Nova leaves in sixth inning due to injury
BALTIMORE – Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova was removed from his start on Monday against the Orioles in the sixth inning after suffering an injury while fielding a ground ball.
Nova came off the mound to field Wilson Betemit’s soft tapper and threw to first base, but he limped going back to the mound and hunched over on the infield grass in pain.
First baseman Mark Teixeira waved to the dugout and Nova was lifted, relieved by left-hander Clay Rapada.
Nova’s night was complete after 92 pitches, having allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four, serving up a J.J. Hardy home run.
It is possible that Nova’s injury had something to do with a third-inning Nick Markakis ball that smashed the hurler’s right foot. Nova was attended to on the mound and threw several warm-up pitches before waving off the coaching staff.
Game 35: Yankees at Orioles
May 14, 2012, 7:15 p.m. ET, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.
TV / Radio: YES/MLB Network, WCBS 880 AM
Hello from rainy Baltimore, where we’re underway after a brief delay. The forecasts aren’t terrific tonight but Joe Girardi seemed confident that the Yankees will be able to get the game in. Ivan Nova and Jason Hammel comprise the pitching matchup as the Bombers hit the road coming off a 4-2 homestand against the Rays and Mariners.
This is Nova’s seventh start of the season, and he’ll be trying to keep rolling the way he was last time out, limiting the Rays to two runs and six hits in what he said might have been his best start of the year. The other start Nova favored came here in Baltimore on April 9, when he held the Orioles to two runs in seven innings.
Hammel is 1-3 with a 6.69 ERA in 12 career appearances (six starts) vs. the Yankees. He held them to two runs in six innings on April 30 at Yankee Stadium but took the loss on Eric Chavez’s two-run homer in a 2-1 Yankees win.
Here are tonight’s lineups:
YANKEES (19-15)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
RHP Ivan Nova (4-1, 5.02 ERA)
ORIOLES (22-13)
Xavier Avery LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Wilson Betemit 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Nick Johnson DH
Robert Andino 2B
RHP Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.09 ERA)
Game 34: Yankees vs. Mariners
May 13, 2012, 1:05 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV / Radio: YES, WCBS 880 AM
Happy Mother’s Day from Yankee Stadium on what looks to be a perfect afternoon for baseball in the Bronx. All the pre-game chatter is about Andy Pettitte making his return to the Yankees after a hiatus of one year and 224 days. He’ll be the oldest Yankee to make a start for the team since Roger Clemens started a game at age 45.
Pettitte enters Sunday with the third-highest win total of any pitcher in franchise history (203). He ranks second in total wins (240), starts (479) and strikeouts (2,251) among active pitchers in baseball.
“There’s nothing I’m worried about, I think it’s probably a little bit, no matter how many games you pitch — World Series games or playoff games – just a little bit of anxiety about getting out there and just starting to do this again,” Pettitte said earlier this week. “There’s definitely a little bit of that, but I’m really excited to do it again. Same old story. You want to get out there. You want to get that first out behind you. Get through that first inning and try to settle in.”
Joe Girardi said he does have some concerns about Pettitte feeling the pressure in his first time out, and possibly over-throwing. He hopes the southpaw can give the Yanks about six good innings to help a pitching staff that has been on a roll lately. Entering the series finale Sunday, the rotation is 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA on this homestand.
Here are the lineups for today’s game:
MARINERS (15-20)
Dustin Ackley 2B
Casper Wells LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jesus Montero C
Justin Smoak 1B
Alex Liddi 3B
Mike Carp DH
Michael Saunders CF
Brendan Ryan SS
Kevin Milwood RHP (0-4, 5.88 ERA)
YANKEES (19-14)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C
Andy Pettitte LHP (11-3, 3.28 ERA in 2010)
Game 32: Yankees vs. Mariners
May 11, 2012, 7:05 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV / Radio: YES, WCBS 880 AM
Hello from Yankee Stadium, where the Yankees have made a roster move tonight, sending Eduardo Nunez down to Triple-A while activating Eric Chavez from the disabled list. You could see the writing might be on the wall for this after Nunez was pulled for defensive reasons after five innings last night; it must have been grating for Joe Girardi to have a utilityman who he couldn’t count on defensively.
The Yankees have their hands full tonight with King Felix Hernandez on the mound, and there’s also the matter of Jesus Montero, who returns to the Bronx tonight as the Mariners’ starting catcher. Montero would have caught a little bit and DHed if he had stayed with the Yankees, but there was never any doubt that he was going to be an impact bat. The Yankees are going to have to try to keep him quiet this weekend.
Hiroki Kuroda is making his seventh start as a Yankee tonight, and they’d love to see a little more consistency out of him. Kuroda needed 91 pitches last time out to get through 4 1/3 innings against the Royals on May 5, taking the loss in the Bombers’ 5-1 defeat.
Here are tonight’s lineups:
MARINERS (15-18)
Dustin Ackley 2B
Brendan Ryan SS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jesus Montero C
Kyle Seager 3B
John Jaso DH
Justin Smoak 1B
Mike Carp LF
Michael Saunders CF
Felix Hernandez RHP (3-1, 1.89 ERA)
YANKEES (17-14)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C
Hiroki Kuroda RHP (2-4, 3.75 ERA)
Nunez sent to Minors; Chavez activated
The Yankees have optioned infielder-outfielder Eduardo Nunez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, making room for Eric Chavez on the club’s active roster. Manager Joe Girardi said the Yankees want Nunez to abandon the utilityman experiment and get back to playing mostly shortstop, with some second base mixed in.
“We talked about it and said, maybe we’re asking this kid to do too much at this time in his career,” Girardi said. “… Our thought is, this kid is going to be an everyday shortstop at some point.”
The move was made after Nunez committed two errors – one fielding, one throwing – on Thursday against the Rays. He was removed in the sixth inning for defense, replaced by Jayson Nix. Girardi said Nix will be the new backup shortstop and second baseman while Chavez can back up at first and third bases.
Game 31: Yankees vs. Rays
May 10, 2012, 7:05 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV / Radio: YES/MLB Network, WCBS 880 AM
We’ve got a good one on tap in the Bronx, as CC Sabathia and David Price square off in a matchup of dominant left-handed starters. They’ve locked up five times previously, and Sabathia is still looking for his first win in a game against Price. The time might be right; Sabathia has won his last four starts while clicking well with backup catcher Chris Stewart.
Price is gunning to take over the AL lead in wins, currently tied with teammate James Shields and Jered Weaver of the Angels. Price has also won his last four starts, and long balls could be in short supply; his 0.23 home runs per nine innings is the best mark in the league.
Here are tonight’s lineups:
RAYS (20-11)
Ben Zobrist RF
Sean Rodriguez 3B
B.J. Upton CF
Jeff Keppinger DH
Brandon Guyer LF
Carlos Pena 1B
Elliot Johnson SS
Chris Gimenez C
Will Rhymes 2B
David Price LHP (5-1, 2.35)
YANKEES (16-14)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones LF
Eduardo Nunez 3B
Chris Stewart C
CC Sabathia LHP (4-0, 4.15)
Gardner has setback, sent for MRI
Brett Gardner had a setback after coming out of last night’s Minor League rehab game and has been sent for another MRI on his right elbow.
Gardner had swelling in the muscular part of his elbow, according to Joe Girardi, which is a different injury than the bone bruise he has been on the disabled list for.
Girardi said he now does not know when the team will get Gardner back. The plan had been for him to rejoin the team today.
“We miss his presence in left field,” Girardi said. “But we’ve got to find a way to get it done without him.”
Yankees’ David Robertson takes to Twitter after blown save
David Robertson said last night at Yankee Stadium that he wasn’t going to be able to avoid seeing highlights of his blown save on television. In the wake of the Yankees’ 4-1 loss to the Rays, Robertson couldn’t resist checking social media, either.
Robertson logged on to Twitter late last night to see what was filling his ‘Mentions’ column, and he seems to have been pleasantly surprised by what he found –
I expected to be slaughtered tonight on twitter, but the support y'all have shown reminds me how amazing Yankee fans are.—
David Robertson (@DRob30) May 10, 2012
Tonight sucked, but if there is one thing Mo has shown me it's how important it is to turn the page.—
David Robertson (@DRob30) May 10, 2012
And look, it's already after midnight, which means it's a new day. Let's take this series tomorrow! #GoYanks—
David Robertson (@DRob30) May 10, 2012
Nick Swisher said that he doesn’t believe Robertson will have difficulty shrugging off the game. Robertson had a one-run lead in the ninth and coughed up four runs, permitting a game-tying sacrifice fly to B.J. Upton and a go-ahead, three-run homer to Matt Joyce.
“I think he’ll be right back here tomorrow ready to go,” Swisher said. “He’s that type of guy. I’ve gotten real close to him the past couple of years and he’s a fighter, man. I mean, in a situation like that, I wouldn’t want anybody else out there other than him right now.”
Game 30: Yankees vs. Rays
May 9, 2012, 7:05 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
TV / Radio: YES/ESPN, WCBS 880 AM
Here are tonight’s lineups:
RAYS (19-11)
Ben Zobrist RF
Carlos Pena 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Matt Joyce LF
Luke Scott DH
Will Rhymes 2B
Elliott Johnson SS
Sean Rodriguez 3B
Chris Gimenez C
RHP Jeff Niemann (2-3, 4.05)
YANKEES (16-13)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez DH
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez LF
RHP David Phelps (0-1, 3.74)
Rivera had blood clot in calf
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was hospitalized overnight this week with what was diagnosed as a blood clot in his right calf.
Rivera has been given blood thinners to treat the calf and says that it will not affect his recovery from his season-ending right knee injury.
“I’m OK,” said Rivera, who admitted that he was scared by the diagnosis. “I’ve never heard anything good about blood clots.”
Rivera said that no date has been set for his surgery so he can strengthen the knee. He also said that he had been leaning toward playing in 2013 even before the injury in Kansas City.
“The traveling, I hate it,” he said. “And the playing, I love it.”
Bryan Hoch
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