Pettitte Dominates in Win

Andy Pettitte had not pitched in professional baseball for a year and a half before last Sunday, and tonight he gave the Yankees all they could have hoped for and more. Going eight strong innings, he allowed no runs and struck out nine batters. He gave up a meager four hits and worked with one run of offense through his entire performance. Pettitte to this point has been a godsend to the Yankees, who now have another formidable lefty starter in their rotation after shaky outings by Hughes and Kuroda.

What worries me is the Yankees continuous inability to hit with runners in scoring position. Tonight against Bronson Arroyo, the Yankees offense went 0-7 with RISP. The big blows of the game that sealed the deal came via home runs by Cano and Ibanez. The offense got it going in the eighth inning, but the team as a whole is still horrific with runners on. The bases were loaded with Yankees in the sixth inning and they didn't even manage to get a run across against an average pitcher. Teixeira getting the day off should help him gather his thoughts. He has been atrocious this year offensively and needed a day off.

Tomorrow afternoon, Ivan Nova hopes to improve on his last performance in Baltimore when he takes on Homer Bailey who is 1-4 on the season.