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Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera are among the most decorated players in Yankees history. On Tuesday, they made a piece of Major League Baseball history as well.

 

Pettitte tossed seven strong innings to earn the win and Rivera recorded the save with a scoreless ninth as the Yankees beat the A’s 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. It was the 57th time a Pettitte victory was saved by Rivera, which ties the duo for first place all time with Bob Welch and Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley, who combined on 57 wins for the Athletics from 1988 through 1994.

 

Rivera is sure to follow Eckersley into the Hall: The diminutive right-hander has lost little, if any, of his trademark dominance even as he approaches his 40th birthday. Rivera had perhaps his most impressive season ever last year, when he surrendered a career-low 41 hits and six walks in 70 2/3 innings, posted a 1.40 ERA—just shy of his career low of 1.38—and converted 39 of 40 save opportunities. He’s 4-for-4 on save opportunities this year and has yet to allow a run or issue a walk in six innings.

Pettitte showed signs of fading last year, when he finished with his second-highest ERA ever (4.54) and posted a 5.35 ERA after the All-Star break. Pettitte’s resume is similar to the one fashioned by Welch, who went 211-146 with a 3.47 ERA over 17 big-league seasons and fell off the Hall of Fame ballot after just one year.

 

But Pettitte, in his 15th big-league season, has 217 wins—fourth most among active pitchers and one more than Curt Schilling, who is considered more likely than not to reach the Hall—and a 3.88 ERA in the most hitter-friendly era ever. He was a core member of the Yankees’ four world championship teams from 1996 through 2000 and is 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 35 postseason starts.

 

And Pettitte is still adding to his credentials. He lasted seven innings for the third time in three starts Tuesday and has a 2.53 ERA with just two walks in 21 1/3 innings. Perhaps he’ll add another line to his resume Sunday, when he and Rivera get their first chance at surpassing Welch and Eckersley in the record books.

 

YANKEES 5, A’S 3: Johnny Damon had an RBI single during a four-run second inning and added a solo homer in the sixth as the Yankees won in the Bronx. Damon, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui had two hits each, while Brett Gardner had a two-run single in the second and robbed ex-Yankee Jason Giambi of an extra-base hit with a spectacular catch in the first inning. Andy Pettitte allowed two runs in seven innings, and Mariano Rivera earned the save with a scoreless ninth.

 

Notes, Quotes

 

• RHP Chien-Ming Wang, who has an ERA of 34.50 after three starts, will have his next turn in the rotation skipped and will head to the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa, where he will throw 100 pitches in an extended spring training game Thursday as he and the Yankees try to get him untracked. Pitching Thursday would put Wang in line to pitch for the Yankees next Tuesday, but manager Joe Girardi told reporters he wasn’t sure who would start for the Yankees that night against the Tigers.

 

• OF Johnny Damon appeared in his 2,000th career game Tuesday. Damon has appeared in at least 141 games every season since 1996, his first full year in the bigs, and has made just one trip to the disabled list.

 

By The Numbers:   20—Homers hit by the Indians (11) and Yankees (nine) in the first four games at the new Yankee Stadium—the most ever hit in the first four games at a stadium in major league history.

 

Quote To Note:   “(It’s) like a painting you’ve been staring at a long time. And now it’s different. Still great. But different.”—Yankees captain Derek Jeter, talking to the New York Daily News about switching from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one.

 

Roster Report

 

The Yankees certainly absorbed their share of embarrassing moments during a week in which they went 4-3 against the Rays and Indians. The Yankees’ three losses were by a combined margin of 47-11 and were “highlighted” by Nick Swisher’s mound debut in a 15-5 loss to the Rays, a 12-2 drubbing by the Indians in the first game at the new Yankee Stadium and a 22-4 rout by the Indians two days later in which the Yankees gave up a team-record 14 runs in the second inning. There are plenty of concerns about Chien-Ming Wang, who was the losing pitcher in two of the routs, as well as the bullpen leading up to set-up man Brian Bruney and closer extraordinaire Mariano Rivera. But A.J. Burnett displayed dominant stuff in a pair of starts and the Yankees are averaging 5.4 runs per game even though the likes of Mark Teixeira (.206) and Hideki Matsui (.194) have started slow.

 

Player News:  

 

• OF Xavier Nady learned he would not yet need season-ending Tommy John surgery on his injured right elbow. Nady, who was hurt while throwing the ball a week ago against the Rays, will spend the next three weeks rehabbing his arm before he begins hitting. If Nady encounters no hiccups, he’ll return to the lineup as the designated hitter to minimize the stress on his elbow. Nady underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2001 season.

 

• DH Hideki Matsui had fluid drained from his troublesome left knee Thursday. Matsui, who underwent surgery on the left knee following last season, was out of the starting lineup for five straight games last week but is back.

 

• RHP Brian Bruney’s run of perfection ended when he gave up a run on two hits in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Athletics. Entering the game, Bruney had retired 20 consecutive batters in his last seven appearances, including 12 by strikeout.

 

Medical Watch:  

 

OF Xavier Nady (sore right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 15. He will try to rehab the injury without surgery.

 

DH Hideki Matsui (left knee surgery in September 2008) won’t play in the field before June.

 

3B Alex Rodriguez (arthroscopic right hip surgery in March 2009) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. He resumed baseball activities April 13 and could be back as soon as late April. He could have more extensive surgery during the offseason, although he is indicating that might not be necessary.

 

Rotation:  

 

LHP CC Sabathia

 

RHP A.J. Burnett

 

LHP Andy Pettitte

 

RHP Joba Chamberlain

 

RHP Chien-Ming Wang

 

Bullpen:  

 

RHP Mariano Rivera (closer)

 

RHP Brian Bruney

 

LHP Damaso Marte

 

LHP Phil Coke

 

RHP Edwar Ramirez

 

RHP Jose Veras

 

RHP Jonathan Albaladejo

 

RHP Steven Jackson

 

Catchers:  

 

Jorge Posada

 

Jose Molina

 

Infielders:  

 

1B Mark Teixeira

 

2B Robinson Cano

 

SS Derek Jeter

 

3B Cody Ransom

 

INF Ramiro Pena

 

Outfielders:  

 

LF Johnny Damon

 

CF Brett Gardner

 

RF Nick Swisher

 

DH Hideki Matsui

 

OF Melky Cabrera

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