During a simulated tour of the American League East, Andy Pettitte pitched in empty stadiums in St. Petersburg, Fla., Baltimore and Boston, all the while aching to be part of a real game in a stadium packed with boisterous fans.

When he finally took the mound Wednesday after an 84-day absence because of a broken bone in his left leg, Pettitte found a Yankee Stadium that was more than half-empty for the opening game of a day-night doubleheader, a result of a rainout Tuesday. The atmosphere was so quiet that Pettitte could almost hear fans in the loge seats ordering beers, closer to one of the recent simulated games he threw in preparation for his second comeback of the season.

“Especially at the beginning of the game, it was almost like you could hear people talking, and I was trying to focus,” he said with a laugh. “For me, it probably would have been better if we had a packed house.”

Despite the lack of energy in the Stadium and natural rustiness, Pettitte met or exceeded all expectations. He threw five shutout innings to propel the Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that provided the Yankees a reassuring lift as they head into the final two weeks of the season.