WINTER HAVEN – Melky Cabrera hurt him first by botching a wind-blown fly that dropped out of cloudless blue sky. Then Ryan Garko bruised him with a three-run homer.
By the time Ian Kennedy’s first inning was done, the Indians had scored four unearned runs and hit several balls hard at Chain of Lakes Park. However, when Kennedy left yesterday’s game with two outs in the fifth, he was working on a string of zeroes that spoke to the competitive nature.
“I competed, I didn’t fold the cards,” Kennedy said. “It was a windy day and it didn’t help that I couldn’t get a grip on the ball. It also didn’t help that I didn’t know where the ball was going. I battled the whole day.”
“I told him to forget the first [inning] and give us a chance,” Joe Girardi said of his No. 5 starter who allowed five hits and walked four in 4 2/3rd innings. “It wasn’t pretty, but effective.”
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Andy Marte’s three-run homer off Darrell Rasner in the eighth lifted the Indians to a 7-5 victory. Johnny Damon returned after missing Monday night with the flu and went 0-for-4.
Robinson Cano continued to smoke Spring-training pitching, going 3-for-4. He is batting .464. Jason Giambi, whom Girardi said will “play a lot of first base” hiked his average to .417 with a 2-for-4 effort.
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Joba Chamberlain says it’s a change going from spring-training starter to the bullpen, where he dazzled big-league hitters a year ago.
“It’s definitely a little adjustment coming back to the bullpen and it’s an adjustment coming back to these guys,” Chamberlain said after pitching an inning against the Phillies’ Double-A Reading club yesterday in Tampa in which he gave up two hits, a run and a walk.
“They are a lot more aggressive than some of the big leaguers. I felt great.”
Chamberlain will hurl an inning today in Clearwater and an inning Friday in Miami to end the spring.
LaTroy Hawkins, who pitched an inning Monday night, worked a Triple-A inning against Lehigh Valley, walking two and fanning two.
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The Yankees made a change with Mariano Rivera. Monday night, Girardi didn’t believe the closer needed to throw on consecutive days. Yesterday, Girardi said Rivera would throw today and tomorrow.
Rivera has appeared in six games. He’s worked six innings, given up four hits, fanned seven and issued one walk.
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With no chance of sticking with the Yankees, infielder Nick Green was expected to exercise an out in his minor league deal by midnight last night and become a free agent. The Pirates and Giants are interested.