It’s not exactly a game plan that can work every day, but this makeshift Yankees pitching staff patched together another win on Saturday.
David Phelps flirted with disaster through five innings, but managed to escape unscathed and earn the win in a 7-1 victory over the Pirates in The Bronx, the Yankees’ third straight.
He was aided by an offense that hit five home runs, including a two-run shot by Mark Teixeira in the first.
Though Teixeira has become the Yankees’ lone reliable source of power, he had plenty of company on Saturday.
Zoilo Almonte, filling in for an ill Jacoby Ellsbury, smacked a long homer to right-center in the third and Brett Gardner added one to start the bottom of the sixth. Alfonso Soriano did the same an inning later.
Brian McCann hit his sixth homer in the eighth.
“We won with the home run today, which we’re capable of doing,’’ Teixeira said. “I’d like to see us be a little more consistent hitting the ball out of the ballpark. The last few games our pitching has really picked us up. It was good to see us break out today.’’
The power surge, with four homers off Pittsburgh starter Edinson Volquez (1-4), made life easier on manager Joe Girardi and the bullpen. Still, they had to go four innings after Phelps needed 100 pitches to get through five.
“It was a grind out there,” Phelps said. “It was one of those days when you don’t have your best stuff and you’re fortunate to get through five innings.”
He was able to slip out of dangerous situations throughout the game and Pittsburgh did its part, getting thrown out on the basepaths three times.
Phelps also was aided by another strong performance by Yankees relievers as converted starters Dellin Betances and Adam Warren continue to pile up innings, but have remained effective.
“It’s not what you want on a consistent basis,” Girardi said of the reliance on the pen. “With a day off [Friday], it was a little easier to do. We do our best to protect them. I’m conscious of it.”
Betances, who plowed through the Mets on Thursday with six strikeouts, came in to start the sixth, and though he wasn’t as dominant against Pittsburgh, he still struck out three.
Tony Sanchez ripped a line drive to open the seventh and initially was ruled safe at second after second base umpire James Hoye thought Derek Jeter missed the tag, but Girardi successfully challenged the play.
In the fourth, Marte led off with the Pirates’ first hit, but was erased when he was caught stealing second. Later in the inning, Gaby Sanchez was thrown out at home by Soriano on Jody Mercer’s single to right.
As a fifth starter, Phelps’ outing would have been almost ideal. But with the Yankees dealing with injuries to CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, not to mention Michael Pineda, the pen has been taxed on a regular basis.
Sunday figures to be no different, as the Yankees will turn to struggling Hiroki Kuroda in Sunday’s opener and then Vidal Nuno, who has been awful in The Bronx. They are expected to call up an extra pitcher.
“It’s in the back of your head that we’ve got doubleheader [Sunday] and to do your best not to kill the bullpen,” said Phelps, who threw 50 pitches in the first two innings. “It’s a really weird game. I threw 100 pitches in five innings and didn’t give up any runs and their starter was out there filling up the strike zone.”
And the Yankees made him pay.