HE’S OUT! Russell Martin takes a throw from Curtis Granderson and slaps a tag on Ryan Doumit. Then he gets all pumped up. (Getty Images)
HE’S OUT! Russell Martin takes a throw from Curtis Granderson and slaps a tag on Ryan Doumit. Then he gets all pumped up (inset). (Getty Images; Reuters (inset))
MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees picked up a half-game on the Orioles last night, and while that’s not much with nine games remaining in the regular season, it keeps the AL East leaders away from having to rely on somebody else.
“We have to keep winning ballgames,’’ Eric Chavez said following a 6-3 victory over the hapless Twins in front of 33,720 at Target Field. “Regardless of what happens, we have to win games.’’
Coupled with the second-place Orioles splitting a doubleheader with the Blue Jays, the Yankees’ eighth win in nine games hiked their advantage over the O’s to
1 1/2 games.
“Anytime you make it bigger, it’s nice,’’ Joe Girardi said of the lead.
How close has the AL East race been? The 11/2-game bulge is the Yankees’ largest lead since Sept. 2, when they were two up on the Birds.
“It’s exciting for the game, exciting for the fans,’’ said Nick Swisher, who with Chavez, Curtis Granderson and Raul Ibanez homered off right-hander Liam Hendriks (1-8). “Every single game means something. Right now is our best baseball all season long.’’
In addition to the homers, the Yankees received a solid outing from Andy Pettitte. In his second start since coming off the disabled list, Pettitte provided six shutout innings and hasn’t allowed a run in 11 frames since coming back from a fractured left ankle.
“There is stuff I need to work on, but it was good,’’ said Pettitte, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first, got Josh Willingham to hit into an inning-ending double play in the third with runners at the corners and fed the speedy Denard Span a double-play grounder to kill a scoring threat in the fifth. “I tried to stay out of the middle of the plate. Hopefully I can continue to do that.’’
Pettitte has one more regular-season start left Saturday in Toronto. Regardless how that goes, a healthy Pettitte will be part of the Yankees’ postseason rotation — if they get there.
“Not real good,’’ Pettitte said about loading the bases in the home first with one out after being staked to a 3-0 lead. “You know the situation and you try to keep it simplified.’’
Pettitte responded by slipping a 90-mph, 2-2 fastball by Justin Morneau and inducing Ryan Doumit to hit a grounder to the left side.
Swisher hit a two-run homer in the first, Granderson homered with the bases empty in the fourth and Ibanez and Chavez hit solo homers in the seventh.
Because pitching always trumps hitting, Pettitte’s outing was encouraging to others in the clubhouse.
“He can’t always pitch over the plate. He is pitching around the plate,’’ Chavez said. “He doesn’t get as much of the plate as he used to. He is not pitching to contact, but putting the ball where he wants it.’’
Considering the Yankees’ lead was 10 lengths on July 18, gaining a half-game on Sept. 24 doesn’t seem like a lot. Yet considering an Orioles sweep and a Yankees loss would have sent the Yankees tumbling out of the top spot for the first time since June 10, it wasn’t trivial.
“You want to get in, but you want to be playing well when you get in,’’ Chavez said. “You don’t want to back up into it.’’
george.king@nypost.com