Sometimes you just have to make the most out of your limited opportunities.
Andy Pettitte was a bulldog through six, Robinson Cano continued his resurgence with two hits and a ribbie and the bullpen put a bow on things as the
Yanks edged the Mets 3-2 in Flushing. The Bombers managed only five hits on the afternoon, but they made them count. Jason Giambi put the Yanks on the board with an RBI-groundout in the fourth inning and Jorge Posada followed with a sacrifice fly to help build a 2-1 Yankee lead.
But the play of the game came in the fifth. The Metropolitans had Damion Easley on first and Jose Reyes at second with two outs and David Wright at the plate. For some reason, Reyes took too many steps off second. I'm not sure if he was stealing third or if he was bluffing or if he was trying to get a better secondary lead. Whatever the case, Pettitte whirled and picked him off at second. Inning over. You can't get into the business of predicting the future, but Wright blasted a homer to left when he resumed his at-bat in the sixth.
The Good:Andy Pettitte. The lefty sage continues to impress. Pettitte doesn't have the sexiness of his counterpart Johan Santana, but he held his own in this pitcher's duel. Andy had his scoreless innings streak snapped at 20 when he allowed a solo shot to Ramon Castro in the second inning, but that didn't quell his intensity. The Mets had at least one baserunner in every inning against Pettitte, but No. 46 was able to keep the Blue and Orange at bay. Pettitte also battled through two rain delays -- one at the start of the game and another in the sixth -- and made the play of the game when he picked off Reyes in the fifth (his eighth pickoff of the season). Pettitte won his fourth straight and improved to 9-5 on the year with this: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR.
Robinson Cano. Hits were scarce for the Yanks on Saturday afternoon, but Cano managed to pick up a pair. Robbie's first hit was a little dribbler up the third-base line that went down as an infield hit. Hey, they all look like line drives in the box score, right? But Cano regained his manhood with a clean RBI-single to right in the sixth to extend the Yankee lead to 3-1. Cano is working on a modest six-game hitting streak and is hitting .461 in those games. Glad to have you back, Robbie. Cano finished 2 for 4 with a run batted in.
Jose Veras/Kyle Farnsworth/Mariano Rivera. This seems to be the plan the Yanks want to implement when they have a lead in tight ballgames. They aren't concerned with the Rivera (who would be?), but Veras and Farnsworth are the wild cards. Well, things came up Aces on Saturday. Veras started the bridge to Mo with a scoreless seventh and Farnsworth zipped through the eighth. Then Rivera turned in his 22nd save in as many chances with a 1,2,3 ninth. I love it when a plan comes together. Here's the pen's combined effort: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
The Bad:Melky Cabrera. I don't want to pick on Melky, but the kid continues to swoon. The Yanks didn't hit well as a team on Saturday (Santana was solid even though he was tagged with the loss), but Cabrera was the only regular who didn't reach base (via a hit or walk) or drive in a run. The Melk-Man hasn't let his offensive struggles carry out into center, but his average has dipped down to .249 on the year. Cabrera finished 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Godzilla is hurting. The Yankees are "cautiously optimistic" that
Hideki Matsui's stint on the 15-day disabled list will be just what the doctor ordered and not a precursor to surgery. Matsui had his left knee drained for the second time this season on Friday. "He's been bothered by it, and it's a concern," said general manager Brian
Cashman. "We DL'd him to give it some time to calm down. I think he's running at
about 75 percent now, and hopefully we can get him back to 100 percent." Let's hope so.
Darrell Rasner (4-5, 4.50 ERA) will try and give the Yanks the sweep in their final regular season visit to Shea Stadium and will lock up against Oliver Perez (5-5, 5.29 ERA). Perez held the Yanks to two runs through 7 2/3 innings in an 11-2 Mets victory at The Stadium on May 18. But Ollie has given up 16 hits and nine runs in his past 11 innings. Perez is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in five career starts against the Bombers. Rasner was battered in his last start against the Pittsburgh Pirates and has had a putrid June. The Ras is 1-4 with a 7.00 ERA in his past five starts. Rasner will also be returning to the scene of the crime. His season was cut short last year at Shea when an Endy Chavez comebacker
broke his finger.
It's payback time.
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