Pettitte, Pena help Yanks sweep Texas
April 18, 2010, 5:45 pm by iYankees · 41 Comments
With their 5-2 victory today, the Yankees swept the Texas Rangers.
The game ball, if you will, has to go to the veteran southpaw, Andy Pettitte, who was superb through 8 innings, allowing only 2 earned runs on 4 hits (he struck out 4 and walked 3). Pettitte’s second win of the 2010 season was his longest outing since August 31 of last year, when he struck out 8 Orioles in Baltimore over 8 innings of 1-run ball. Today, the Rangers, led by a home run hitting powerhouse in Nelson Cruz, could muster little against the 37-year old veteran and could do even less against Mariano Rivera, who tossed a scoreless 9th inning for the save (2 K).
On the offensive side, with the game tied, 2-2, and with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 3rd inning, the Yankees received a 2-run single from an unlikely hero in Ramiro Pena. The young infielder was substituting for Derek Jeter, who is suffering from a minor cold. While Pena’s production is certainly notable, the Yankees should also thank the always frustrating Rich Harden for delivering another strange pitching line. The Rangers’ oft-injured right-hander threw just 3 2/3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 5 and walking 6 (he also allowed Mark Teixeira’s first home run of the year). Once the Yankees took the lead against Harden in the 3rd, they did not look back.
Tomorrow, the team has an off-day before facing the A’s (4/20-22) and the Angels (4/23-25) on the west coast.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX (5-7) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| NYY (9-3) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 7 | 0 |
Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images
