Admitting that a rib cage muscle injury earlier this season turned Joba Chamberlain into a different pitcher, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Saturday’s 6-1 loss to the Red Sox the right-handed reliever is going to be needed down the stretch.
“I thought he threw the ball pretty well before he got hurt,’’ Girardi said of Chamberlain, who was on the disabled list from April 28 to May 27 with a strained right oblique. “I think it’s been kind of up and down for him. Rib cage muscles can be tough to recover from. I think he has thrown better of late but we need big innings out of this guy.’’
Can Girardi trust Chamberlain to get meaningful outs as the Yankees attempt to grab a wild-card spot? After all, he has a 4.83 ERA in 34 games, has allowed 39 hits and 16 walks in 31 2/3 innings and opposing batters are hitting .298 against him.
In Friday night’s 10-3 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Chamberlain started the ninth inning with a seven-run lead, but Girardi replaced him with David Huff for the final out after he gave up two hits and a walk.
Girardi said he expects the Yankees to have important spots in which Chamberlain will be needed.
“So he is going to have to get it done,’’ Girardi said.
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Girardi reiterated he doesn’t believe Chamberlain is still hurt and the righty’s 96 mph fastball backs that up. Yet, the filthy slider that was as much a part of Chamberlain’s calling card when he dominated has been inconsistent.
“I think he got into a little bit of a funk and he has been up and down,’’ Girardi said. “With rib cage muscles a player comes back and maybe he isn’t where he was before he got hurt but there is no pain.’’
When Chamberlain went on the DL, he had a 3.86 ERA. By the time Chamberlain’s ERA went to 6.38 in late June, Preston Claiborne had moved ahead of him in the later innings. Girardi was correct when he said Chamberlain has looked better lately, but it’s impossible to watch Chamberlain work in mop-up situations and not think of what he used to be.
Chamberlain will be a free agent following the season and it is a real strong bet he won’t be back.
* Before the game, Girardi hadn’t gotten a report on what Derek Jeter did in Tampa.
“I didn’t ask,’’ Girardi said.
Jeter (strained right calf) is eligible to come off the DL Sunday, but won’t. On Friday, Girardi said it was in doubt whether Jeter would be available for Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays.
* Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-4. He is 15-for-22 (.682) with five homers and 18 RBIs in his last five games.
Since Soriano, who has 397 career home runs, struggled as he approached 2,000 hits, how might the red-hot hitter react to nearing 400 homers?
“I am hoping going through the 2,000 experience [helps],’’ Girardi said.
* Robinson Cano’s hitting streak was halted at 11 games when he went 0-for-4 and didn’t hit a ball out of the infield.
* Girardi said he believes there is a difference in the way errors affect Eduardo Nunez this year versus last year.
“He seems to bounce back better this year,’’ Girardi said of Nunez, who was charged with two errors Friday night and has 10 errors this season.
* Red Sox second baseman and No. 3 hitter Dustin Pedroia fouled a ball off his left foot in the eighth inning. He completed the at-bat, but didn’t play in the field during the ninth. According to Red Sox manager John Farrell, tests on Pedroia’s foot were negative, though he was sore.