ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carlos Beltran returned to right field Saturday for the first time since May 12 when a bone spur in the right elbow forced him to the disabled list.
When Beltran came back on June 5, he did so as a DH.
“We felt he was ready to go,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Beltran, who has been participating in an arm strengthening program and progressed to the point that the manager felt comfortable enough to play the switch-hitter in right field. “Trying to get as many right-handed hitters in their against [Drew] Smyly as possible. I feel that his healthy and it shouldn’t be an issue.’’
The move to right went smoothly, as Beltran fielded one fly ball without an issue, but it didn’t help his bat since he went 0-for-4 in the 3-2 win and has one hit in 27 at-bats.
Beltran had arthroscopic surgery to clean out his elbow after the season.
“I have been throwing and I feel good,’’ said Beltran, who admitted there are times in the back of his mind he thinks about the elbow.
Because there are very few secrets in baseball, Beltran expected the aggressive Rays to test his arm when provided the chance, which they didn’t.
“I have been out for a long time, everybody knows I have an elbow issue,’’ Beltran said.
After watching Brian McCann participate in Friday’s pregame workout routine, Girardi wasn’t convinced the catcher was fully recovered from a concussion to come off the seven-day DL when he was eligible Saturday.
Girardi said he felt McCann, who hasn’t played since July 8 when he took a foul tip off the mask, looked lethargic Friday when he took batting practice and fielded ground balls at first.
So McCann wasn’t activated and there is a chance he won’t be ready Sunday.
“[Sunday] is a possibility and we want him to get through a bunch of work [Saturday] and go from there,’’ Girardi said before the game. “It was out feeling that he wasn’t quite ready.’’
As for Sunday, Girardi didn’t commit after the game.
“We will see, talk to [trainer Steve] Donohue and the doctors and see what they say,’’ Girardi said. “He looked better and that’s normal for an athlete who didn’t do anything for five days.’’
With Beltran in right field, Girardi used Derek Jeter as the DH for the fourth time this year and played Brendan Ryan at short for the 12th game. Girardi gave Martin Prado his first start as a Yankee at second base instead of playing the left-handed hitting Stephen Drew against Smyly, a lefty.
David Robertson is 20-for-20 since June 5 and that is the longest active streak in the majors.
With 499 strikeouts Robertson needs one K to become the fifth pitcher in history to reach 500 whiffs within his first 375 career innings pitched.
The Yankees are 39-27 in games decided by two runs or fewer. That was better than the Orioles’ 38-28 mark.