MLB

Yankees’ Pettitte not worried about losing record

Andy Pettitte, who never has finished a major league season with a losing record, will take a 7-8 record into his start tonight, when the Yankees open a West Coast trip against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

But Pettitte understands the game well enough to know wins and losses don’t always tell the whole story.

“I don’t worry about my record that much because I know if I pitch well, we’re going to win plenty of games,” Pettitte said. “The day you pitch and how many runs we score determines how many wins you have half the time. I’ve had worse years than this one when my ERA has been almost [5.00].”

Pettitte’s career-high ERA of 4.70 came in 1999, when scoring across baseball was significantly inflated from current norms.

What the left-hander is more concerned about is the lack of consistency in his mechanics.

“The most frustrating part is that starting out the year, everything was right where I wanted it,” Pettitte said. “Usually I don’t lose it like I have, but [injuries to] my back, shoulder and neck got me out of my arm slot and out of kilter. I’m just hoping things click back in.”

That hasn’t happened yet.

“Some years, it’s just difficult,” Pettitte said. “And this is one of those years. If I don’t have consistency, I’m in trouble. I don’t throw 94-95 [mph] anymore. I don’t even throw 91-92. Now I’m at 87 sometimes, so I need to be sharp.”

The lefty had given up at least four runs in seven straight starts before holding the Red Sox to two runs in his last outing, which resulted in a loss.

* Curtis Granderson left Tampa yesterday and is scheduled to play with Double-A Trenton tonight and tomorrow before getting back to the Yankees as soon as Friday in San Diego.

“If everything goes well these next couple of days, it looks like I could possibly end up going out there,” Granderson said.

The slugging outfielder has not had any problems with his fractured left pinkie that sent him back to the disabled list May 24.

“I haven’t had any issues with grabbing the bat or the glove or anything,” Granderson said. “I hit a ball off the end [of the bat], got jammed. And all that’s been in the spot of the hand that I thought it would be [painful], more in the palm and toward the bigger fingers, which is a big thing.”

* The Yankees missed Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw when the Dodgers came to The Bronx in June, but they won’t be as lucky on this visit to Los Angeles. Pettitte faces Greinke tonight, and Hiroki Kuroda will go up against Kershaw tomorrow.

— Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff in Tampa