Pain-free Pettitte hopes to return Sunday

ALTOONA, Pa. - Nearly three months after he made his last appearance in pinstripes, Andy Pettitte cleared his final hurdle last night on his way back to a big-league mound.

He threw five pain-free innings in a rehab outing with Double-A Trenton and said he expects to start for the Yankees on Sunday in Baltimore. If he does, it would give him three more regular-season starts before the playoffs begin.

"Unless they tell me I'm not starting, I feel like it's time I need to get into a big-league game and get going,'' said Pettitte, who threw 67 pitches, 49 for strikes, and allowed two runs, six hits and a walk to the Pirates' Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve.

The return of the all-time postseason wins leader from a groin injury couldn't come soon enough for a Yankees rotation that has struggled since he went down. The staff's ace, CC Sabathia, has been lights out, but Phil Hughes has been inconsistent and Javier Vazquez, who was dropped from the rotation, and A.J. Burnett have failed to live up to expectations.

The toughest part of the injury, Pettitte said, was watching his teammates battle through baseball's toughest division with him sidelined.

"It's been terrible,'' said Pettitte, who was 11-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 18 starts when he was hurt July 18. "I've been out a lot longer than I expected to be and I feel like I'm a big part of what we want to do up there. I feel like I'm a part of the puzzle to put our staff together.''

Pettitte tossed four shutout innings last week and again had no problems Tuesday night during a 3-2 Trenton victory in Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series. He threw all of his pitches, with his fastball around 88-89 mph.

Altoona's Chase d'Arnaud got Pettitte off to a rocky start, crushing a leadoff homer on what Pettitte called "a flat cutter.''

But the 38-year-old settled into a rhythm after that, allowing one run in the next four innings. He worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth, getting a double play, before blowing his fastest pitch of the night, a 91-mph heater, past the last batter he faced.

"I had to make some pitches to get out of a little bit of trouble,'' said Pettitte, who threw 10 more pitches in the bullpen after he was removed. "Whether it's here or in the big leagues, that's always a good thing.''

With Sabathia scheduled to start Sunday, the most likely option would have him moved to Saturday with Pettitte going on normal rest Sunday. That would line Pettitte up for starts at home against Boston and in Toronto.

As for whether the three regular-season starts will be enough, Pettitte doesn't have another option.

"That's what I've got,'' he said. "Hopefully, I can get back to where I was before I went down. I'm a long way from there, but I'm working.''