Masahiro Tanaka had no problems with his right elbow and played catch Sunday, a day after his 35-pitch simulated outing.
“I have not had any emergency meetings in my office, so that’s a great sign,” Joe Girardi said before the Yankees beat the White Sox, 7-4 in 10 innings in The Bronx. “We’ll continue to move ahead.”
Tanaka is expected to make a second simulated start on Thursday in Detroit.
“Then after that, we’ll see,” Girardi said of the right-hander, whose return could alter the AL playoff chase.
Despite that somewhat cryptic response, Girardi — like pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Saturday — refused to divulge when he envisions Tanaka potentially returning to the rotation.
“I don’t do that,” the manager said. “I think you have to go start-by-start.”
Tanaka may exceed 35 pitches on Thursday as he tries to avoid elbow surgery that would knock him out for the remainder of this season, and likely all of 2015.
Ichiro Suzuki’s two-run single off Chris Sale in the sixth was the first RBI by a left-handed hitter off the southpaw since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer tagged him for a two-run double on Aug. 17, 2013, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
When informed of the stat, Ichiro, who went 2-for-4, responded in English: “Amazing.”
“Ichiro is as good as it gets,” Brian McCann said. “The way he prepares is amazing. … He’s got a lot of hits. You’re not surprised when he gets a big hit.”
Jacoby Ellsbury wasn’t in the lineup, with Girardi calling the center fielder “beat up” beforehand, but he entered as a pinch hitter in the ninth and led off with a single and stole a base.
Martin Prado started in left field for the first time since September 2013 and went 1-for-5. Girardi said he’d like to keep Prado at one position, but his versatility is too valuable.
David Phelps (elbow) won’t make the upcoming trip and will instead stay home and play catch. The team will determine what he does next when it returns. Girardi has said Phelps will go to the bullpen when he comes back.
Adam Warren had his third consecutive scoreless outing on Sunday after not pitching for a week following his three-run meltdown in Baltimore on August 11.
“Sometimes you just lose it a little bit and your mechanics aren’t there,” Warren said. “I got back to knowing where the ball is going.”