Pettitte Looking To Get On The Right Track

ARLINGTON -- Brett Gardner called the Yankees' 5-4 comeback win against the Texas Rangers Tuesday night the teams best win this season. In a way, he was right. Leading for the most of the game, the Rangers rattled off a four-run 6th inning to take the life out of the Yanks for the time being.

But then in the 9th, facing all-star closer Joe Nathan, the Yankees put together a comeback that would hopefully lift the team's spirits for the coming weeks.

Tonight's Lineup, 8:05 EST @ Arlington Ballpark:

Gardner CF
Ichiro RF
Cano 2B
Overbay 1B
Wells DH
Nunez SS
Lillibridge 3B
Mesa LF
Stewart C

Pettitte P

Pitching Preview:

Andy Pettitte has been pitching like Andy Pettitte wants to be pitching. He's 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA, watching opponents hit .311 against him over his last seven starts and has allowed 26 runs over that span.

Pettitte's last took the mound on Friday against the Boston Red Sox, after giving up a homerun to Jacoby Ellsbury on the second pitch of the game and a two-run blast to Johnny Gomes in the third, Pettitte settled down to allowed four runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings.

He'll be facing newly acquired Matt Garza, who the Rangers traded for with the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Garza is an expert when it comes to pitching against the AL East, considering he pitched with the Tampa Bay Rays for years, before signing with the Cubs in 2012.

Although, Garza never had much success against the Yankees as the Bombers are 11-1 in 12 games against the right-handed pitcher, having hit 11 home runs and scored 38 runs in 66 1/3 innings against him.

"It's been a few years, but we've seen a lot of him, and he's a pitcher that's had success pretty much anywhere he's been," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He's pitched in the American League East, which is not the easiest place to pitch. He's pitched in pennant races. You would expect it to be a good acquisition for the Rangers."

Garza had been the top starting pitcher on the trade market, going 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 11 starts this season.

"When he was in Tampa Bay, you saw how he competes," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He's a quality pitcher, and we're certainly looking for quality things out of him. The one thing I did tell him is, don't try to put us on his shoulders. Just be who he is; that'll be good enough for us."

Yankee Notes:

* The Alex Rodriguez saga continues, and this time, it has taken another wicked turn. A-Rod, without permission from the Yankees, went for a second opinion on his quad, and after his personal doctor, Dr. Michael Gross, said that he saw nothing wrong with the MRI the Yankees had gotten on A-Rod on Sunday.

A-Rod has said that he feels fine and ready to play, and that he's informed the Yankees he wants to be in the lineup when the team heads back to New York on friday to open up a series against the Rays.

"He feels he has no choice," the source told ESPNNewYork.com. "He wants to play and they won't let him play. Nobody knows Alex's body better than he does."

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