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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Pettitte has brought some stability to the
Yankees' struggling rotation.
Pettitte took a shutout into the seventh inning for his second
straight strong start as New York avoided its longest home losing
streak in 11 years with a 12-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on
Wednesday night.
"He's not necessarily our ace because we don't really have an
ace here," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But he has been very
consistent for us. The more consistent he is the more confident he
is."
|  | | Scott Brosius, center, was all smiles as his three-run homer in the second helped the Yankees build an early 10-0 lead. |
Scott Brosius hit a three-run homer in the second and an RBI
single in a six-run sixth inning as New York took a 10-0 lead.
Derek Jeter added a solo shot for the Yankees, who had lost five
straight at home. New York hadn't lost six straight games at Yankee
Stadium since Aug. 24-29, 1989.
"We definitely needed a win at home," Pettitte said.
With the Yankees' starting rotation in disarray, Pettitte (9-4)
has won seven of nine starts. The left-hander, coming off a six-hit
shutout against Detroit, was just as tough for six innings before
allowing four runs in the seventh.
He got out of trouble twice early, getting Albert Belle to hit
into a double play with runners on first and third and one out in
the first, and striking out Brady Anderson with runners on second
and third to end the fifth.
Pettitte's 15-inning scoreless streak was snapped in the seventh
when Charles Johnson hit his career-high 20th homer, a two-run
shot. He left with two runners on and the Orioles scored four more
runs after Jason Grimsley entered.
With rookie Ed Yarnall slated to pitch Thursday and Torre
searching for a starter Saturday against the Mets, Pettitte's
performance was needed. This marked just the 16th time in 41 games
that a Yankees starter pitched into the seventh inning.
"I feel confident and hopefully I can keep rolling," Pettitte
said. "We've always been about pitching. If the pitching is good,
we'll be fine."
Despite being nine games under .500 since May 9, the Yankees are
only a half-game behind Toronto in the AL East.
"We're lucky to be where we're at," said reliever Jeff Nelson,
who got out of a seventh-inning jam to preserve New York's four-run
lead. "Nobody in the division is playing well."
Pat Rapp (5-6) allowed seven runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings,
and is winless in five career decisions against the Yankees. The
right-hander was hurt by a blown call by first-base umpire Gary
Cederstrom in the sixth.
Bernie Williams, who has a 15-game hitting streak, led off with
a double and scored on Tino Martinez's one-out single that appeared
to bounce just foul down the right-field line. The Yankees added
five more runs in the inning.
"At least three of our guys saw it was foul," Rapp said. "The
umpire thought it hit the line. It wasn't even close."
The Orioles responded with six runs in the seventh, but that was
as close as they got.
"This club has not given up all year in spite of our
problems," manager Mike Hargrove said. "I thought it was
encouraging that we continued to play hard even after they had the
big inning."
Brosius' eighth homer gave New York a 3-0 lead and Jeter, in a
2-for-19 slump, hit his eighth homer in the fifth. Jeter, along
with teammates Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, were picked by
Torre for the AL All-Star team earlier in the day.
Jeter also made a tough play in the field, ranging deep into the
hole to field a grounder by Mark Lewis in the fifth and get the
force at second.
"He played like an All-Star," Torre said. "That took me off
the hook."
Game notes
The bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh innings took
58 minutes to play. ... Orioles 2B Delino DeShields sat out his
third straight game with a strained muscle in his right upper back.
... Yankees LF Shane Spencer did not start after banging his right
knee against the wall Tuesday. David Justice, making his first
start in left field for New York, misplayed B.J. Surhoff's RBI
double in the seventh. Justice went 1-for-4 and is 2-for-18 since
being traded from Cleveland last week. ... The Orioles had no plans
to deal RHP Scott Erickson before a midnight deadline gave him the
right to veto any trade. The Yankees are one of the teams that
expressed interest in Erickson.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Baltimore Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 15
Toronto 7
NY Yankees 12
Baltimore 6
Tampa Bay 4
Detroit 1
Chi. White Sox 6
Kansas City 3
Boston 11
Minnesota 8
Texas 9
Oakland 4
Seattle 6
Anaheim 4
Pittsburgh 9
Chicago Cubs 6
San Francisco 4
Colorado 2
NY Mets 11
Florida 2
St. Louis 4
Cincinnati 3
Montreal 6
Atlanta 5
Arizona 12
Houston 9
Philadelphia 5
Milwaukee 2
Los Angeles 7
San Diego 5
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