Game 97 - Aceves Plays Arsonist

For 6 innings, Andy Pettitte and Athletics' starter, Gio Gonzalez, were locked into an old fashioned pitchers duel. Brett Gardner's triple finally put a run on the board as the Yanks led 1-0 through 6. In the top of the 7th, the wheels fell off the bus. Scott Hairston led off with a double and the fossil of Nomar Garciaparra worked out a walk. After Pettitte got Jack Cust to fly out, Rajai Davis, the same Rajai Davis that was cut last season by the offensively challenged San Francisco Giants, singled in the tying run.

For some inexplicable reason, Joe Girardi visited the mound and forgot to bring Pettitte back with him to the dugout. Bobby Crosby, proud owner of a .227 batting average followed up with a bunt single. Out goes Pettitte and in comes Alfredo Aceves, toting his gasoline can. For 3 pitches, Aceves looked great. He retired Mark Ellis on a first pitch pop up and went up 0-2 on Landon Powell. That's when Aceves lit the match to watch the inning, and essentially the game, go up in flames. Powell singled in 2 runs. Adam Kennedy, the same Adam Kennedy that the St. Louis Cardinals let go last season, singled in another, and Orlando Cabrera capped off the 6-run rally with a 2-run double.

Aceves piss poor performance cost the Yankees their 8-game winning streak. Girardi probably mismanaged the bullpen, too. He should have taken Pettitte out against Crosby and should have brought in Phil Coke to face the lefty hitting Powell or Kennedy, too.

As been the Yankees M.O. all season, they mounted a minor comeback. Derek Jeter hit a 2-run shot in the 8th and 1 out later, Mark Teixeira hit his league-leading 25th homer to make the score 6-4. After there was an actually Nick Swisher getting a hit sighting, Cano ended the threat with a long fly out to right. It wasn't Cano's fault - Swisher had the audacity of being in scoring position with 2 out and should know Robbie doesn't like hitting in those situations.

The Yanks finally gasp came in the final frame, but after leading off with 2 walks, the slug-footed Jorge Posada killed a chance of a rally hitting into a double play after fouling off a pitch down the pipe and swinging at absolute garbage in the dirt. The Captain ended the game with a runner on 3rd with a long fly out to center. And like magic, an 8-game winning streak vanished against a team with a lineup that could challenge for 3rd place in Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Yankees Record: 59-38