Yankees Start Long Day With a Win

Boy, was this a game the Yankees needed to win or what! The game began in a promising manner for the Yankees as they amassed three straight hits off of starter Henderson Alvarez and scored three runs in the inning. The game looked like it was going to be an easy blowout in the Yankees favor. That was not the case. After the first inning, Alvarez pitches another six frames and only allowed two hits and walked none. For someone who isn't a strikeout pitcher, Alvarez certainly had his fair share with seven Yankee punch outs. The Yankees were able to tack on a run in the eighth against Darren Oliver and that turned out to be enough in this nerve-racking first game of the double header.

The story entering the day was Andy Pettitte. Andy was making his first start in over two months and was on a pitch limit of about 75. Pettitte was in trouble a couple of times, but he left the game in line for a win by going five shutout innings. The bridge to the "A" bullpen relievers worked out well until they crossed it when David Robertson gave up two runs on four hits in 2/3 innings and Soriano was called upon for a four out save. Soriano barely got out of the inning and continued to pitch a perfect ninth inning to seal the victory. It was huge for the Yankees to take the first game.

Tonight, David Phelps will start the night-cap portion of the double header. The Yankees need length out of Phelps after using all of their big relievers and making their top two pitchers throw a lot of pitches.