MOOSIC, Pa. — The Yankees rotation is getting closer to looking a little more like it was supposed to.
Michael Pineda may soon be on his way back to The Bronx, following a second successful rehab start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, in which he allowed one run over 4 ¹/₃ innings and struck out seven Friday night at PNC Park.
The losing pitcher in the 2-1 loss to the Columbus Clippers, Pineda allowed six hits and walked none, getting pulled in the fifth inning after throwing 72 pitches, including 52 strikes. In his previous appearance with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pineda threw 3 ¹/₃ shutout innings, tossing 58 pitches, allowing three hits and one walk, while striking out four.
“I was feeling pretty good,” said Pineda, who threw an additional seven pitches in the bullpen after being removed. “My arm feels 100 percent and everything was working good. All my pitches were working better than the first time.”
With two Yankees starters (CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova) out for the season and another two (Masahiro Tanaka, David Phelps) also on the disabled list, Pineda could return to the rotation for Wednesday’s game in Baltimore and immediately boost the shorthanded squad, after missing all of the past two seasons following shoulder surgery.
Pineda didn’t know when he would be called up, but he said he was ready to return, feeling as good as he did in his four early-season starts with the Yankees, when he went 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA. His last appearance in the big leagues came on April 23, when he was ejected against the Red Sox after being spotted with pine tar on his neck, leading to a 10-game suspension.
“I’m going to be very excited to go back,” Pineda said. “I feel ready to go. I feel good. Everything’s working good. I was happy with everything. I’m feeling ready to pitch in New York.”
With Pineda on the disabled list since May 6 with an injury to a right shoulder muscle, Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler, who was in attendance Friday, said the two starts were as good as the organization could have asked for, though he wouldn’t comment on when the 25-year-old would be recalled.
“I would say he looks pretty good,” Eppler told The Post. “He looks the way we remember coming out of spring training. He had a lot of pitches working for him. He showed velocity, the slider looked good and the changeup actually looked good. He should walk away pleased. We’re happy.”
Pineda got sharper as Friday’s game went on, retiring the final seven hitters he faced. Getting ahead in most counts and pitching better than his line indicates, Pineda allowed only one truly hard-hit ball, with two hits coming on bloops and another coming on an infield single.
He faced trouble twice, pitching with two runners in scoring position in the first inning and with runners on the corners in the second inning, but he escaped each jam with a strikeout.
“You obviously got to check out how he feels the next day, but I walked away feeling good because of the command of the fastball,” Eppler said. “When you’re dealing with that area, if you can finish your pitches in order to command them that’s usually a pretty good sign.”