For one reason or another, the Labor Day observance disrupted your usual baseball viewing/reading habits. That's OK. The season won't end until early November. You have time to redeem yourself.

So, here's a review of what you might have missed since Friday. After all, what's a new school year without CliffsNotes?

1. The Tigers completed their first road sweep in nearly four months, taking command of the American League Central.

Before Jon Lester's masterpiece on Sunday, the Red Sox had gone six games without their starter getting an out in the seventh inning. Translation: The bullpen has been busy, and team officials are probably glad to have Billy Wagner.

Boston's lead over Texas in the wild card race is only 2-1/2 games. That sounds tight, but the Rangers are without All-Stars Michael Young (strained left hamstring) and Josh Hamilton (pinched nerve) until further notice. And key left-hander Derek Holland is starting to look like the 22-year-old rookie he is, with 22 earned runs over his last 12-1/3 innings.

Hamilton received a second nerve-root injection on Monday and isn't likely to play until Friday's home series opener against the Mariners at the earliest.

That might not be soon enough. It's Labor Day, and time is short.

Some final thoughts on the weekend:

On their best days — and Labor Day was one of them — the Yankees look downright unbeatable. New York swept Tampa Bay in a day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, snuffing out whatever postseason hopes the defending American League champs had left.

In the opener, Mariano Rivera (sore left groin) pitched for the first time in nearly one week. He threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. Guess the 39-year-old should be ready for the postseason in four weeks. He wasn't needed in the nightcap, an 11-1 victory.

Also, Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner (broken left thumb) returned from the disabled list on Monday. His game-changing speed could be a factor in the postseason.

Last week, a dispute between Florida teammates Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez became public. At issue was Ramirez's perceived lack of toughness with a hamstring injury. That's a touchy issue, when talking about a $70 million man in a clubhouse filled with players on more modest year-to-year contracts.

Well, Ramirez responded in the best way possible: He went 5-for-10 with two home runs and six RBIs in a three-game weekend series against Washington. And he played every inning.

Other than when Kevin Youkilis was serving his suspension last month for charging the mound, Boston's Mike Lowell hasn't started more than two games in a row at third base since the middle of June.

Lowell told reporters in Chicago over the weekend that it's been difficult for him to not be in the lineup every day. But the strategy seems to have served the Red Sox well, as Lowell continues to manage his surgically-repaired right hip. Lowell is hitting .325 since returning from the disabled list in mid-July, including at-bats as a part-time designated hitter.

We're about to witness two significant hitting milestones — and they could happen at almost the same time this week. As play began Tuesday, Ichiro Suzuki was five hits away from his ninth consecutive 200-hit season, a new major league record; and Derek Jeter was four from passing Lou Gehrig as the Yankees' all-time leader.