Yankees starter and winning pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and his catcher, Brian McCann, were on the same page Monday in the home opener. Pretty much, anyway.
“I didn’t feel particularly sharp today,” Kuroda said.
“I thought he was sharp,” McCann said.
“With the help of the catcher and the fielders, I was able to go six-plus innings,” Kuroda said.
So what did McCann do or say?
“I’m not sure,” the catcher said.
It may not sound like a well-oiled machine, but Kuroda and McCann were in sync in the 4-2 win against the Orioles. McCann deflected the praise his pitcher offered through an interpreter after the right-hander worked 6 ¹/₃ innings, allowing two earned runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks before the David Robertson-less bullpen completed the effort.
Kuroda, who liked his splitter but was not too wild about his slider, earned his first victory since Aug. 17 last season as he ended a career-high nine-game winless streak dating back to 2013.
“I was trying to be patient and make sure I keep the ball down and not to walk anybody,” Kuroda said. “I felt the movement on my two-seamers weren’t as sharp and the sliders didn’t break that much.
“I’m not disappointed but I was not particularly sharp. But to be able to go six-plus innings was pretty encouraging.”
And not just for him.
“I thought his pitches were crisp to pitch into the seventh inning against a lineup like Baltimore, I’ll take that every time,” McCann said.
Kuroda got help from his defense, too. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury doubled Nelson Cruz off first base in the second inning and McCann picked off Jonathan Schoop at second base, Derek Jeter covering, to end the fifth. The Orioles’ first run in the fourth came around a fine catch in left by Brett Gardner, who raced into foul territory and grabbed an offering by the dangerous Chris Davis.
Kuroda exited amid trouble in the seventh. Three hits produced one run before the bullpen was summoned to pitch the final 2 ²/₃ innings, surrendering one eighth-inning walk to preserve the win for Kuroda, who won last season on Opening Day.
“Opening game at home is obviously a special atmosphere and the fan support boosts me up a little,” said Kuroda, who was dealt a 3-1 loss in his first start at Houston.
This was, by all accounts, a “typical” Kuroda game.
“He was great. Just a typical Kuroda start,” McCann said. “He worked both sides of the plate, had his split working and pitched us deep into the ball game.”