During a apish bout of the American League East, Andy Pettitte threw amateur in abandoned stadiums in St. Petersburg, Baltimore and Boston, all the while aching to angle in a amphitheater arranged with bouncy fans.
When he assuredly took the bank Wednesday afterwards an 84-day absence because of a torn cartilage in his larboard leg, Pettitte begin a Yankee Amphitheater that was added than half-empty, a aftereffect of a rainout Tuesday. The atmosphere was so quiet that Pettitte could about apprehend admirers in the loge seats acclimation beers, afterpiece to one of the contempo apish amateur he threw in alertness for his additional improvement of the season.
“Especially at the alpha of the game, it was about like you could apprehend humans talking and I was aggravating to focus,” he said with a laugh. “For me, it apparently would accept been bigger if we had a arranged house.”
Despite the abridgement of activity in the Amphitheater and accustomed rustiness, Pettitte met or exceeded all expectations. He threw 5 annihilation innings to actuate the Yankees to a 4-2 achievement over the Toronto Blue Jays that provided the Yankees a abating lift as they arch into the final two weeks of the season.
It was the Yankees’ third beeline win, putting them a half-game advanced of the Baltimore Orioles, at atomic for a few hours. The Yankees played a additional bold adjoin the Blue Jays on Wednesday night to cap a doubleheader, and the Orioles faced the Mariners in Seattle. Pettitte (4-3, 2.97 becoming run average) should be able to angle in at atomic two added games, and if he can body on Wednesday’s outing, the Yankees will accretion an bend over their pursuers.
Pettitte accustomed four hits and two walks, and hit his 75-pitch absolute if he got Brett Lawrie to arena out to end the fifth.
“He looked like Andy afore he got hurt,” Manager Joe Girardi said.
Pettitte’s airing started at 1:08 p.m. with a bare admirers in the seats on a bright, brittle day. He threw an 88-mile-per-hour fastball for a alleged bang on Rajai Davis. Pettitte’s endure airing was June 27 if Casey Kotchman of the Cleveland Indians hit him on the larboard leg with a batted brawl that bankrupt his fibula 10 starts into his improvement from a one-year retirement.
There were some accustomed issues with his command. Pettitte complained that none of his pitches, abnormally his cut fastball, was decidedly sharp. He aswell said he was still not in midseason shape.
“My legs, they did not feel that abundant today, as far as beneath me,” he said, but was absolute if he said his arm and leg were 100 percent healthy.
If his command was a beat off, which led to walks and a few added pitches in the additional inning, no one was complaining.
“He knows how to get that double-play brawl or that strikeout and accomplish the big pitch,” Girardi said, “and you apperceive he’s not traveling to be afflicted by the situation.”
“That was a alternation bones over there amid me and Swish,” Pettitte said.
Girardi again handed the brawl to six abatement pitchers to accomplishment the game. Clay Rapada, Derek Lowe, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan breezed through the sixth and seventh, but the Blue Jays denticulate alert off Dave Robertson in the eighth, creating some close moments. Afterwards acid their arrears to 3-1, the Blue Jays had runners at aboriginal and additional with one out if Omar Vizquel angled into the right-field corner, blame home addition run. But Kelly Johnson, apery the attached run, had to authority at third.
Robertson addled out Adeiny Hechavarria and Girardi alleged aloft Rafael Soriano, who absolved Anthony Gose to amount the bases. With Johnson arch off third, Davis hit a band drive beeline at larboard fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was active anon at the ball. Suzuki appeared to blanket it in his belly as he fell to the arena and captivated on for the final out.
“I don’t apperceive if he bent it in his cuff or his stomach, still at this point,” Girardi said. “It’s a heck of a play.”
The Yankees added an allowance run in the eighth on a individual by Swisher, and in the ninth Soriano set down the Blue Jays in order, arresting out J. P. Arencibia for the final out to almanac his 41st save and cap a solid, if not loud, aboriginal day aback for Pettitte.
“I am just so beholden to be out there,” Pettitte said. “I adulation to do this.”
INSIDE PITCH
Omar Vizquel had two hits to canyon Babe Ruth for 41st abode on the career account with 2,874. ... Alex Rodriguez recorded his 1,949th run batted in, one abbreviate of attached Stan Musial for fifth.
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