Andy Pettitte threw 35 pitches during a bullpen session before yesterday’s game and remains on track to rejoin the rotation before the end of the regular season. While precisely when that will happen remains up in the air, all signs appear positive.
“I think I’m over the hump,” the 40-year-old left-hander said.
Pettitte, sidelined since June 28 with a fractured left ankle, said yesterday’s task was to push off the mound harder than he had during his previous throwing session. He said he did that.
“I can’t put a percentage on how much I pushed off,” he said. “I think I pushed off a lot harder today than I did the other day. … I felt good.
“We’ll report back to the doctor and our trainers and see what the next step is. I know they were talking about — if this went good — maybe doing a batting practice as quick as possible to get some hitters in there. I don’t know when that will be.’’
Joe Girardi seemed pleased with Pettitte’s progress.
“The fact that he’s [throwing] off the mound and he’s comfortable and is recovering fine tells me he’s on a path to getting back,” he said. “So the next step is, we’ll have to wait and see exactly what it is. But I’d imagine he’ll do some type of throwing in three days.
“You start to map things out, but I think the map has to have some little detour here and there if he needs an extra day. … We’ll still go day by day just to make sure he’s feeling OK.”
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Ivan Nova (rotator cuff inflammation) also threw a bullpen session.
“We’ll have to see what the next step is for him as well,” Girardi said. “… It’s one thing to throw, but it’s another thing to see how they recover the next day. As long as he recovers fine, then we’ll take the next step.’’
Center fielder Curtis Granderson (right hamstring tendinitis) did not play and is unlikely to play against the Rays today in St. Petersburg.
“We’re going to have to give him a day or two,’’ Girardi said before yesterday’s game. “I’m not so sure if he’ll play [today]. We’ll have to check. The good thing is he didn’t pull anything.’’
Granderson, who left Saturday’s game after striking out in the second inning, received treatment yesterday and said the plan is to treat today like a normal game day to see what the leg can withstand.
“It felt really good today,” he said. “Everything seems to be responding really well. We’ll go through our normal day-to-day activities [today] and see how it feels on the field. I’m not sure if I’ll be in the lineup. That will be Joe’s call. But, right now, things are looking pretty good.”
Girardi said he had no timetable on Mark Teixeira, who has been out since Monday with a strained left calf.
“I really don’t have a guess and I’m not going to start to guess,” said the manager, who added the first baseman would not have played the next few days even if the Yankees were playing on natural grass rather than the green-painted concrete of Tropicana Field.
“With a calf like that, usually you’d put a guy on the DL. But our thought was, if you can get him back two or three days early you can get him back two or three days early. But if he does have a setback you’re probably looking at [him missing] the rest of the year. So when we get him in there we’re going to have to be pretty sure [he’s healthy].”
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Joba Chamberlain’s struggles continued yesterday. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on one hit in a third of an inning and saw his ERA rise to 10.57. He walked Matt Wieters and allowed a single to Mark Reynolds in the Orioles’ three-run eighth inning before being lifted for rookie Justin Thomas.
Chamberlain said he “wouldn’t be pitching if I wasn’t 100 percent healthy,” but did compare what he is going through to spring training. He has only thrown 7 2/3 innings since returning Aug. 1 from a dislocated right ankle.
“That’s life, that’s baseball, it’s going to take time to get back,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but you can’t give up.”
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With Saturday night’s game followed by an 11 a.m. game yesterday, Alex Rodriguez did not play for the Single-A Tampa Yankees. Instead the third baseman went through an extensive workout in Tampa. … Their six home losses to the Orioles this season are the most by the Yankees since they went 1-8 at home against the O’s in 1976. That was also the last time the Yankees lost three home series to the Orioles in the same season. … Thomas made his major league debut, striking out the only batter he faced.
— Additional reporting by Zach Braziller
dburke@nypost.com