Sport
Pettitte makes it a triumphant adieu
Pettitte makes it a triumphant adieu
Agencies/New York
Andy Pettitte made a triumphant farewell to Major League Baseball, the 41-year-old southpaw pitching a complete game on Saturday as the New York Yankees defeated Houston 2-1. |
Pettitte, who spent 15 of his 18 seasons with the Yankees, threw 114 pitches in his first complete game since 2006. That was the last of his three seasons with his hometown Astros.
Allowing only five hits while striking out five batters and surrendering only two walks, Pettitte finished 11-11 in his final season for the 256th triumph of his career before walking off a major-league mound for the final time.
Pettitte never finished with a losing record in any season thanks to the victory.
All the runs the Yankees needed came across home plate in the sixth inning. Robinson Cano hit a run-scoring single, and a throwing error by Houston catcher Matt Pagnozzi, produced the deciding run.
The Astros saw their team-record losing streak stretch to 14 games, making them only the third club since 1970 to lose 110 games in a single season.
Elsewhere, the Pittsburgh Pirates muscled their way to home field advantage for Tuesday’s National League wild card playoff game by belting six home runs in an 8-3 victory over Central Division rivals Cincinnati Reds.
Second baseman Neil Walker led the assault with a pair of homers off Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo, with Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Marlon Byrd and Andrew Lambo also clearing the fences for the visiting Pirates.
The win improved Pittsburgh’s record to 93-68 and dropped the Reds to 90-71 with one game remaining in the regular season. It also assured the Pirates’ long-suffering fans of their first home playoff game in Pittsburgh in 21 years in a do-or-die showdown contest for entry to the best-of-five Division Series.
In the American League, the Cleveland Indians clinched themselves more baseball beyond the regular season finale by beating Minnesota 5-1 to squeeze ahead of the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays in the scramble for two wild card berths. Cleveland’s win lifted their record to 91-70.
The Rays slipped back with a 7-2 road loss to East Division cellar dwellers Toronto Blue Jays, allowing the Rangers to tie Tampa Bay with a 90-71 record.