Andy Pettitte Helps the New York Yankees Hold Back the Cincinnati Reds
NEW YORK (AP) -- Andy Pettitte put the Yankees back on track, running his shutout streak to 19 innings and helping New York avoid a three-game sweep with a 4-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 601st home run, but the Reds are still looking for their first three-game road sweep since last July at Atlanta.
Jason Giambi had a two-run double and Robinson Cano snapped a scoreless tie with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, sending the Yankees to their 13th win in 18 games. They lost reliever Kyle Farnsworth to injury, however, when he tried to barehand Brandon Phillips' infield single in the eighth.
Mariano Rivera came on and got four outs for his 21st save in 21 chances. Cincinnati put runners at the corners in the ninth before Rivera struck out pinch-hitter Adam Dunn and retired Norris Hopper on a comebacker.
Pettitte (8-5) tossed six innings of four-hit ball, handing Reds rookie Johnny Cueto (5-8) a hard-luck loss. Both departed following a rain delay in the middle of the sixth.
Griffey pulled Farnsworth's eighth-inning pitch into the front row of right-field seats for his eighth home run this season and first at Yankee Stadium since May 8, 1999, with Seattle. The ball was caught by a smiling fan wearing a Reds shirt.
The crowd of 54,234 gave Griffey a standing ovation as he rounded the bases. The star slugger hit home run No. 600 on June 9 at Florida.
Cincinnati third baseman Edwin Encarnacion came out in the third with lower back spasms.
Pettitte is 5-0 in his last seven starts. He has won three straight since giving up 10 runs in a no-decision June 7 against Kansas City, allowing only a second-inning run June 12 at Oakland.
The left-hander also improved to 75-37 after a regular-season Yankees loss, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He is 209-118 overall.
Pettitte loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on two walks sandwiched around an infield single. But the savvy southpaw is often at his best in a jam, and Pettitte made big pitches against a pair of dangerous left-handed hitters when he needed them. He struck out Joey Votto, then went to a full count on rookie sensation Jay Bruce before fanning him, too.
Pettitte used his deceptive move to pick off slow-footed catcher David Ross in the fifth. With two on and two outs in the sixth, Pettitte struck out Votto again as the rain started.
After a 56-minute delay, Derek Jeter opened the bottom half with a single off reliever Gary Majewski. Hideki Matsui singled with two outs and Giambi hit an opposite-field drive that sliced away from Hopper in left field with help from the wind.
The two-run double, off Jeremy Affeldt, made it 3-0. Jorge Posada added an RBI double.
Giambi, who finished with three hits, also singled leading off the fifth and went to third on Posada's double off Cueto. Cano followed with a deep sacrifice fly to center.
Cueto, who has lost three consecutive starts after winning three straight, flashed the nasty stuff that's made him so tough at times this year. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking none.
Notes:@ Griffey was Cincinnati's DH again. Farnsworth became the 384th pitcher to give up a home run to him. ... Reds manager Dusty Baker benched the slumping Dunn for a day. Dunn is mired in a 6-for-55 skid. ... The Yankees are off Monday before beginning a three-game series Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, their first trip to the Steel City since losing the 1960 World Series on Bill Mazeroski's famous home run in Game 7. ... Jeter extended his season-best hitting streak to 11 games. ... Cincinnati's Javier Valentin entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth and played third base for the first time in his big league career. ... Cincinnati swept a two-game series at Pittsburgh last Aug. 3-4.
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