Take your pick between stinko pitching and a surprising lack of offense. Somebody needs to tell the Yankees spring training is finished.
These games count, but you wouldn’t have deduced that by watching the Yanks in their second straight loss to the Rays, 6-3 yesterday at the Stadium.
Joe Girardi, absent from the dugout for the second straight day while battling a respiratory infection, maybe needs to cough some inspiration into this sagging bunch. Or at least say a prayer for better pitching.
In this case it was Andy Pettitte, just off the disabled list, who failed to provide results. The left-hander’s initial outing of the season wasn’t helped by first baseman Shelley Duncan’s throwing error in the third inning, but that was no excuse for Jonny Gomes’ three-run blast later that sent the Yanks into full chase mode.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Pettitte said after allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits over five innings.
Most troubling to Pettitte was he didn’t throw a curveball for a strike all day. Add that to his problems hitting the outside corner with his fastball and an inconsistent cutter, and it made for a struggle. The good news for the Yanks was he endured 86 pitches without back pain, a sign perhaps that the spasms which pushed him to the DL won’t be an issue.
“I got a little gassed in the fifth inning,” Pettitte said. “But physically I feel great.”
The offense is another issue. The Yankees (2-3) still haven’t topped four runs in a game this season and, save for an eighth-inning rally yesterday, have been almost lifeless against the Rays.
“There’s not too many guys hitting right now,” Johnny Damon said. “We’ve got a few guys hitting below the .200 mark. We do have to get better, obviously.”
Damon (.111), Jason Giambi (.083) and Robinson Cano (.105) are the biggest offenders, but Derek Jeter (.211) and Jorge Posada (.200) aren’t far behind.
Rays starter Edwin Jackson provided most of the frustration yesterday, limiting the Yankees to one run on five hits over six innings. Starting in the fourth inning, Tampa Bay pitchers retired 12 straight hitters, a streak that ended with Bobby Abreu’s single leading off the eighth.
“This offense is going to hit,” said bench coach Rob Thomson, who served as manager for the second straight game. “Our offense is probably the least of our worries.”
Pettitte unraveled in the fifth, surrendering a three-run homer to Gomes that extended Tampa Bay’s lead to 5-1. It was redemption of sorts for Gomes, who was thrown out at second base in the second inning after hitting a shot to right that he believed cleared the fence. But Abreu played the ball off the fence and nailed the loafing Gomes.
Though the Rays scored two unearned runs in the third against Pettitte, the damage could have been worse if not for a blown call by second base umpire James Hoye. With the bases loaded and nobody out, B.J. Upton hit an RBI roller that Jeter fielded and flipped to second. Carlos Pena beat the throw, but was ruled out on the play. Gomes’ ensuing sacrifice fly gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead, but the Rays did not score again in the inning. Duncan’s throwing error on a Crawford grounder ignited the inning.
Alex Rodriguez’s RBI single in the first got the Yankees their first run. In the eighth, Posada drilled a two-run single, after the Yankees had loaded the bases with nobody out against Trevor Miller.
“The energy level was high and we got some good at-bats together there late,” Thomson said. “We just couldn’t get it done.”
mpuma@nypost.com
