Pettitte returns with win over Twins, 7-1

Andy Pettitte didn't want the rest. Felt he didn't need the rest. The Yankees told him to take the rest.

And the rest is history.

Pettitte returned to the mound after a nine-day absence on Saturday and threw 6 1/3 shutout innings as the Yankees continued their dominance against the Twins with a 7-1 victory at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte (5-0, 1.79 ERA) had last pitched on May 5, leaving after five innings because of elbow tightness. He was working thought 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 on Friday.

Pettitte allowed two hits and three walks with two strikeouts. He was removed after 95 pitches by manager Joe Girardi and jogged off to a hearty ovation from the crowd of 46,347. Pettitte tipped his cap and gave it a little twirl.

Jorge Posada (3-for-4, double, home run, two RBIs) was a triple short of the cycle, Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run and Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter each had two hits and drove in a run 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, as excellent defense and good fortune kept the Twins off the board in a tight contest.

Denard Span led off the game with a liner into center that Brett Gardner charged and made a diving, tumbling catch on.

In the second, the Twins had a man on third when Pettitte snared a liner hit by Brendan Harris to end the inning. 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 made a diving catch of a liner hit by Drew Butera. Swisher, who has been bothered by a sore left biceps, made a full extension dive toward the foul line; luckily for him, his glove hand is on his right (and uninjured) arm.

In the fourth, Orlando Hudson led off with a single. Joe Mauer hit a liner to second that Robinson Cano caught. He threw to first in an attempt for a double play, but Hudson just slid in safely.

No matter. The next batter, Justin Morneau, hit a live drive that Cano had to leap to grab. Hudson was on his way to second, so Cano easily doubled him up this time.

By that point, the Yankees had given Pettitte a 2-0 lead. Rodriguez, who hit the go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning on Friday, singled in Jeter in the first against Twins starter Francisco Liriano (4-2, 2.63). Jeter had an RBI single in the second inning.

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

After a called strike, Pettitte retired the reigning AL MVP on a drive to Gardner on the warning track in left-center.

After Pettitte's exit, the Yankees were ahead 3-0 when Damaso Marte struck out potential tying run Jim Thome to end the seventh. Marte had let a 3-2 lead slip away on Friday before A-Rod bailed him out.

The Yankees broke open the game with four runs in the seventh as Teixeira and Posada each hit two-run homers.