PETTITE MASTERFUL; YANKS WIN EASILY

After losing the season series opener in Baltimore, the Yanks continued their rout of the last place Orioles with an easy 5-1 victory on this unseasonably cool night to close out the month of August. 

The main story of the evening was Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte pitched a perfect game for 6 and 2/3rd innings.  The perfect game was lost when a lightening-fast shot was powered through the legs of Yankee backup third baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. for an E-5 – a reminder that the greatest pressure in a perfect game situation is perhaps not on the pitcher, but on the fielders.  The demise of the no-hitter soon followed with a base hit down the third base line.  Because the Yankees only led 2-0, Pettitte, as so often happens when a no-hitter is lost, suddenly found himself in danger of losing not only a career outing, but also the shutout and the lead.  But a groundout to Jeter ended the 7^th inning threat, and the Yankees answered with a 3-run 8^th, which started with a double to lead off the inning by perennial MVP candidate Derek Jeter.  All told, Pettitte gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits over 8.0 innings to pick up his 12^th victory of the season.  Thank you, Andy.   

Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie also pitched well, giving up only 2 earned runs over 6 innings. 

Nick Swisher led the Yankee offense, going 3 for 4 with a single, double, homerun, and 2 RBIs. 

This Yankee victory brings their record to 21-7 for the month of August, the best in baseball.  The Yanks also picked up a half game on the idle Red Sox to extend their lead in the AL East to 6.5 games. 

Looking ahead to September, the Yankees’ schedule looks very reasonable, with 2 series each against Baltimore and Toronto; a 4-game set against Tampa Bay; a 6-game west coast stint which includes 3 games against the Angels; the final 3-game series against Boston; and a 3-gamer against Kansas City.  Steady as she goes.  Steady as she goes…

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