Game 136 - Pettitte, Yanks Overcome Troubles

Andy Pettitte kept pitching out of trouble and the Yanks overcome a horrendous 5-19 with RISP to defeat the Blue Jays, 6-4. Pettitte, who has been superb since the All Star break, walked 5 and gave up 4 runs in 6 innings of work. He also benefitted from a replay reversal in the 2nd inning when Randy Ruiz hit a deep drive down the LF line in the second. Originally ruled a homer, the umps reviewed it and rightfully called it foul. Ruiz would still get his HR though, connecting off Pettitte 2 innings later in the 4th.

The Yankee offense put 21 runners reach base, but if there's been a weak spot this season, it's their inability to hit with RISP. They left 14 men on base. Nick Swisher single-handedly left 8 men on in his 5 at bats. Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano each had a solo HR. Cano went 3-4 and his buddy, Melky Cabrera went 2-4 with 2 RBIs. The Captain had 2 more hits as he inched closer to the Yankee hit record. He now needs 7 to tie Lou Gehrig.

The Yankee bullpen threw 3 scoreless innings to wrap up the victory. David Robertson, Brian Bruney and Phil Hughes continued their dominance out of the pen, allowing no hits. Hughes struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced, earning his 3rd save while Mariano Rivera nurses his sore groin.

With the win, Pettitte improved to 13-6 on the season and now has 191 wins as a Yankee, trailing only Whitey Ford and Red Ruffing. The Bosox lost to the White Sox, as the Bombers stretched their division lead to a season-high 8.5 games.

Yankees Record: 87-49