In Family Reunion, Mom Roots for Son, but Dad’s Team Wins

Jean Stottlemyre, the mother of Ranger pitcher Todd and the wife of Yankee pitching coach Mel, could be seen openly rooting for Texas against New York.

“I sort of thought that would happen,” Mel Stottlemyre said. “She can cheer for whoever she wants. I’m not surprised.”

In that case, only one member of the Stottlemyre family triangle went home happy, and it wasn’t Todd or Jean. Mel’s Yankees beat Todd’s and Jean’s Rangers, 2-0, but Mel was in no real mood to celebrate.

“It was much more difficult than I thought it would be because of the importance of the game and the type of game it was,” he said. “There wasn’t much room for error on either side.”

Mel said before the game that the best possible outcome for him would be a 2-1 Yankee victory, “so 2-0 is as close as you can get,” he said. “I was happy to see Todd pitch well.”

Todd said he never glanced into the Yankee dugout during the game.

“I have my whole life to look at my dad,” he said. “I was thinking about the Yankee hitters all night.”

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Quote of the day from Texas closer John Wetteland, when asked before the game if he felt the Rangers could beat the Yankees: “Oh no, we’ve pretty much given up. We have our bags packed. I’m just wearing this uniform because we have to do these interviews. I actually have a plane to catch in 15 minutes. . .”

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Yankee Manager Joe Torre has good reason to start Andy Pettitte tonight instead of Friday in Texas--the left-hander is 0-3 with a 16.05 earned-run average in three starts at the Ballpark in Arlington.

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Nice touch: To commemorate the 20-year anniversary of their 1978 World Series championship, the Yankees had three players from that team who were in uniform Tuesday throw out the first pitch--Yankee coaches Willie Randolph and Chris Chambliss and Ranger coach Bucky Dent.

TODAY’S PITCHERS

RANGERS’ RICK HELLING (20-7, 4.41 ERA) vs. YANKEES’ ANDY PETTITTE (16-11, 4.24 ERA)

Yankee Stadium, 5 p.m., Channel 4

Update--Helling had never won more than five games in a big league season until this year, but the right-hander who began spring training hoping merely to win the fifth spot in the rotation swears he hasn’t undergone any major transformation. “I’m not any different--I still throw the same pitches I threw in college,” Helling, 27, said. “The only difference is the opportunity has changed. I’ve had the chance to pitch without worrying about going to the minor leagues or the bullpen.”