And that's exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon, when Yankees starter Andy Pettitte took charge of the fourth inning in a 4-1 New York victory against Cincinnati.

After he walked two and surrendered a hit to set up the pressure situation, Pettitte maintained control. He struck out a red-hot Joey Votto and got Jay Bruce out swinging to end the inning.  "I've always said, whenever your team doesn't score and it should, it's a momentum lift for the other club," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It seems like they always go out and score runs. And Andy has the ability to strike hitters out."  And the logic proved sound.

Joba Chamberlain struck out a career-high nine and Alex Rodriguez came through with the go-ahead hit as the Yankees won their seventh straight, sweeping the Padres out of town with a 2-1 victory on Thursday.

Playing a crisp afternoon affair, New York moved ahead in the sixth inning, when Derek Jeter singled and stole second during a lengthy Bobby Abreu at-bat. Rodriguez then drilled a run-scoring single to left, providing the margin of victory as the Yankees swept their second consecutive series against a Senior Circuit club.

"These are the games we need to win," Rodriguez said. "This is kind of a playoff-type game -- great pitching, great defense and bullpen. We knew that one run would probably be the difference."

It was, the Yankees hope, a perfect intersection between Major League Baseball and the world of rock and roll. The franchise announced Wednesday that they have agreed to enter into a long-term agreement to open a 7,000 square-foot Hard Rock Cafe at the new Yankee Stadium.

Located at the corner of 161st Street and River Avenue, the Hard Rock Cafe will be open year-round, with or without a ticket to a Yankees game. Located near the Great Hall entrance in right field, it will be adjacent to the newly branded NYY Steak, a prime steakhouse that will be operated all year as well.

NEW YORK, NY -- Alex Rodriguez's injury absence last month nearly proved too much for the high-priced Yankees to overcome.

His MVP presence now - along with the trickle-down effect he is having on the rest of the lineup - just might be what the Bombers need to withstand the injury bug befalling Chien-Ming Wang and their pitching staff.

Rodriguez homered for the fourth straight game amid a three-hit performance as the Yankees kept rolling with an 8-5 victory over the Padres Wednesday night at the Stadium in a game delayed 78 minutes at the start by rain.

"Any time you insert the best player in the league in your lineup, it's going to get better," said Johnny Damon, who continued his surge at the top of the lineup with three hits and two RBI. "Alex has been flying under the radar. People are talking about Jason (Giambi's) 'stache and my hitting streak, but he's been going about his business, driving in tons of runs."

On that same mound three decades later, Andy Pettitte yanked his hat low and replicated half of Guidry's historic performance. It was plenty, as the left-hander's seven scoreless innings helped the Yankees down the Padres, 8-0, on an evening when Pettitte surpassed his good friend on the club's all-time wins list.

With the help of two home runs from Jason Giambi and a solo shot by Alex Rodriguez, Pettitte recorded the 171st win of his pinstriped career, moving past Guidry for sole possession of fourth place.

"I'm thankful that I've been able to be here this long and be healthy enough to continue to pitch," Pettitte said. "Obviously, you all know how I feel about Gator. I have a great relationship with him. He's a wonderful man, and it's an honor for me to be able to have as many wins as him."

Provided with early run support as the Yankees took the bats out against left-hander Randy Wolf, Pettitte was able to put his game into cruise control. Winning his second consecutive start, Pettitte scattered five hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out nine as San Diego only once moved a runner as far as third base -- that coming on a fifth-inning wild pitch.

Yet the tone in the visitors' clubhouse at Minute Maid Park was muted on Sunday, despite a 13-0 victory that completed a three-game sweep of the Astros in the Yankees' first regular-season trip to Houston.  As one Yankee put it, despite the unanswered offensive showing and convincing victory, "It sure doesn't feel like a win."

The need for quality starting pitching at the big league level is ever-present, and for a club that had finally finished one turn through the rotation with nary a clunker, losing a key part of that construction would be a difficult burden.

The Yankees' hearts and minds seemed filled with hope that Chien-Ming Wang's injury suffered running the bases on Sunday would remain just as the preliminary diagnosis taken on site revealed -- a sprained right foot. Anything more would sour the 5-1 trip significantly.

"Our pitchers were on a roll and we were swinging the bats and playing well on the trip," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "When you win five out of six, you're excited about the direction you're heading. It's very unfortunate."

HOUSTON - Mike Mussina was smiling a lot after the Yankees' 8-4 victory over the Astros last night, joking with reporters and generally enjoying the glow of another solid start in his renaissance year.

Here's how giddy he got - he made a zany reference to the rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" when he talked about how he has won at least 10 games in each of the last 17 seasons: Actually, Mussina explained, he's won 11 for the first 16 of those 17 straight seasons. "Eleven's my limit, just like Spinal Tap," Mussina said.

While the character in the movie was talking about the volume his boffo stereo speakers could reach, Mussina appears to have few limits this season. He acknowledged that, way back in spring training, he wouldn't have believed it were possible for him to be 10-4 after 15 starts and tied for the American League lead in victories with Cleveland's Cliff Lee.

HOUSTON - While most starting pitchers are grim and silent on their day to pitch, methodically going through their pregame routine of study and focus with few words or smiles, Joba Chamberlain is peripatetic, bouncing from locker to locker, ribbing teammates and joking.

At one point in the clubhouse before Friday night's game, Chamberlain whirled around from his locker, said something to Isao Hirooka, the team's Pacific Rim media adviser, and cracked up Hirooka and a group of Japanese reporters.

Sure, Chamberlain likely had extra energy last night because he had flown to town a day before his teammates, who straggled into Houston at 6 a.m. after flying a charter immediately after their game in Oakland on Thursday. It showed during the game, too - while Chamberlain was hardly perfect, he had enough pep for his finest and longest outing as a starter.

In fact, consider Chamberlain's transition from the bullpen complete after he threw six strong innings in the Yankees' 2-1 victory over the Astros, although he did not get a decision. Derek Jeter homered off Doug Brocail leading off the eighth inning, his fourth of the season and 199th of his career, to snap a 1-1 tie.