CC Sabathia got his work in Wednesday night, and the result is: He needs more work before returning to the Yankees.
The left-hander, rehabilitating the right knee injury that has sidelined him since May 11, threw 55 pitches, 33 of them strikes, in 3 ²/₃ innings for the Yankees’ Double-A Trenton affiliate against Portland, the Red Sox’s Eastern League team, at Arm & Hammer Park. Sabathia gave up five runs, three of them earned, on five hits while walking one, striking out two and hitting one batter. He took the loss as the Thunder fell 8-6.
“I felt good,” he said. “Secondary pitches weren’t that good, but my fastball felt like it was going up pretty good. I felt good health-wise, so I’m ready to go.”
Sabathia likely will make two more rehabilitation starts, with the idea of rejoining the Yankees’ starting rotation after the All-Star break.
His fastball ranged from 88 mph to 94 on the ballpark’s unreliable radar gun.
“I think you guys make too much of my velocity,” he told reporters in a news conference following his start. “Velocity is what it is. Velocity is going to be where it’s at.”
Both of Sabathia’s strikeouts came on swings and misses, the first on a fastball and the second on a breaking pitch. He got knocked around for three extra-base hits, two doubles by Blake Swihart and a triple by Derrik Gibson; the triple came on a fastball and the Swihart doubles on secondary pitches.
“The changeup was cutting,” Sabathia said. “The slider wasn’t as sharp as I wanted it to be. We’ll do some work on those things, but overall, I felt pretty good.”
He pitched under stifling New Jersey heat; when he threw the game’s first pitch, the thermometer read 91 degrees. He was on the verge of completing the fourth inning when, with a runner on first base, he induced Portland’s ninth hitter, Heiker Meneses, to hit an ordinary grounder to third base. But when Trenton’s Rob Segedin botched that play, manager Tony Franklin lifted Sabathia for reliever Fred Lewis, who let both base runners come around to give Sabathia those two unearned runs.
The soon-to-be 34-year-old shrugged off his statistical line.
“For me, it’s just feel right now,” he said. “Results will come when they matter. Right now, I’m just trying to make sure that I’m getting max effort out there and not feel anything and be healthy.”
Lewis faced only two batters before the skies opened, sending the game into a prolonged rain delay; Sabathia actually held his news conference during the delay and left well before the game concluded.
“Perfect timing,” Sabathia said, laughing. “I really wanted to face the hitters and not finish it up in the bullpen or on the side.”