The next chapter in the Javier Vazquez saga unfolds tonight, when the beleaguered Yankees pitcher takes the mound at Citi Field to start against the Mets.
After Vazquez’s strong start in Detroit nine days ago and an encouraging, albeit brief, relief appearance Monday against the Red Sox, the Yankees hope the righty may have put his early-season troubles behind him.
Vazquez picked up his second win of the season Monday night when he struck out the only batter he faced, Kevin Youkilis, in the ninth inning, and the Yankees rallied to an 11-9 win in the bottom of the inning.
“I think it was big, because even though he pitched extremely well in Detroit, he didn’t get the win,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
“I think there’s something about getting the win and getting big outs that you feel like you’re really contributing, even though he contributed in Detroit [and] we didn’t score any runs. I think it meant something to him.”
Four of Vazquez’s first five starts were rough outings, culminating with the Yankee Stadium crowd booing him off the mound on May 1 when the White Sox beat him up. After that start, the Yankees skipped Vazquez in the rotation six days later in Boston.
He took the mound again May 12 and pitched well against the Tigers, but the Yankees scored no runs off Rick Porcello, and Vazquez took a difficult loss.
“It feels good to do my job,” Vazquez said. “I threw some quality pitches. I threw the ball much better.
“I think the confidence is getting better. Athletes, when you’re doing good, your confidence is up, and when you’re doing bad, your confidence is down a little bit. Hopefully I have some good starts out there.”
The Yankees skipped his turn again against Boston this week because they needed him to be on call as a long reliever when their pitching got messed up by a rainout. He ended up getting called on to face Youkilis, and came through.
“I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t frustrated, but I tried to stay as positive as I can,” Vazquez said. “I knew everybody in here was pulling for me. That’s something that helps.”
Girardi said Vazquez has shown some signs of frustration, but overall he thinks Vazquez has stayed upbeat.
“A lot of times you look at the face, because there’s frustration in the face when things aren’t going well, and that’s hard for players not to show,” Girardi said. “We’re human, and we get frustrated just like anybody else. His body language through this has not been that bad. There’s just frustration there.”
Tonight marks a return to the NL for Vazquez, who pitched for the Braves last season and spent the first six years of his career with the Expos. Last season, he faced the Mets twice at Turner Field, going 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA in those games.
“I grew up in the National League,” Vazquez said. “I always liked that style of game, just because I get the opportunity to not only pitch but maybe help the team and help myself with the bat.”
Girardi also hopes the comfortable setting of the NL can help Vazquez.
“[Tonight] is a situation that he’s more familiar with recently because he was in the National League and had so much success last year,” Girardi said. “Being an Atlanta Brave, obviously you’re going to play the Mets a bunch of times, because you’re in the same division and you’ve seen a lot of those hitters recently.”