The Yankees and Ivan Nova are so much alike. Bring on the weaker teams and they have success. In the big games against big competition, they falter.
Nova and the Yankees steamrolled the last-place Giants, 6-0, Saturday at Yankee Stadium with the right-hander throwing a shutout, allowing six hits, striking out seven and walking only one.
If the Yankees are able to pull off a miracle finish and win a wild card, they must finish off the sweep of the last-place Giants on Sunday then sweep away the Rays beginning Tuesday.
“We’ve got to win ballgames, that’s what the formula comes down to right now,” catcher Chis Stewart said after this walk in Monument Park victory over San Francisco.
Nova improved to 9-5 as he posted his second complete-game shutout of the season, joining Hiroki Kuroda (2012) and Mike Mussina (2001, ’02, ’05) as the only Yankees with multiple complete-game shutouts in a season since 1999, but Nova still has so much to prove.
He lasted just four innings in a 9-2 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park in his previous start before Saturday. His other four losses this season have come against the Rays (twice), Rangers and Tigers.
The Yankees are 19-29 against those teams. Throw the A’s into that wild bunch and the Yankees are 20-34 versus those teams.
Entering play on Saturday, 14 teams had a better record than the Yankees. Fourteen. Sixteen teams had a better road record than the Yankees.
Yes, the Yankees are as middle-of-the-pack as they come right now, yet because of the watered-down wild-card system and the mediocrity throughout the game, they still have a puncher’s chance to make it to the postseason, if they finish strong.
Barring a slip-up Sunday on Core 2 Pitchers Day (Mariano Rivera/Andy Pettitte), the season will come down to the series against the Rays in The Bronx.
The Rays beat the Orioles again yesterday and remain four games ahead of the Yankees in the loss column for one wild-card spot while the Indians were three games ahead in the loss column for the other wild-card entry entering their game Saturday night.
Nova must carry Saturday’s success to his next start against the Rays to really make meaningful strides this season.
Stewart knew what the difference was for Nova on this day.
“He threw a lot of strikes today, he got ahead of guys, he had a good curveball,’’ the catcher said. “He threw it for strikes when he needed to, he pounded the zone. He was able to throw his curveball for strikes and you have to respect that.’’
Nova said he watched video of that terrible Boston start, a brutal loss, and came to the conclusion he was tipping his pitches with the different ways he was holding his glove on his fastball and his curveball, giving the hitting advantage to the Red Sox.
That may be the case. The Red Sox are an intelligent hitting team.
“They laid off some good pitches,’’ Stewart said.
But when Nova was asked what really was the difference between the Boston start and Saturday’s start against the Giants, he offered a simple answer: “Strikes,’’ he said. “I threw strikes.’’
Nova gave way too much respect to the Red Sox hitters and nibbled too much. He was pitching scared. That must stop.
There is no room for that in the AL East. Nova walked four and allowed five hits and four runs against the Red Sox.
“Whether they knew what was coming in Boston or not, no one knows’’ Stewart said, “but hopefully we get the chance to play them in the playoffs and he gets the chance to redeem himself.’’
That would be super for Nova and the Yankees, but there is still so much ground to make up in such a short time.
One more loss could finish the Yankees. All games now are must-wins.