The Yankees finally got some good news from one of their 24-year-old starting pitchers.
Ivan Nova last night delivered his best performance of the season in the 3-2 loss to the White Sox, his effort wasted by Rafael Soriano’s implosion.
Nova and Phil Hughes, both 24, figured to be big pieces of the Yankees rotation this season but both have struggled. The two possess the worst ERAs among the six pitchers who have started this season, and now Hughes is shut down with his mysterious arm problem.
Entering last night, Nova had a 7.63 ERA, and had suffered bouts of control problems in his first three starts. But he walked just two batters last night and pitched a career-high 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out three.
Some thought Nova’s rotation spot might be in jeopardy with Kevin Millwood sitting at Triple-A, armed with a May 1 opt-out if he’s not in the majors. But after last night, there is no doubt Nova’s spot is secure.
“I just gotta worry about do my job, and don’t worry about anything else,” Nova said. “I just want to do my job. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Do my job and don’t think about anything else. If I do my job, everything is gonna be good, you know?”
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Manager Joe Girardi said last night’s game off for Jorge Posada was not because the designated hitter is slumping. He simply wanted to give Alex Rodriguez some rest by putting him at DH, and that left Posada on the bench.
Posada has gotten off to a terrible start this year. He is batting .145 with 19 strikeouts. He has hit six home runs, but those have only broken up streaks of ineffectiveness. Posada was on the field early yesterday taking extra batting practice.
“It just seems like he’s kind of in between,” Girardi said. “At times he’s late on the fastball and he’s early on the off-speed.”
.Rodriguez went 0-for-4, the first game he failed to reach base in this season.
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The MRI exam on top prospect Jesus Montero showed no damage to the catcher after he took a foul ball to the groin on Sunday. Montero is still expected to miss a few days.
Francisco Cervelli [broken foot] went 1-for-5 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night in Charlotte. The Yanks want him to catch on back-to-back days before deciding when to activate him from the disabled list.
Pitcher Carlos Silva is scheduled to make a start in extended spring training soon.