Pettitte, A-Rod Help Yanks Make It Seven Straight

(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
SEA	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0		2	6	0
NYY	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	X		4	9	0

Winning pitcher - Andy Pettitte (8-3)
Losing pitcher - Jarrod Washburn (4-6)
SV - Mariano Rivera (20)
Andy Pettitte pitched his best game at his new home tonight, throwing seven strong innings. He allowed just two runs on six hits, walked just one, struck out five, and picked up his team-leading eighth win. He said after the game that he didn't use his cutter that much, but besides that he pretty much good command of all his pitches. On the night he threw 98 pitches, 63 of which found the zone.

Mariners' starter Jarrod Washburn also pitched a good game, but he was hurt by the long ball. The first coming off the bat of Johnny Damon who got the Yanks on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. It was his 15th homer of the season.

Seattle came right back to tie the game with a run off Pettitte in the fourth. With runners on the corners and one out Wladimir Balentien hit what should have been an inning-ending double play, but Mark Teixeira bobbled the ball and they were only able to get the force. Pettitte then got out of the inning without allowing any more damage.

The Yanks regained the lead with another solo homer, this time off the bat of Melky Cabrera in the fifth. It was his eighth homer of the year, tying his total for the entire 2008 season.

Once again the Mariners matched the Yanks with a run of their own when Pettitte served up a meatball to Ken Griffey Jr. He may not be what anything close to what he once was, but he can still knock a pitch out of the yard if you give him a chance, and that's just what he did. I knew he'd hit at least one this series.

The game would not remain tied for long. Teixeira led off the bottom half of the inning with a single and Alex Rodriguez following with a long two-run homer into monument cave to put the Yankees up for good. A-Rod now has 4 homers and 13 RBI during the Yankees seven-game winning streak. You have to love it when this guy hits like this, it's really a lot of fun to watch.

Pettitte was gone after seven and that's when the pen took over, and once again did a great job. Alfredo Aceves retired the only batter he faced. Phil Coke then came in and retired the only batters he faced, Ichiro Suzuki and Russell Branyan - both lefties. And Mariano Rivera came in for his 502nd save of his Hall of Fame career, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth.

The Yanks will go for the sweep tomorrow night with their ace CC Sabathia on the mound. He will be looking for win number eight to tie Pettitte for the team-lead. Jason Vargas will make the start for Seattle.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.307
Damon, LF	3	1	1	1	1	1	2	.292
Teixeira, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	.278
Rodriguez, A, DH	4	1	2	2	0	0	2	.239
Posada, C	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.268
Cano, 2B	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.300
Swisher, RF	3	0	1	0	0	1	0	.238
Gardner, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.289
Cabrera, Me, CF-RF	3	1	1	1	0	0	2	.287
Ransom, 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.190
Totals	30	4	9	4	1	6	7
BATTING HR: Damon (15, 3rd inning off Washburn, 0 on, 2 out), Cabrera, Me (8, 5th inning off Washburn, 0 on, 1 out), Rodriguez, A (13, 6th inning off Washburn, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter; Damon 4; Teixeira 2; Rodriguez, A 5; Cano; Swisher; Cabrera, Me 4. RBI: Damon (47), Cabrera, Me (32), Rodriguez, A 2 (41). 2-out RBI: Damon. GIDP: Rodriguez, A; Cabrera, Me; Posada. Team RISP: 0-for-2. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING Pickoffs: Pettitte (Balentien at 1st base).

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pettitte (W, 8-3)	7.0	6	2	2	1	5	1	4.25
Aceves, A (H, 3)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.14
Coke (H, 6)	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.18
Rivera, Ma (S, 20)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.76

MARINERS STATS

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Pettitte (W, 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

HONORABLE MENTION: Alex Rodriguez (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R)

Tomorrow's Game

Yankees vs. Mariners
Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.55) vs. LHP Jason Vargas (3-3, 3.79)