Derek Jeter led off the game with a bomb to the deepest part of the park, hitting a 430 ft ground-rule double. If it stayed in the park it would've easily been a triple and perhaps an inside-the-park HR, bum ankle and all. That set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Bombers mounted a 13-hit attack with every starter having at least one hit. Jeter, Damon, Teixeira and Posada each had 2 hits, Melky Cabrera went yard and even the much maligned Angel Berroa had a run scoring double. Not to be outdone, Pettitte followed Berroa's hit with an RBI double of his own.
Berroa played in place of ARod today at 3B. ARod asked Joe Girardi for a day off, and according to Yankee announcer Michael Kay, there must have been some miscommunication between the 2, because ARod found himself in today's lineup when he came to the ballpark. ARod, Girardi and Yankee GM, Brian Cashman, had a sit down meeting and announced that ARod will sit the next 2 days due to fatigue. Let's hope that's all it is, but I still wonder if he's having issues with his hip.
Andy Pettitte looked like the Andy of old when he regularly would stop Yankee losing streaks. He pitched 7 strong innings and only gave up 3 hits. His control was excellent, as he walked none while striking out 7. His lone mistake came on a solo HR by Cody Ross. Pettitte scuffled his previous 6 starts, particularly with his command, but tonight he came out firing, as he kept the Fish off-balance. It's amazing how good Pettitte can be when his breaking ball is working and he can spot his fastball. I guess you can say that about all pitchers, but Andy has made a career of getting by like a crafty veteran, dancing in and out of trouble when all his pitches aren't working.
Brian Bruney made his second appearance since returning from the DL, retiring the side in the 8th and Bret Tomko went 1-2-3 in the 9th to finish up a successful start on the 9-game interleague road trip.
Other notes: Maybe it's not just the Yankees that lose to mediocre pitchers. Tampa Bay lost to the Mets as Fernando Nieve held them to 1 run in 6 innings. It was Nieve's first start since beating the Yanks last weekend.
Boston also lost to little known Kenshin Kawakami and the Braves tonight. Kawakami and his 4.54 ERA outpitched his more popular and famous countryman, Daisuke "The Dart Thrower" Matsuzaka. He held the Sawx to 2 runs on 2 hits in 6 frames. Matsuzaka lasted just 4 innings, giving up 8 hits, 4 walks and 6 runs. Terrible! If you had the over on the 100 pitches over/under tonight, amazingly enough, you lost! The Dart Thrower only threw 69 darts as the Braves came out swinging. Newly acquired Nate McLouth hit the game's first pitch for a HR en route to an 8-2 win. Even Matsuzaka admitted tonight he doesn't belong in the Sawx rotation.
Don't look now but the GNats have a 3 game winning streak, as they beat the Jays 2-1 in 11 innings. Who said this team can't pitch?
Yankees Record: 37-29 and 2 games back of Boston
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