5 pitches Andy Pettitte threw to Jorge Posada that were bigger than this ceremonial first pitch

The Yankees are running out of available uniform numbers and that is definitely a good thing. Just 24 hours after retiring Jorge Posada's No. 20 and unveiling the former catcher's bronze likeness to be installed at Yankee Stadium's Monument Park, former pitcher Andy Pettitte got the same treatment.

Pettitte threw out a ceremonial first pitch as part of the pregame ceremony as Posada -- his longtime battery mate --assumed a familiar crouch behind home plate:

In honor of Pettitte throwing to Posada as they entered Yankees history together, we took a look at five of the biggest pitches the two shared in actual MLB games.

2009 World Series: Game 3, Bottom 2, vs. Chase Utley - After splitting the first two games of the series in the Bronx, the Phillies and Yankees headed to Citizens Bank Park where Pettitte took the hill to start Game 3. The bottom of the second inning was a long one for Pettitte and Posada. Jayson Werth led off the frame with a home run and the Phillies added another two runs to lead 3-0 by the time Chase Utley stepped up to the plate with two on and two outs.

Damage minimized. If the Phillies had managed to hang a bigger number on Pettitte, who knows if the Yankees would have chipped away at that lead and eventually pulled away by scoring in five straight innings? Who knows if it would have been enough even if they had. And that series looks entirely different if the Phillies go up 2-1 with CBP also hosting Games 4 and 5?

2009 ALCS: Game 6, Top 6, vs. Kendrys Morales - People forget how evenly matched the Angels and Yankees were in 2009. The Yanks won Game 2, 4-3, in 13 innings.

The Angels won Game 3, 5-4, in 11 innings. After getting blown out in Game 4, the Angels took another one-run game to force a Game 6. Pettitte took the hill and helped his Yankees take a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning. 

Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero were in scoring position after Vlad's two-out double. Morales stepped in and worked his way into a hitter's count before Pettitte got him to ground one back to the mound.

Crisis averted. The Yankees went on to win the game, 5-2, and the series, 4-2.

2003 ALCS: Game 2, Top 2, vs. Gabe Kapler - You remember this series because Pedro Martinez threw Don Zimmer to the ground and because Grady Little left Martinez in to pitch the eighth of Game 7. But that Game 7 might not have been were it not for Pettitte's Game 2 performance.

The Red Sox were still trying to get the ghost of Babe Ruth off their backs and took a series lead with a 5-2 victory in Game 1. Game 2 was shaping up the same way when the Sox started the second inning with three straight hits. Jason Varitek led off with a double and Trot Nixon and Damian Jackson followed with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with no one out and the Sox leading, 1-0. 

Pettitte -- as he so often did -- induced a double play:

That set him up to strike out Kevin Millar to get out of the jam. The Yankees would score two runs to take the lead in the bottom of the frame and went on to win, 6-2.

2000 World Series: Game 5, Bottom 6, vs Benny Agbayani -- The Mets and Yankees were tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning of the fifth (and eventually, deciding) game of the 2000 World Series. With Jay Payton and Kurt Abbott in scoring position, Pettitte got Benny Agbayani (yes, that Benny Agbayani) to ground out to Derek Jeter to avoid a rally that could have forced a Game 6.

2000 ALDS: Game 5, B2 vs. Jason Giambi -- Jason Giambi somehow managed to play seven seasons with the Yankees in the aughts and never won a World Series. Back in 2000, Giambi was still with the Athletics when Jeter and the Yankees were flip play-ing them out of the postseason, like, every year.

The Yankees were up 6-0 before the A's even got a chance to hit, but a comeback was brewing in the bottom of the second with A's runners on first and second and Giambi due up. Pettitte got his future teammate to pop out to Jeter.

The A's ended up scoring five runs on 13 hits in a 7-5 loss, so that at-bat proved crucial.