Pettitte healthy and effective in 7-1 victory

Andy Pettitte didn't want the rest. Felt he didn't need the rest. But the Yankees told him to take the rest. And the rest is history.

Pettitte returned to the mound Saturday after a nine-day absence and threw 61/3 shutout innings in a 7-1 victory over the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte (5-0, 1.79 ERA) had last pitched May 5, leaving after five innings because of elbow tightness. He was working through it, but the Yankees weren't taking any chances with the 37-year-old. They scratched him from his next assignment, a cautiousness that did not sit well with Pettitte. "I think I know what I can pitch with and pitch through," he sniffed Friday.

Pettitte, who last started 5-0 in 1997, allowed two hits and three walks. He was removed after 95 pitches and jogged off to a hearty ovation from the crowd of 46,347. Pettitte tipped his cap and gave it a little twirl.

"It's big for our team to know he's healthy," Joe Girardi said. "We've had enough [health] issues. We don't need any more."

Said Pettitte: "Didn't give me any trouble, and that for me was the big thing. When I was warming up, I felt a little hesitant. As I went out there for the first inning, I was telling myself, 'Just throw the ball. If it starts hurting, we'll deal with it.' In the bullpen I was a little protective of it and was like, 'Man, don't hurt.' "

Jorge Posada was 3-for-4 with a home run, double and two RBIs, Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run and a single, and Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter each had two hits and an RBI as the Yankees won their 12th straight against Minnesota, including the postseason. The Twins have not won in the Bronx since July 5, 2007, also a span of 12 games (including last season's ALDS).

Pettitte was livin' large in the early innings. Denard Span led off the game with a liner into center on which Brett Gardner made a diving, tumbling catch. With two outs in the second, the Twins had a man on third when Pettitte snared Brendan Harris' liner. His glove happened to be in the right position on his follow-through and Pettitte grabbed it like a hockey goalie.

In the third, Nick Swisher, who has been bothered by a sore left biceps, made a full-extension dive toward the foul line to catch Drew Butera's liner; luckily for him, his glove hand is on his right (and uninjured) arm.

By that point, the Yankees had given Pettitte a 2-0 lead. Rodriguez had an RBI single in the first against Francisco Liriano (4-2, 2.63) and Jeter had a two-out RBI single in the second.

That still was the score with two outs in the sixth when Pettitte walked Span on five pitches and Orlando Hudson on four before falling behind Joe Mauer 3-and-0; at that point, Pettitte had thrown 11 straight balls.

"Got a little tired there in the sixth inning because my legs went on me a little bit," he said. "Lost my focus. I almost let the game get away from me."

After a called strike, Pettitte retired Mauer on a drive to Gardner on the warning track in left-center. "I didn't think he hit it good enough to hit it out of the ballpark," Pettitte said. "But you never know. Gardie's so fast out there, you're just hoping he would get to the ball."

Posada doubled and scored on Marcus Thames' single in the sixth for a 3-0 lead. Damaso Marte struck out potential tying run Jim Thome to end the seventh. The Yankees made it 7-0 in the seventh as Teixeira and Posada hit long two-run homers.