BALTIMORE — If Ivan Nova doesn’t experience a problem with his right shoulder Friday after Thursday’s bullpen session, he will replace Freddy Garcia in the rotation Sunday with the Yankees locked in a tight pennant race.
Though the Yankees didn’t publicly announce the switch, all signs point to Nova, not the struggling Garcia, facing the Orioles.
“We are thinking about him coming off the DL,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Nova, who has been shelved since Aug. 22 with an inflamed rotator cuff. “I have to see how he feels. We consider him a rotation guy. We don’t consider him a bullpen guy.’’
Nova (11-7) pitched ineffectively in his five starts before going on the disabled list. He went 1-4 with an 8.59 ERA and gave up 40 hits (five homers) in 29 ¹/₃ innings.
Nova faced batters Tuesday in St. Petersburg, and said there was no hint of discomfort. He is 1-2 with a 7.99 ERA in four starts against the Orioles this year.
“I don’t have a concern he can’t go 80 to 90 pitches,’’ Girardi said. “I don’t think 80 to 90 pitches is out of the question.’’
Garcia, 7-6, is 0-1 with a 7.54 ERA in his last three starts and has given up 15 hits and 10 walks in 14 ¹/₃ innings.
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Following Thursday night’s 10-6 loss to the Orioles, Mark Teixeira was hopeful he will return to the lineup tonight after sitting out the previous eight games with a left calf strain.
“I will talk to [trainer Stevie [Donahue]. Our goal is to play [Friday night]. I want to play,’’ Teixeira said.
Before the Yankees’ 10th loss in 15 games, Teixeira said the tight pennant race is dictating his thirst to play.
“Obviously, if we were up 10 games, I’m probably going to take an extra day or two,” Teixeira said. “But we’re fighting for the [AL East] lead, so I’m going to try to come back as quickly as possible. That’s the way it is. I want to be out there really badly right now.”
He was able to go through running drills — including running the bases — yesterday. It was the most significant test he put his calf through since suffering the injury Aug. 27 and he said he went “about 80 percent.”
“It was just a little tight, but it’s been inactive for 10 days, so that’s to be expected,” Teixeira said. “I felt like it was a really good step in the right direction. [But] game-speed and practice-speed is a little different anyway.It’s really tough to ever fully go out practicing.”
If he’s able to go through similar drills today, he may be able to provide a bat that has been missing. But he also acknowledged any recurrence would be devastating.
Girardi was less optimistic about Teixeira’s return, but didn’t rule it out.
“I’m not anticipating it, but we’ll see how he feels [today],” the manager said. “You have to make sure when he gets out there he’s ready to play and that it’s not a 50-50 chance it’s going to happen [again] the first night back. We can’t take that chance.”
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The Orioles unveiled a statue of Cal Ripken Jr. before the game and seeing the Hall of Famer honored by the only team he played for brought back similar boyhood memories for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
Jeter and Rodriguez, who appeared during the on-field ceremony, were both big shortstops growing up and heard from coaches and scouts that they couldn’t play short because of their height. Each is listed in the Yankees’ media guide as being 6-foot-3.
“I remember when I started to grow a little I was told I was too tall to play short,’’ Jeter said. “I always said, ‘Cal Ripken plays short.’ ”
Rodriguez, who grew up with Ripken’s poster in his Miami bedroom, heard the same rap.
“I never stopped hearing it and I used it for motivation to prove the critics wrong,’’ Rodriguez said of being too tall to play short.
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A day after throwing to hitters, Andy Pettitte, out since late June with a fractured left ankle, reported he felt good and was waiting to hear what the next step is.
“Now it’s a matter of how far I can push my arm,’’ said Pettitte.
Pettitte has stopped throwing bullpen sessions in order to shorten the comeback process.
“I can do that because my command has been so good,’’ Pettitte said.
Girardi said Pettitte likely will face batters again “sometime this weekend.’’
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Robinson Cano returned to second base Thursday night after serving as the designated hitter in the previous two games because of a left hip problem suffered Monday chasing a ground ball against the Rays. Cano went 2-for-5. … Rodriguez was the DH for the second time in four games since he came off the DL. Rodriguez, who played in his 2,500th career game, went 1-for-4 with an RBI double.