The Yankees have had a nearly unstoppable starting rotation — Javier Vazquez aside — through the first five weeks of the season. But Monday and Tuesday in Detroit, everyone in the organization will have their fingers crossed.
After Vazquez pitches Monday, Sergio Mitre is the top candidate to start in place of the ailing Andy Pettitte on Tuesday against the Tigers.
Mitre has been the Yankees’ long man out of the bullpen this season, and has plenty of experience as a starter with 61 career starts. He went 3-3 last year with a 7.16 ERA in nine starts for the Yankees. His last start came Sept. 15, when he allowed seven earned runs in five innings against the Blue Jays.
“If that’s the case and they point at me, yeah [I’ll be ready,],” Mitre said yesterday before it was announced Pettitte would miss the start in Detroit.
Mitre threw 29 pitches in yesterday’s 7-5 victory, coming in for Pettitte to start the sixth inning. He worked two clean innings before giving up a two-run home run to Ty Wigginton in the eighth.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said last night the team was not ready to name Tuesday’s starter.
“We haven’t had that conversation yet,” Cashman said.
But Mitre is the only logical in-house candidate. Don’t even think about Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees are not about to tinker with him as he has settled in nicely as a reliever.
The top candidate from the minor leagues is Ivan Nova, who is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but that would require a roster move, and the initial prognosis has Pettitte avoiding the disabled list.
Mitre was last a fulltime starter with the Marlins in 2007, when he started 27 games before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s made four appearances for the Yankees this year, including a 46-pitch outing Saturday.
— Additional reporting by George A. King III
brian.costello@nypost.com