Final
Yankees aim to clinch 13th straight playoff berth
Sep 24, 2007 - 4:30 PM Toronto (78-77) at NY Yankees (90-65) 1:05 pm EDTBRONX, New York (Ticker) - The New York Yankees aim to clinch their 13th straight playoff berth when they face off with the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a four-game series on Monday afternoon.
With a win, the Yankees can assure themselves of a spot in the postseason in every season since 1995. New York has won the American League wild card in two of those campaigns - 1995 and 1997.
But since their last appearance as the wild card entry 10 years ago, the Yankees have reeled off nine straight division titles, a streak that is in jeopardy. New York trails the Boston Red Sox (92-64) by 1 1/2 games in the race for the AL East crown.
The Yankees are 5 1/2 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers (85-71) in the wild card standings.
Winners of six of its last seven games, New York will look for continued success behind Andy Pettitte (14-8, 3.79 ERA), who picked up his 200th career win in a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
The lefthander allowed one run and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings while striking out four and walking two.
Pettitte is starting in place of Roger Clemens, whose start was pushed back to Tuesday due to a hamstring injury. Pettitte is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season.
Toronto will counter with rookie Jesse Litsch (6-9, 4.16), who is a late replacement for A.J. Burnett.
Burnett had to travel along Baltimore in order to take care of some personal matter. The righthander will start Tuesday's series opener against the Orioles.
Litsch is coming off a strong start against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, yielding a run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings of the 6-1 win.
The 22-year-old righthander has faced the Yankees twice before, giving up eight runs and 10 hits in just 5 2/3 frames.
The Blue Jays dropped a 7-5 decision to the Yankees on Sunday afternoon, their second straight loss after a four-game winning streak.
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TORONTO 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 1
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 1 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TOR - JESSE LITSCH, CASEY JANSSEN (8TH) AND GREGG ZAUN
NYY - ANDY PETTITTE, KYLE FARNSWORTH (7TH), JOSE VERAS
(8TH), ROSS OHLENDORF (9TH) AND JORGE POSADA
HOME RU
Sep 24 3:52 PM - AL
AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ SCORED DEREK JETER.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 4
NY YANKEES 1 BOTTOM, 6TH
DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: H MATSUI (.288, 1-FOR-2)
Blue Jays vs. YankeesSep 24 2:50 PM - AL
AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY DEREK JETER ALLOWED ALEX RIOS TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A HILL ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 4
NY YANKEES 0 TOP, 3RD
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: G ZAUN (.247, 0-FOR-0, BB)
Blue Jays vs. YankeesSep 24 1:47 PM - AL
AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JOHN MCDONALD SCORED CURTIS THIGPEN.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J MCDONALD ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 3
NY YANKEES 0 TOP, 2ND
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: R JOHNSON (.233, 0-FOR-1)
Blue Jays vs. YankeesSep 24 1:32 PM - AL
AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY HECTOR LUNA SCORED GREGG ZAUN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, C THIGPEN ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 2
NY YANKEES 0 TOP, 2ND
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: J MCDONALD (.247, 1 HR, 28 RBI)
Blue Jays vs. YankeesSep 24 1:28 PM - AL
AT NY YANKEES - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY CURTIS THIGPEN SCORED AARON HILL.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, C THIGPEN ON SECOND, G ZAUN ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 1
NY YANKEES 0 TOP, 2ND
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: H LUNA (.208, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Blue Jays vs. YankeesSep 24 1:27 PM
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