Major League Baseball

Credit Pettitte for recovering from shaky start

Published Nov. 1, 2009 5:45 p.m. ET

Bob Klapisch

If the Yankees finish off the Phillies for their first world championship in almost a decade, they'll remember the sea-change moment in Game 3, when Andy Pettitte was on the verge of collapse, as helpless and hopeless as the Yankees had seen him all season.

His pitch-count soared to 52 in just two innings, without command of his curveball, no fastball to speak of, not a single weapon to counter the Phillies' growing rally. The scoreboard told of an October crisis — Phillies 3, Yankees 0 — and in case Pettitte needed any further reminder, all he had to do was listen to the crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

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The place was in a controlled state of madness — and not much control, at that. Tens of thousands of Phillies' fans sensed the Yankee empire was doomed. Pettitte himself later said, "they really had me on the ropes" as he'd just walked Jimmy Rollins with the bases loaded, forcing in the third run of the inning.

Already, Pettitte had surrendered a solo homer to Jayson Werth. One out later, he allowed Pedro Feliz to blast a double off the scoreboard in right field. Then he walked Carlos Ruiz, and the meltdown seemed complete when the Yankee infield froze as Cole Hamels put down a perfect bunt.

That loaded the bases for Rollins, who watched as Pettitte failed to come close to the strike zone. The 37-year-old lefthander took a deep breath, the kind that stretched the lining of his lungs, and told himself to remember his roots, remember his mechanics, remember all the October conquests of his past.

None of those therapies worked, however.

"I just couldn't put the ball where I wanted," he said. "I mean when you're out there all by yourself and you're struggling to throw a strike it can really be a grind. Once they scored that third run, I was thinking to myself, 'You can't give up another run. I have to go six or seven innings.'"

Pettitte ultimately regrouped for two reasons: Alex Rodriguez blasted a two-run HR in the fourth inning that took the crowd out of the game, and Hamels allowed five runs in 1.1 innings after initially holding the Yankees scoreless through the first three.

Now, with an 8-5 victory on the docket, the Yankees have put enormous pressure on Charlie Manuel, who's sticking with a risky decision to start Joe Blanton in Game 4 Sunday.