Andy Pettitte

New York 5, at Toronto 3: Andy Pettitte won for the first time in six starts and the Yankees homered against Roy Halladay three times. Pettitte (9-6) gave up one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Minnesota 10, at Cleveland 1: Scott Baker pitched seven scoreless innings and was backed by home runs from Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel. Joe Mauer hit three of Minnesota's season-high seven doubles as the Twins ended a three-game losing streak.

WASHINGTON — New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte threw the perjury prosecution of his friend Roger Clemens into disarray Wednesday when he testified that he could have misunderstood a conversation with Clemens about human growth hormone. Pettitte said he thought Clemens told him sometime in 1999 or 2000 that he used HGH, but he admitted under cross-examination that he was hazy on the details. Is it possible, asked Clemens lawyer Mike Attanasio, that Pettitte misunderstood the critical conversation?

Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens sat some 20 feet apart, Pettitte on the witness stand and Clemens at the defense table trying to avoid going to jail. The topic: a remark about human growth hormone Pettitte recalled hearing from his longtime teammate, mentor and workout partner a dozen years ago. "Roger had mentioned to me that he had taken HGH," Pettitte testified. "And that it could help with recovery, and that's really all I remember about the conversation. " The rest of the details are fuzzy.

Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens sat some 20 feet apart, Pettitte on the witness stand and Clemens at the defense table trying to avoid going to jail. The topic: a remark about human growth hormone Pettitte recalled hearing from his longtime teammate, mentor and workout partner a dozen years ago. "Roger had mentioned to me that he had taken HGH," Pettitte testified. "And that it could help with recovery, and that's really all I remember about the conversation. " The rest of the details are fuzzy.

WASHINGTON — New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte threw the perjury prosecution of his friend Roger Clemens into disarray Wednesday when he testified that he could have misunderstood a conversation with Clemens about human growth hormone. Pettitte said he thought Clemens told him sometime in 1999 or 2000 that he used HGH, but he admitted under cross-examination that he was hazy on the details. Is it possible, asked Clemens lawyer Mike Attanasio, that Pettitte misunderstood the critical conversation?

In addition to possessing a plump payroll and plenty of power and pitching, the New York Yankees displayed more brains than the Minnesota Twins on Sunday night. That made all the difference as the Yankees took another step toward their 27th World Series title by completing a three-game sweep in the American League division series in the final game at the Metrodome. Energized by seventh-inning home runs by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the Yankees overcame a strong pitching performance from former teammate Carl Pavano to seize a 4-1 victory.

Federal prosecutors have interviewed New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte as they investigate whether Roger Clemens, his former teammate, lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Two people familiar with the case told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Pettitte was in Washington last week to meet with prosecutors. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

They first took the field together in Columbus, Ohio, playing for a minor league team that finished a distant third in the standings. Tonight, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada will take the field together again in New York, this time playing for the New York Yankees, the most storied franchise in U.S. professional sports. And Mariano Rivera will be waiting in the bullpen, hoping to win a fifth World Series ring alongside Jeter, Pettitte and Posada. They've been together for much of the last 15 years, and if they win one more game this week they will have won more titles together than any four teammates in more than half a century.

The scenario tonight couldn't be better for Andy Pettitte . He will be taking the mound in front of a raucous Yankee Stadium crowd with a chance to pitch his team into the World Series for the first time since 2003. And if he succeeds, the victory will make him the winningest pitcher in postseason history. But only one of those things matters to Pettitte. "The records are nice, but it will mean an awful lot to try to close this thing out and help this team get to where we want to be, and that's to another World Series," said Pettitte, who is 15-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 37 postseason starts, tying him with John Smoltz for most playoff wins.

There are certain things that seem to pop up with regularity in the postseason. Rain delays in Philadelphia and Andy Pettitte victories, for instance. Then there are the surprises. Such as Pettitte driving in the tying run with a single or the umpires getting a close call right. Mix in another disastrous postseason start from the Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels, two extra-base hits from the New York Yankees' Nick Swisher and Mariano Rivera coming on to get the last two outs and you have Game 3 of the World Series, which the Yankees rallied to win, 8-5, Saturday in front of a damp but boisterous 46,061 at Citizens Bank Park.

Can't get excited about the Dodgers season? Call Jay Gibbons. "This is still so surreal," he says Wednesday. "I'm out of baseball and then ? boom ? I'm playing for my dream team? Are you kidding me?" Can't get fired up over a patchwork Dodgers lineup embarking on another mediocre Dodgers season? Call Jay Gibbons. "My first national anthem at Dodger Stadium last year, I put the glasses on so nobody could see me tearing up," he says. "I couldn't believe I was there. I still can't.

He has won more postseason games than any pitcher in baseball history, and he works in the media capital of the world for the most famous team in American sports history. Yet the New York Yankees' Andy Pettitte is being overshadowed for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday by a pitcher who has been traded three times within a calendar year. Maybe it's because Pettitte is old news, a low-key 38-year-old. But more likely it's because of the New York media's fascination with Cliff Lee, who almost became a Yankee but instead wound up with the Texas Rangers on July 9. There is still time for Lee to become a Yankee ?

They first took the field together in Columbus, Ohio, playing for a minor league team that finished a distant third in the standings. Tonight, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada will take the field together again in New York, this time playing for the New York Yankees, the most storied franchise in U.S. professional sports. And Mariano Rivera will be waiting in the bullpen, hoping to win a fifth World Series ring alongside Jeter, Pettitte and Posada. They've been together for much of the last 15 years, and if they win one more game this week they will have won more titles together than any four teammates in more than half a century.

There are certain things that seem to pop up with regularity in the postseason. Rain delays in Philadelphia and Andy Pettitte victories, for instance. Then there are the surprises. Such as Pettitte driving in the tying run with a single or the umpires getting a close call right. Mix in another disastrous postseason start from the Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels, two extra-base hits from the New York Yankees' Nick Swisher and Mariano Rivera coming on to get the last two outs and you have Game 3 of the World Series, which the Yankees rallied to win, 8-5, Saturday in front of a damp but boisterous 46,061 at Citizens Bank Park.

If the Philadelphia Phillies lose this World Series, the autopsy will pinpoint one pitch. Cole Hamels threw it. Andy Pettitte hit it. The pitcher, off the pitcher. Hamels, the golden child of last year's playoffs, a mere mortal now. Here's the pitch: Fifth inning, Phillies leading, Hamels cruising. The Yankees, the mighty Yankees, had all of two hits at that point. One on and one out, with Pettitte at the plate. Hamels assumed bunt. He looped a 73-mph curve over the plate.

In January, Andy Pettitte was a pitcher without a team. Sunday night he was drenched in champagne after leading the New York Yankees back to the World Series for the first time since 2003. Although the Yankees spent more than $420 million during the last holiday season to sign free agents A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, they cried poverty when it came time to re-sign Pettitte. So the left-hander agreed to an $11.5-million pay cut for the chance to come back and take one more shot at a championship.

New York Yankees' left-hander Andy Pettitte, scratched from a start Tuesday because of a slightly strained left shoulder muscle, had not improved Wednesday but was still set to pitch Sunday against Kansas City. If Pettitte cannot make that start, Manager Joe Torre said the Yankees will consider putting him on the disabled list.

Yankee starter Andy Pettitte: In the shortest of his 24 postseason starts, the left-hander who is generally considered the Yankees' playoff ace--they were 17-6 in his previous 23--certainly wasn't anything special this time out. He gave up six runs--all earned--and seven hits in two-plus innings. Of his 47 pitches, 18 were balls. That's two more than in his 80-pitch effort in Game 2, when he gave up only five hits and struck out eight in seven innings.

That's New York Yankees 3, Angels 2, Mother Nature 1, if you're scoring at home. Game 6 of the American League Championship Series was postponed because of heavy rain in Yankee Stadium a full two hours before the scheduled first pitch Saturday night. The game was pushed back to tonight and should be played under far more hospitable conditions. Today's forecast for New York calls for sunny skies all day, a 10% chance of precipitation and a temperature of about 55 degrees at game time.

The scenario tonight couldn't be better for Andy Pettitte . He will be taking the mound in front of a raucous Yankee Stadium crowd with a chance to pitch his team into the World Series for the first time since 2003. And if he succeeds, the victory will make him the winningest pitcher in postseason history. But only one of those things matters to Pettitte. "The records are nice, but it will mean an awful lot to try to close this thing out and help this team get to where we want to be, and that's to another World Series," said Pettitte, who is 15-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 37 postseason starts, tying him with John Smoltz for most playoff wins.