MLB

Phelps still in fifth-starter hunt after another solid outing

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Michael Pineda might be the leader for the final spot in the Yankees starting rotation, but David Phelps isn’t going down without a fight.

Phelps held the Red Sox scoreless into the sixth inning before giving up a two-run double to Dustin Pedroia in the Yankees’ 3-2 win Thursday night at JetBlue Park.

“I’m not going to let one at-bat dictate my outing,” Phelps said.

A slight mechanical adjustment during the week improved his fastball command in what may have been his last chance to win over manager Joe Girardi.

“We’ll see,” Phelps said. “I’m not going to try and handicap it.”

Phelps said he was just pleased the Yankees held on.

“It could be the first game of spring,” he said. “If it’s Yankees-Red Sox, we want to win.”

Before the game, Girardi said he was getting closer to decisions about the fifth starter, as well as other questions surrounding the team.

“I don’t know if we’ll decide it by the end of the weekend or if we’ll wait a little bit longer,” Girardi said.

That fight also still has implications on how the bullpen is constructed.

“The three spots that are really settled are [David] Robertson, [Shawn] Kelley and [Matt] Thornton,” Girardi said. “But then I’ve got to settle four spots and a lot of those spots are dependent on our rotation.”

No matter how it shakes out, Girardi said he knows he likely will have as many definitive options early in the season.

“Will it be as clear-cut as last year? No, probably not,” Girardi said. “Not in the beginning.”


While the Yankees spend the final part of spring training figuring out who is going to fill out the back end of their rotation, it likely won’t make a huge difference if the guy at the top of the rotation doesn’t return to form.

CC Sabathia, who pitched superbly in Panama, makes another start tonight against the Pirates, already with an eye on proving last season wasn’t a sign of permanent decline.

“I’m looking forward to getting the season started, but you’re always going to have last year in the back of your mind to motivate you,” Sabathia said Thursday at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. “I’m trying to think of the last bad year I had before last year, but I’ve always had things to work on.”

Sabathia pointed to doubts about whether he could pitch in New York after signing with the Yankees and whether he could succeed in the postseason after a rocky 2007 playoffs with the Indians.

But this season his goal is simple.

“To prove that I’m myself,” Sabathia said. “I was terrible last year, but I know myself. I’m 100 percent healthy and every year I’ve been healthy, I’ve pitched well.”


Derek Jeter isn’t the only star this spring to get off to a slow start. Boston’s David Ortiz is hitting .063, but like Girardi, Red Sox manager John Farrell isn’t worried.

“It’s no concern,” Farrell said. “I’ve had multiple conversations with him. He’s had spring trainings that have been so drastically different. Last year, he only had a few at-bats and had one of the better seasons of his career. Personally, I think he’ll be fine.”