Despite the beating the New York Yankees took on Monday, I felt good walking into Chase Field for last night's game. Not only because I was in the company of my good friend and former colleague Dave, but because we had Andy Pettitte on the mound so I felt confident that the Yanks would win the game. And they did.
Pettitte pitched his typical great game, giving up only two runs over seven innings to keep the Diamondbacks lineup in check. With the exception of pitcher Dan Haren, who apparently hits everyone, none of the Dbacks could really get to Pettitte.
The lefty is now 9-2 with an astonishingly low 2.48 ERA, mostly against the American League. He's a lock for his third All-Star berth. But Pettitte is also solidifying an already strong case for an elusive Cy Young award. It's not just that he wins games. It's that he wins games when the Yankees need him to win games, such as after Monday's embarrassing loss on a night when the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays all lost, helping the Yanks put another game between themselves and their competition in what will be an extremely tight battle for the AL East division crown for the rest of the season.
If the Yankees do come out on top this season, it will be defined by three things: the emergence of Robinson Cano as one of baseball's elite players, the rise of Phil Hughes to the top echelon of starting pitchers and the wonder that is an aging, but anything but old Andy Pettitte.
Thanks to Alex Kim via Wikipedia for the photo.
Pettitte pitched his typical great game, giving up only two runs over seven innings to keep the Diamondbacks lineup in check. With the exception of pitcher Dan Haren, who apparently hits everyone, none of the Dbacks could really get to Pettitte.
The lefty is now 9-2 with an astonishingly low 2.48 ERA, mostly against the American League. He's a lock for his third All-Star berth. But Pettitte is also solidifying an already strong case for an elusive Cy Young award. It's not just that he wins games. It's that he wins games when the Yankees need him to win games, such as after Monday's embarrassing loss on a night when the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays all lost, helping the Yanks put another game between themselves and their competition in what will be an extremely tight battle for the AL East division crown for the rest of the season.
If the Yankees do come out on top this season, it will be defined by three things: the emergence of Robinson Cano as one of baseball's elite players, the rise of Phil Hughes to the top echelon of starting pitchers and the wonder that is an aging, but anything but old Andy Pettitte.
Thanks to Alex Kim via Wikipedia for the photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment