In times of trouble, Andy Pettitte has been there when the Yankees needed him most.
With 16 games to go, and a half-game lead over the Orioles in the AL East, they need Pettitte more than ever tonight against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium as he makes his first start since fracturing his left ankle June 27.
“Let’s be honest, in baseball terms, Andy is not a normal human,’’ Nick Swisher told The Post. “Andy brings that hero element to us. He’s one of those main guys who has made the Yankees who they are. In a sense, it’s almost like a super hero popping out.’’
It’s time to put on the cape, Andy, and take the mound.
“I guarantee you that [tonight] it’s going to be loud around here,’’ Swisher added with a smile.
Even though Pettitte hasn’t appeared in a game in nearly three months, he is hoping to pick up where he left off before getting injured. There is no time to waste and with fellow lefty CC Sabathia struggling, Pettitte’s performance is vital. Pettitte felt he was at his best before he was injured. His cutter, he said, had never been better.
“I was throwing really well when I got hurt,’’ Pettitte said. “My cutter was probably as sharp and was getting more swings and misses on it than I can ever remember in my career. I was getting it in the right spot. I’m hoping everything will be back to where it was because not only was I feeling great, but I was feeling a lot of confidence with my stuff I was taking out onto the mound.’’
He was feeling super, even at the age of 40 and after having sat out the 2011 season. Pettitte is 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA over his nine starts. He was averaging a career-high 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Joe Girardi is looking to get five solid innings out of Pettitte this first time back.
“For a lot of starts there in a row, I had all my pitches working and was really feeling comfortable with everything,’’ Pettitte said. “I’m hoping I can pick up where I left off. I feel ready. I’ve prepared for this. We’ve done everything that we need to do.’’
Most of all Pettitte gives the Yankees championship experience. He’s not going to get flustered down the stretch.
Noted Swisher, “He comes back this year, gets banged up in a freak injury and to have him back at full strength again is huge. His experience is huge. There’s nothing that has happened in the game of baseball that he has not seen or done.
“To have a guy like that on your side, who you know, his heart rate is not jumping up or down,’’ Swisher added. “He’s punching out guys this year, more than he ever has in his entire career. I’m really, really excited to see how well he does. He throws strikes, works quick, keeps the defense moving, when you got a guy like that coming back you can only open up your arms and say: ‘C’mon big boy, let’s do this.’ ’’
That could be the Yankees’ rallying cry these last 16 games: Let’s do this — after nearly blowing it.
They once had a 10-game lead. The Yankees do have a favorable schedule down the stretch and have to make the most of it by winning the division, avoiding the wild card and the one-game playoff and then play well in the playoffs.
To do all that, the desperate Yankees need Pettitte to be a super hero.
Looking back over this freak injury and that he is back on the mound when the Yankees need him the most, Pettitte reasoned, “God is in control of my life. I feel like everything happens for a reason. Maybe he was protecting me from a more serious injury. That’s how I kind of cope with things. You just deal with it, you go with it.’’
Once again for Andy Pettitte, it starts anew tonight.