Game 77 - Pettitte, ARod Lead Yanks to 7 Heaven

Andy Pettitte rebounded from his previous bomb of a start, tossing 7 strong innings, and ARod jacked another long bomb to lead the Yanks to a 4-2 win over the Mariners. Everything came up 7s, as the Yanks won their 7th straight in their 77th game. ARod's 2-run dinger was the 7th of his career against Seattle starter, Jarrod Washburn, giving him a 7-game hitting streak since his 1-25 slump.

Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera hit solo shots to account for the rest of the Bombers scoring. They couldn't muster much of anything else against Washburn, who induced 2 double plays in the first 2 innings to kill both threats.

Pettitte only allowed 2 earned runs on 6 hits in his 7 innings of work. He walked 1 and struck out 5. It was a stark contrast to his last start against Atlanta, when he couldn't get out of the 4th inning despite the Yanks giving him an early 8-1 lead. Pettitte did allow a HR to the shell of former greatness known as Ken Griffey, Jr., as the Yanks continued their "Rehab an Aging Slugger" program. See: Ortiz, David and Sheffield, Gary - both who have already benefitted from the Yankees charity this season. Griffey's shot knotted the score at 2 before ARod's heroics in the bottom of the 6th. ARod deposited a shot over dead center into Monument Park. It was his 4th HR in 7 games.

Curiously, Joe Girardi used Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke to pitch the 8th instead of Brian Bruney or Phil Hughes. Mariano Rivera retired the side in the 9th and is off to a great start towards saving 600 games. It was his 20th save of the season and he's now recorded a save in 3 straight games. The Yanks are 13 games above .500.

Notes: The Sawx pulled a game out of their asses today, rallying from 4 runs down in the 9th against Baltimore to tie the game before winning it in 11 innings. Orioles' manager, David Trembley demonstrated why bad teams are bad. Instead of going with his closer, George Sherrill, to start the 9th, he went with Jim Johnson, who gave up a walk and HR to the Nugget - Youkilis. Trembley then went to Sherrill, who struck out the 1st 2 batters before giving up a single, 2 walks and a 2-run single to Rocco Baldelli. Granted, Sherrill still had a chance to save the game, but I would have liked his chances if he started the inning.

Good news for the Yanks - the Jays finally snapped the Rays 7-game winning streak.

Yankees Record: 45-32