The Yankees managed to thump the Indians for the third time in four days. They thumped the Indian pitching on the other game, but managed to throw away leads of three runs and six runs twice to hand Cleveland a victory.
Andy Pettitte kept the Yankees and himself rolling with a dominating performance against a sad Cleveland team. Pettitte's performance was exemplary. At 37 going on 38 the lefty has been keeping hitters off balance all season and, along with Phil Hughes, he has been the ace of the staff.
Pettitte never wavered against the Indians and after a one-out single by Mark Grudzielanek he sat down the next 14 Cleveland batters to step up to the plate. Match that with how he kept the Twins from getting anything on the board late in his previous start and you have a pitcher who is riding a hot streak.
It also seems that Pettitte's mental prowess has reached a level that matches his physical ability. If he can stay healthy then the Yankee rotation will be the best in baseball when Sabathia and Burnett heat with the weather.
The last two series are exactly what the Yankees needed. Cleveland and Minnesota are two teams the Yankees tend to beat on and they came at the perfect time for New York to rebound from a tough stretch of games. May in general was the Yankees most difficult month in terms of opponents. Now they will enter June with a chance of catching the Rays and putting some serious distance between themselves and the Red Sox.
June will see New York take on sad-sack teams such as the Astros, Diamondbacks, Mets, Orioles and Blue Jays. Not to mention the seven games against Seattle at the end of June and the start of July, plus more games against the Blue Jays and a rematch of Braden vs. A-Rod. It will be a great way to pump up the Yanks record before the All-Star break.
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