Pettitte Keeps Twins Killing Going

You could tell that Andy Pettitte hadn't thrown (10 days) in a competitive situation in a while. But the veteran, who missed a start due to mild inflammation in his elbow, was still good enough to pick up a 6-plus inning victory as the Yankees continued their dominance of the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada hit tape measure home runs and the Yankees bullpen walked the tightrope to a 7-1 triumph.

Pettitte's stuff wasn't as crisp as usual, but it wasn't bad either. He threw 95 pitches and used his trademark double play grounder to escape a jam in the 2nd inning. He also had to be holding his breath when, clinging to a 2-0 lead, Joe Mauer crushed a Pettitte delivery with two aboard. But Brett Gardner made the putout in deep left-center field and Pettitte was on his way to a 5-0 record.

The Yankees built a 3-1 lead against Twins starter Francisco Liriano and then blew the game open against the Minnesota bullpen in the 7th. Teixeira absolutely crushed a Jesse Crain pitch into the luxury box/third tier in right field for a 5-1 lead. Posada added two more runs to the scoreboard when he blasted a Ron Mahay pitch to dead center. The ball hit a cement divider behind the center field wall and ricocheted up into the center field seats above Monument Park.

Despite being ineffective all season and having blown the lead on Friday night, Damaso Marte continues to get called upon in tough situations. This time it was to protect a one run lead with two on and two out in the 7th inning. Pinch-hitter Jim Thome swung and missed at a hanging Marte fastball before taking a called third strike to end the inning.

Notes

Sergio Mitre is on the hill for the Yankees today as they go for the sweep of the three game series. Nick Blackburn will toe the rubber for the Twins.

Javier Vazquez will be skipped on Monday/Tuesday so that Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia can start on regular rest. Vazquez will open the interleague series with the Mets on Friday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Andy Pettitte and Hughes became the fourth set of Yankees teammates in the last 50 years to win their first five decisions. The others were Ron Guidry and Tommy John (1980), David Wells and Mike Mussina (2003), and Kevin Brown and El Duque (2004).