Yanks take 1st, Pettitte leaves with back issues

Joe Girardi's lineup was whole again, and the Yankees took over sole possession of first place.

But there might be some question about Girardi's rotation.

There's a surprise.

Andy Pettitte mostly cruised through five innings of Friday night's 3-1 win over the Indians at Progressive Field, but he was removed from the game with two men on and none out in the sixth. The reason announced was lower back stiffness.

Still, as they've done much of the last two-plus weeks in winning 13 of their last 16 games, the Yankees yawned away the adversity. They took over first in the AL East, a half-game ahead of Boston, which lost to Toronto. Continue