Game 48 - Yanks Hang On For Win

For the first time since the 2006 season ended, the Yanks find themselves alone at the top of the AL East.  Last night, Andy Pettitte, Alfredo Aceves and Mariano Rivera clamped down on the vaunted Cleveland Indians offense, winning 3-1.  Pettitte would leave the game in the 6th inning after battling lower back stiffness.  He tightened up in the 4th, but hung on through 5+ innings.  It was a typical Pettitte performance, not overly sharp, but crafty enough to work in and out of trouble when he had to.  His improved his record to a team best 5-1.

Aceves relieved Pettitte with 2 runners on and a 2-0 count on Cleveland's Jamey Carroll.  Aceves would walk him (walk charged to Pettitte) to load the bases with none out.  He struck out Kelly Shoppach on a knee-bending curve, gave up a sac fly, and induced an inning-ending ground ball to Derek Jeter.  Mark Teixeira made the play of the game by ranging to his right and picking the terrible throw from Jeter which might have led to a second run and 2 runners in scoring position if the throw had skipped by.  Aceves pitched 3 shutout innings with 3 Ks, limiting the Indians to 1 hit.  Mariano pitched around a leadoff single, striking out 2, including the overhyped and overrated Grady Sizemore.  

The Yankee hitters nearly had Cleveland's Cliff Lee on the ropes in the first inning, loading the bases with 1 out.  However, Robinson Cano continued to follow his career trend of being terrible with runners in scoring position, particularly with the bases loaded.  He struck out on 3 pitches and is now 20-83 lifetime with the bases jacked.  Jorge Posada, back from the DL, followed up with a tough at-bat, having some good cuts, but looked a little rusty, and eventually struck out as well.

The Bombers, however, kept the pressure on Lee in the 2nd, and this time, broke through for 2 runs.  Jeter and Tex knocked in the runs to put them up 2-0, and Nick Swisher would hit a rarely seen sac fly in the 3rd.  I say rarely seen, because the Yanks appear to be the most inept team to hit that lazy fly ball to knock in the run.  But things have been different on this run, particularly with ARod's return, as the team improved to 15-5 with him in the lineup.  Last night marked the first time this season that ARod and Posada were in the lineup together, and it lengthens the lineup considerably.  Swisher, who has been struggling mightly in May, was knocked down to the 8th spot in the order.  As for Posada, he rebounded from his 1st inning strikeout to go 2-3 with a double and a walk.  

For the Yanks, everything's clicking and tonight, Crooked Cap faces his old teammates in a matchup against Fausto Carmona.  

Other notes:  The Big Sloppy has officially become the Big Floppy.  Another 0-4 performance in the Sox 6-3 loss to Toronto and now hitting an inexplicable .189.  The Blue Jays win snapped a nine-game losing streak.  Great timing, Toronto!   

Yankees Record:  28-20, first place by .5 game over Boston