Pettitte spins a gem

The only thing that was able to stop Andy Pettitte tonight was his pitch count.

Eight shutout innings against the frontrunning Tampa Bay Rays resulted in Pettitte throwing 114 pitches. Edwar Ramirez was able to pitch an easy ninth inning to secure the Yankees' third straight win by the score of 5-0.

Pettitte struggled against the Red Sox in his last start, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings, so it was obviously a positive to see him turn in a performance like this. He won his 10th game of the season, joining Mike Mussina in the double-digit victory club.

Bobby Abreu, who had been 0 for his last 15 went 2-for-4 with an RBI tonight. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jose Molina and Jorge Posada all added two hits apiece as well. Maybe the team is starting to come out of their collective funk.

They'll do it against tomorrow afternoon. Sidney Ponson will take the hill as the Yankees look to sweep this brief two-game series.

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)