2013 New York Yankees season

Following a sour four-game sweep in the 2012 American League Championship Series and the loss of Derek Jeter to a broken ankle, expectations entering the Yankees' 113th season were uncharacteristically low.

Much to the surprise of fans and pundits alike, the injury-plagued Yankees held a first place lead in the division at the end of April with a record of 16–10.

Without the help of core players Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira, all of whom had been assigned to extended DL stints, the Yankees remained competitive through shrewd acquisitions of journeyman and platoon roleplayers such as Travis Hafner, Brennan Boesch, Lyle Overbay, and former Boston Red Sox first-baseman Kevin Youkilis.

On June 8, Andy Pettitte won his 250th career win and Mariano Rivera continued his age-defying season by earning his 22nd save.

But by the end of an extended west coast trip, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira's injuries were aggravated and both were lost for the remainder of the season.

The end of June looked bleak for the Yankees, winning only one of three games against the Texas Rangers and getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles for the first time since 2005.

They swept a four-game set against the Twins in Minnesota and won the first two of three at home versus the Orioles, but Rivera's second blown save of the season, similar to the first (allowing two runs in the ninth in a 2-1 loss) snapped the streak.

With the summer trade deadline quickly approaching, the lack of right handed power, and the return dates of Rodriguez, Jeter, and Granderson still uncertain, the Yankees acquired outfielder Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs in the hopes of increasing the team's dismal power numbers (Soriano had hit 8 home runs the month prior to moving to New York, which is one more home run than the entire Yankee team had hit during that span).

On August 5, Alex Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games (until the end of the 2014 MLB season) for his involvement with the South Florida anti-aging clinic Biogenesis.

The Yankees finished the season by sweeping the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park with Pettitte earning his final victory in the second game.