Ichiro Rolls a 7, Yankees Sweep

All any Yankees fan talked about prior to Tuesday's rained out game with the Toronto Blue Jays and Wednesday's make up, was the return of Andy Pettitte. And though the Texan maneuvered his way through five shutout innings, all anyone talked about after the conclusion of the day-night doubleheader sweep of the Jays was the big day Ichiro Suzuki had.

The 38-yr old outfielder went 7-8, stole four bases, and knocked in the game winner in the night cap as the Yankees defeated Toronto 4-2 and 2-1. The Baltimore Orioles improved to 15-0 in extra innings with a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 11 innings, so the Yankees lead is back to a half-game over the O's in the AL East.

Suzuki was acquired at the trade deadline after hitting .261 with the Seattle Mariners, well below his career average. The Japanese native's average with the Yankees jumped from .288 to .317 after his big day. In the opener, Suzuki hit lead off, had three hits, and scored a pair of runs.

In the nightcap, hitting out of the eight-hole Suzuki snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th inning. It completed a 4-4 game and gave him the chance to steal his fourth base of the game, which he did with no problem. He had stolen just six bases in his previous 51 games with New York.

The Yankees didn't know what to expect from Pettitte in the opener, other than the knowledge that he would compete. He had some early struggles, but managed to end the 5th inning on his 75th pitch, which is just where Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild wanted him to be. 46 of those pitches were for strikes and only three outs were recorded via a fly ball. Pettitte finished his day with nine ground outs and three strikeouts to improve to 4-3.

David Robertson got tagged for a pair of runs in the 8th inning that shaved the lead to 3-2, but Suzuki came through again, this time on defense. Rajai Davis ripped a bases loaded line drive to left off of Rafael Soriano, but Suzuki was there to snare it.

Girardi used six relievers in the opener so it was imperative that David Phelps give the Yankees some innings length in the night game. He did just that, with a 6.2 innings performance, and left with the game tied at one apiece. Phelps allowed just three hits, walked three, and struck out six.

Cody Eppley retired the only batter he faced to get his first win as a Yankee (1-2) and Soriano picked up another save, his 42nd of the season.