You probably won’t hear any Yankees fans saying, “Felix who?” this morning, but with every strong start delivered by the team’s starting pitchers the need for a blockbuster trade feels less urgent.
After a winter of hand-wringing over CC Sabathia and “The Other Guys,” the Yankees rotation has been more than serviceable in the team’s first 25 games, lessening the fans’ lust for a trade for Mariners ace Felix Hernandez or another top-tier pitcher ever so slightly.
Ivan Nova was the latest Yankees starter to pitch well, holding the Blue Jays down in a 5-2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 43,363 at Yankee Stadium. It was the Yankees’ fourth win in five games as they depart on a seven-game road trip that begins tonight in Detroit.
The starting rotation became the hot-button issue around the 2011 Yankees the minute Cliff Lee took his talents to South Philly. And it has become an even bigger issue with Phil Hughes’ struggles and confounding “dead arm.” But in the Yankees’ last 13 games, the starters have posted a 2.44 ERA, going 7-2 while the club has gone 9-4.
“To consistently win, your starting rotation has to give you distance, they have to shut teams down, they have to make big pitches in games,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “That’s what’s going to sustain you during the season. … If you don’t have starting pitching, it’s going to be hard to win on a consistent basis and to get into the 90-win column.”
The Yankees’ offense continues to hit the ball over the fence, upping their major league-leading total to 45 home runs with a solo shot from Mark Teixeira in the first inning and a three-run blast from Curtis Granderson in the fifth that proved to be the difference in the game.
Nova pitched his way into the seventh inning for the second-straight game, tying the career high of 61/3 innings pitched he set last week against the White Sox. He allowed two runs on six hits and four walks, giving up a home run and striking out five to improve to 2-2 on the season.
The 24-year-old rookie scuffled early, giving up a solo home run to Adam Lind in the second that tied the game 1-1, and got into trouble in the third after walking Rajai Davis to lead off the inning. Davis stole second and third, then scored on a groundout by Jose Bautista to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.
After the early struggles, Nova began to throw his curveball more, and figured ways out of jams. Toronto went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Nova.
“I think the curveball has made the difference the last two starts,” pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. “He’s been able to throw it for strikes almost better than his fastball. He’s a young kid feeling his way a little bit. He’s kind of like a newborn colt getting his legs. We’ll see what kind of racehorse he turns into.”
Nova thinks he can be a thoroughbred.
“I still had my head up no matter what happened,” he said about his start to the season when he had a 7.36 ERA after three starts. “My mind is strong so I think I can keep doing a really good job.”
Even with all of the home runs the Yankees are hitting, the offense has yet to click on all cylinders. About the only consistent hitter in their lineup has been Robinson Cano, who left yesterday’s game in the eighth inning with a bruised hand. The bullpen, which was expected to be the best in baseball, has had some forgettable moments in the first month of the season.
Unexpectedly, the starters have led the way for the first-place Yankees. GM Brian Cashman hoped his starting rotation would be good enough through the first few months to give him time to make a deal for another frontline starter. Rothschild is not waiting on someone to come through the door.
“I don’t count on anything,” Rothschild said. “In my mind, if they keep throwing the way they have, it answers questions for us.”
brian.costello@nypost.com