Sans A-Rod, Pettitte Pitching Takes Yanks Over Marlins

By ANTONIO GONZALEZ

Updated 9:15 AM EST, Sat, Jun 20, 2009

Print Email Share TWITTER FACEBOOK

Why so gloomy, A-Rod? They won without you.

The Florida Marlins' home was a nice fit for the New York Yankees.

Boosted by a flurry of New York fans who flooded the stadium with navy pinstripes, Andy Pettitte and two relievers combined on a three-hitter as the Yankees beat the Florida Marlins 5-1 on Friday night without a slumping Alex Rodriguez.

Call it Yankee Stadium South.

Pettitte and the rest of the pitching staff could get used to the digs, a nice change to their new stadium in New York, which has become a launching pad for home runs.

LOOK

Yankee Stadium 2009: The First Season in Photos

"They hit a couple balls tonight that would have been home runs probably at Yankee Stadium," Pettitte said. "So instead of giving up one run, I might have given up three or four tonight at home."

With Rodriguez benched for the first time this season with what he and the team called "fatigue," the Yankees regrouped after two losses at home to the woeful Washington Nationals. Derek Jeter had two hits after being out of the starting lineup the last two games with a sore left ankle, and Melky Cabrera homered for New York.

Cody Ross' home run off Pettitte in the third inning accounted for the Marlins' lone run.

Pettitte (7-3) pitched seven innings, struck out seven and walked none. Brian Bruney and Brett Tomko pitched two hitless innings in relief. Sean West (2-2) took the loss.

Even without Rodriguez, the Marlins couldn't shut down the Yankees' bats.

"It's a great lineup," West said. "The best money can buy."

The Yankees made their rare appearance in Miami with style, helping the attendance-challenged Marlins bring in 35,027 fans, their second best of the season.

The stadium's orange seats were hardly recognizable as New York transplants came in droves, wearing their Yankees caps and pinstripes and sounding off with roars that are rarely heard for baseball games at the Marlins' home.

"Let's Go Yankees!" they cheered, easily drowning out Florida fans.

The spacious grounds also were quite a change for New York. There has been 119 home runs already this season at the new Yankee Stadium, a much harder feat in Miami.

Combine all that with the 5 1/2 hour rain delay in the Yankees' loss to the Nationals on Thursday night, and it was a pleasant change for New York.

"It's definitely better," Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon said. "But I think it's a little more extreme than what we've been dealing with."

The Yankees looked right at home.

Getting a rare at-bat because of interleague play, Pettitte's RBI double in the second highlighted a three-run inning for the Yankees, leaving the pitcher gasping for air as he thought about making the turn for third.