Don't look now but the Yankees have themselves a little winning streak going as they return home from Texas. They took both ends of yesterday's doubleheader behind the only script that's going to fully erase the memories of April. That script calls for strong starting pitching and vintage Rivera at the close, something they got in the afternoon and again at night thanks to Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina.
Pettitte threw six innings and gave up two runs while striking out five and left with a 3-2 lead. Luis Vizcaino couldn't get that lead to Rivera, however. He gave up a home run to Jerry Hairston in the seventh, another in a string of letdowns from the righthander, but Hideki Matsui bailed him out with an eighth inning double. Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless eighth and Rivera did the same in the ninth for a 4-3 win.
The nightcap saw Mussina's much-anticipated return from hamstring woes and he carved up the Rangers through the five innings he was allowed to pitch. The pitch count was the only thing that kept him from going deeper in the game but he looked fit enough to go the distance. Farnsworth couldn't repeat his performance of the first game, but with a 4-1 lead the run he allowed was window dressing, but three other relievers succeeded in getting Rivera his second save of the day. The 5-2 sets up a seven-game homestand against Seattle and Texas, seven games that should be there for the taking and offer a chance to turn things around in a hurry.
Comments