Andy Pettitte and Ricky Romero put on a classic pitchers deul today in Toronto.  Pettitte pitched a solid 7.2 innings, struck out ten, and gave up five hits.  The only two mistakes he made in his whole outing were two homeruns to Vernon Wells in the second inning and Alex Gonzalez in the seventh.  Pettitte also was able to strike out Aaron Hill and Adam Lind three times a piece.  Andy was taken out of the game in the eight inning and was not too pleased with the decision, but did admit however that he was getting tired.

“I definitly didn’t want to come out.  I wanted a chance to stay in there,” says Pettitte.  “I was feeling good.  I felt like I got a little tired in the sixth or seventh.  They were running me back out there real quick in the middle innings, but I guess at my age you need a little bit of a recovery.  I did get a little bit of a breather between one of the last innings and I felt pretty good toward the end.”

Ricky Romero pitched just as well has Pettitte did by pitching eight innings and striking out seven.  Like Andy, Romero also gave up five hits and two runs.

Five relief pitchers were used for the Yankees in this afternoon’s four hour game.  Joba Chamerblain came in the eight inning to get the final out.  He did that by striking out Jose Bautista.  Overall Joba gave up two hits and struck out three.  Damaso Marte pitched two thirds of the tenth inning.  He walked just one and recorded two outs.  David Robertson relieved Marte in the tenth and with one pitch he got one out.  D-Rob also pitched the eleventh inning and gave up just one hit overall.  It’s nice to see Robertson in good health.  Chan Ho Park pitched the 12th and 13th innings and did a fantastic job.  He gave up just one hit, two walks, and struck out three all without giving up a run.  Chad Gaudin pitched the 14th inning and was not so lucky.  He gave up a walk and the Aaron Hill hit that won the game for the Blue Jays.

The pitching was very stellar throughout the entire game as well as some great defensive plays.  In the 5th inning, Mark Teixeira caught a line drive off of Fred Lewis and was able to double up Edwin Encarnacion to save some runs.  The star of the Yankees defense today was Nick Swisher.  In the 3rd inning Swisher caught a long drive to right field.  Swish had to jump on the wall with one foot to collect the catch and prevent a double.  Swisher left his mark on the wall on that play.  The other play Swisher made was in the 10th inning.  A long drive was hit to right center and Swish had to make a leaping catch infront of the Yankee bullpen to get it.  That play kept the game alive for a few more innings.

What didn’t happen for the Yankees today was the offense.  The two runs the Yankees gained in this long game came off of a two run homerun by Derek Jeter in the fifth inning.  Our 3, 4, 5, and 6 hitters, the heart of the lineup, had a lot of issues at the plate.

Mark Teixeira had the biggest struggles of the four.  He hit a fly ball in his first AB and struck out in each of his next five.  He said he just had a tough day at the plate.  It happens.  Teix has struck out five times in a row before.

“It’s just a tough day,” says Joe Girardi.  “It is going to click, and when it does it’s going to be fun.”  Of Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, and Posada, they combined going 2-for-24, struck out ten times, and eight LOB. 

One hitter that did makes some noise besides Jeter was Brett Gardner.  He went 2-for-4, walked twice, and scored on the Jeter homerun.  Gardner also stole his 20th base of the season.

“It was long.  I think that’s the best way to describe it,” says Derek Jeter on the game and the pitching.  “It was a well pitched game on both sides.  Unfortunately for us they got the last run.”  When asked about Gaudin’s claim of letting the team down in the last inning Jeter replied, “He can’t blame himself.  We had plenty of opportunities.”