendance was announced at 41,267. Jerry Layne’s erratic strike zone helped make it a 3 hour, 21-minute game. The crowd was quiet – especially away from the bleachers. Granderson’s first regular season start in left field since 2007 came as a result of Girardi’s somewhat controversial decision before the season to make Gardner his permanent center fielder. When the Creatures called Cur-tis! Cur-tis! during first inning roll call, the Grandy Man responded with an elaborate demonstration of appreciation.

The only significant change I noticed at the ballpark this year vs. last were newly-painted white lines behind the last row of box seats. The organization apparently wants even greater separation between the haves and have-nots. It used to be such you could stand up close behind the seats to get a good view of the field without being ticketed for the high-priced sections. Now there’s a pretty big buffer zone on the otherwise open concourses. Incursion into the buffer brings a quick verbal reprimand.

The train home was quick. B to the E.