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Halladay continues mastery of Yankees

Aug 31, 2008 - 9:56 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- When it comes to facing the New York Yankees this season, Roy Halladay is the big-game pitcher that Andy Pettitte has not been this month.

Halladay pitched seven solid innings Sunday, only giving up a pair of solo home runs, as the Toronto Blue Jays posted a 6-2 victory over the Yankees in their final game.

The Blue Jays never trailed, staking Halladay to a 4-0 lead in the second inning as Pettitte continued to struggle.

Vernon Wells had an RBI single, Rod Barajas delivered an two-run double and Scott Rolen hit a solo home run for Toronto, which took two of three in the series to deal the Yankees' fading playoff hopes another blow.

David Eckstein, who was traded to Arizona after the win, added an RBI single and Marco Scutaro scored on a wild pitch for Toronto, which has won six of its last nine games against the Yankees.

That was more than enough for Halladay, who allowed homers to Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi among eight hits. He is 14-5 lifetime against the Yankees and has won his last four starts over New York since losing to Chien-Ming Wang on Opening Day.

In his previous three wins against New York, Halladay had been dominant, allowing five runs and 13 hits in 22 innings. This was more of a workmanlike effort for the righthander as the Yankees had hits off him in each of the first six innings.

"I think once you get a lead like that, it's hitter to hitter," Halladay said. "Guys get on and you're just trying to work your way through the inning and get outs. It's important to stay away from big innings in games like that and continue to make pitches.

"One or two runs isn't going to hurt you, so you're really trying to focus on making pitches and staying away from that big inning."

Halladay's 103-pitch effort made him the first pitcher to beat the Yankees four times since Chuck Finley did it in 1996. He is the first Blue Jay to accomplish that feat and won for the ninth time in his last 12 starts.

"That's not an easy thing to do," Wells said of his success against the Yankees. "He studies guys and goes over reports and how he wants to pitch guys and stick to his plan. When you have that kind of stuff, you can pretty much do what you want to."

Other than Rodriguez's 547th career home run and Giambi's solo shot, it was another spotty hitting display for the Yankees, who were hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position off Halladay and 0-for-8 overall.

"Our guys are giving a great effort," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "We're not getting the results that we want. That's frustrating for all of us, but the effort is there."

The Yankees were not helped by another shaky start from Pettitte, who allowed six runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. It was the second straight start that the lefthander allowed 10 hits and it sent him to his fourth loss in five decisions

Pettitte was 6-0 last August as the Yankees made their 13th playoff appearance. He is 1-3 in six starts this month and has allowed at least 10 hits in four of his last seven outings.

"I'm not getting it done," said Pettitte, who is 46-19 lifetime in August and 111-48 after the All-Star break. "This is when I should be winning ballgames and I'm letting the team down - big time. It's just frustrating. I'm not doing my job."

Pettitte's inability to win sent the Yankees to their fourth loss in six games. They remained seven games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL wild card race embark on a 10-game trip that starts Monday with a makeup game in Detroit and sends them to Tampa Bay, Seattle and Anaheim.

"We had good at-bats," New York outfielder Xavier Nady said. "We had opportunities, but you don't ever want to get down early to him (Halladay)."