Andy Pettitte pronounced himself ready to go for today’s start against the Twins.
The 37-year-old lefty has not pitched since May 5, when he left a start at Baltimore after 77 pitches with tightness in his pitching elbow. The Yankees held him out of his next scheduled start, giving him extra time to rest.
Pettitte said he has been able to throw all of his pitches in bullpen sessions this week, and is not worried about today’s start.
“You don’t want to have anything bothering you but the thing I’m less worried about is it’s not on the inside of the elbow which is where everything serious [is],” Pettitte said. “It’s not that big of a concern for me.”
The Yankees coaching staff will keep a close eye on Pettitte to see if he shows any signs of discomfort.
“He feels nothing so it’s just going to be a regular start for him,” pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “Obviously we’re going to keep an eye on him see if we see anything. He’s going to be honest with us but we don’t foresee any problems.”
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An MRI exam revealed a slight strain of Nick Swisher‘s left biceps after last night’s 8-4 Yankees victory. The outfielder started the game in right field, but seemed to aggravate the injured arm on a second-inning strikeout.
He was removed from the game after the third inning, and had the MRI exam at New York Presbyterian Hospital. The Yankees said Swisher is day-to-day and manager Joe Girardi said he could be in the lineup today.
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Sergio Mitre will start tomorrow’s series finale. The Yankees were thrown off rotation after Tuesday’s game in Detroit was rained out.
It will be Mitre’s second start. He started in place of Pettitte on Monday against the Tigers, throwing 4 1/3 innings and picking up the loss.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi would not divulge what his pitching plans are past Sunday. The Red Sox and Rays are headed to the Stadium for a pair of two-game series. Both Javier Vazquez and Phil Hughes would be on normal rest Monday after pitching the doubleheader in Detroit. CC Sabathia would be on normal rest Tuesday.
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Chan Ho Park (right hamstring) struck out two and gave up one hit in one inning of work in a rehabilitation assignment for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night. Park could be activated tomorrow. . . . Curtis Granderson hit off a tee yesterday, his first baseball activity since straining his left groin on May 1. The plan is for him to jog lightly today.
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Alex Rodriguez is tied with Eddie Murray for third all-time with 19 career grand slams. He trails Lou Gehrig (23) and Manny Ramirez (21). . . . Francisco Cervelli is 10-for-13 with runners in scoring position this year after his RBI triple in the eighth inning. . . . Joba Chamberlain struck out the side in the eighth inning. He has not allowed a run since April 23. . . . Jorge Posada was out of the lineup. Girardi said they wanted to rest Posada, who caught two straight days after missing four games with a calf strain last week. . . . The Yankees claimed RHP Shane Lindsay off waivers from the Rockies. He will be optioned to Single-A Tampa. They released RHP Christian Garcia to make room on the 40-man roster.