The LoHud Yankees Blog

It was a three-run fifth inning that made the difference for tonight, and that inning came with the Rangers getting only one hit. Ivan Nova and Dave Robertson combined to walk three batters, hit a batter and throw three wild pitches in the fifth, and the three runs that came across carried the Rangers to a 5-3 win. Nova hasn’t pitched out of the fifth in either of his past two starts. The pitching bright spot for the Yankees was easily Lance Pendleton, who was called up earlier in the day and pitched three hitless innings in his big league debut.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (7-4)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Andruw Jones LF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF

RHP Ivan Nova (1-0, 6.10)
Nova vs. Rangers

RANGERS (9-3)
Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Michael Young DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
David Murphy LF
Yorvit Torrealba C
Mitch Moreland 1B
Julio Borbon CF

LHP Matt Harrison (2-0, 1.29)
Harrison vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Colder than last night, but not quite as bad as Wednesday night. Wind is blowing in a little bit, but mostly just blowing from right to left.

UMPIRES: HP Gary Cederstrom, 1B Lance Barksdale, 2B Fieldin Culbreth, 3B Adrian Johnson

CELEBRATING JACKIE: Today is Jackie Robinson Day. All MLB players, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42. The Yankees are celebrating with an on-field ceremony including Rachel Robinson — Jackie’s wife — along with their daughter Sharon, two scholars from the Jackson Robinson Foundation and members of the Tuskegee Airmen.

ONE AND DONE: Ivan Nova has faced only one current member of the Rangers. He faced Adrian Beltre twice last season and held him hitless.

MORE THAN ONE: Eight of Alex Rodriguez’s 14 hits this season have been extra-base hits, four doubles and four home runs. Five of Jorge Posada’s seven hits have been extra-base hits, all five homers.

ONE WITHOUT FOUR: The yankees have scored at least four runs in 10 of their 11 games this season. The White Sox are the only other team with so many four-run games this year. The Yankees also lead the majors with 21 home runs. According to Elias, the total is tied for the most home runs through 11 games in franchise history. The Yankees also had 21 homers through 11 games in 1932.

UPDATE, 7:38 p.m.: The Rangers take a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Nova has done a nice job of getting ground balls when he’s needed them. When Nova’s getting the ball on the ground, that’s usually a good sign that his fastball is going where he wants it.

UPDATE, 8:00 p.m.: Nova is still throwing some fine pitches, but the Rangers came away with another run in the third inning an it’s now 2-0. Meanwhile, the Yankees caught a break with the leadoff error in the bottom of the third. Granderson is at second with no outs.

UPDATE, 8:04 p.m.: The Yankees turned the error into a run on Nick Swisher’s RBI single. It’s now 2-1 heading into the fourth.

UPDATE, 8:21 p.m.: So far the Yankees really haven’t done much against Matt Harrison. They have three hits and scored their only run thanks to an error. It’s still 2-1 Rangers after four.

UPDATE, 8:28 p.m.: Wonder if the cold is affecting Nova. He’s walked a batter, hit a batter and thrown a wild pitch this inning. The Rangers have taken advantage with a run for a 3-1 lead. It’s gotten really cold and I can’t help wondering if Nova’s having a hard time gripping the ball.

UPDATE, 8:38 p.m.: Here’s Robertson to relieve Nova with one out in the fifth. Either the cold got to him, or this was just one of those Nova starts where the wheels came off after four innings.

UPDATE, 8:44 p.m.: Robertson is having control problems of his own. He just allowed a run on a wild pitch before finally getting out of the inning with the Rangers up 5-1. Hector Noesi is getting loose. Not a great night for a big league debut, but this might be the time to use a long man to eat some innings.

UPDATE, 8:59 p.m.: The Noesi experience will have to wait. Here’s Boone Logan in the sixth.

UPDATE, 9:16 p.m.: Here’s Lance Pendleton. Kind of amazing that he went from pretty much a non-prospect to pitching at Yankee Stadium. Not that he was ever a bad pitcher, but he was completely buried in the Yankees organization, then he had a nice year last year and got himself on the radar. Good for him.

UPDATE, 9:40 p.m.: Another Granderson home run against a lefty and it’s now 5-2 Rangers. Pendleton, meanwhile, has been outstanding through his first two major league innings.

UPDATE, 9:42 p.m.: The Yankees have tied an American League record by grounding into six double plays tonight.

The first five words from Phil Hughes stated the obvious: “Something had to be done.”

After three starts, Hughes fastball velocity is still stuck in the high 80s. He touched 91 and 92 in the first inning last night, but he dropped right back to 88 by the third. The Yankees have been patient, and they believe he’s 100 percent healthy, but at this point Hughes clearly doesn’t have the strength necessary to be a major league starter.

“If he were injured he probably wouldn’t have got there (to 91, 92 mph),” manager Joe Girardi said. “But it’s just not at the strength it needs to be to pitch seven competitive innings every fifth day.”

The Yankees talked about optioning Hughes to Triple-A, but they ultimately decided to put him on the disabled list so that he can go through a long toss program without worrying about bullpen sessions and every-fifth-day starts. Hughes told them he needed this time to build strength, “and not continue to do the same thing I’ve been doing.”

So Hughes will stay with the team. He’ll go through a long toss program and an arm strength program with Larry Rothschild and the rest of the coaching staff. Girardi said the team will be able to learn a lot from the long toss sessions. When they decide he’s ready, Hughes will start throwing in the bullpen and eventually go for a rehab assignment.

“I’m very confident,” Hughes said. “It’s not one of those things where I feel like it’s going to take months. It’s something that’s going to change pretty quickly. I’ll work hard at it, do my long toss, do my exercises, and hopefully it’ll be there. It’s not like we’re talking about 10 mph, but at some point I need to be strong, maintain my velocity, get a few ticks on it as well. It’s a small difference, but it’s huge in terms of going out there and being effective.”

Here’s Hughes.

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Here’s Girardi.

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• The Yankees don’t have an exact rotation set, but Bartolo Colon will move out of the bullpen to become a starter for the time being. Girardi said he can probably go 80 to 85 pitches in his first start. “Obviously you don’t want one of your starters to go on the DL, but Bartolo has thrown as well as anyone and he has a chance to step up for us,” Girardi said.

• With Lance Pendleton and Hector Noesi up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees have two true long relievers in the bullpen. Pendleton was not listed as an available reliever pregame. Not sure when he’s supposed to be here.

• Russell Martin will get his first day off tomorrow. Gustavo Molina will catch Freddy Garcia.

• Girardi said Carlos Silva is definitely not an option right now — he just reported to the minor league complex on Wednesday — and he didn’t consider Kevin Millwood a real option either. “I can’t tell you exactly where he’s at,” Girardi said.

• Brett Gardner is struggling and has the day off so that Andruw Jones can play against a left-handed starter. “(Gardner)’s been behind in a lot of counts, 0-1, 1-2,” Girardi said. “Then the pitcher has a chance to nibble and make you hit his pitch. He’s just scuffling a little bit. At times I’ve thought he’s been close. We saw him hit a couple of line drives, thought he was coming out, then he kind of got back in.”

• Here’s Girardi on Jackie Robinson Day:

“I think it means a lot to the players today because you look at how diverse our game is today and how it’s changed because of Jackie Robinson. I had a chance to go to a Little League in Newark today. I was telling the kids — and it was all age groups – that if you take anything from Jackie, think about how he persevered. Think about, there were people who didn’t want him to be successful. There were people who told him he couldn’t do it, and he didn’t let those people get in his way. He had a goal and he had a dream and he went out and made it happen under circumstances most of us will probably never understand. There are times you’re going to be ridiculed. There will be times people don’t like you, but that shouldn’t keep you from going out and trying to do what you want to do and being a successful person and being a good person, things that Jackie did under terrible circumstances.”

RANGERS
Ian Kinsler 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Michael Young DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Nelson Cruz RF
David Murphy LF
Yorvit Torrealba C
Mitch Moreland 1B
Julio Borbon CF

Associated Press photos

Joe Girardi just announced that Phil Hughes is going on the disabled list. The Yankees do not believe he’s hurt, they just think he’s going through a dead arm period.

He is not joining the Triple-A rotation. The Yankees want him to do a lot of long toss but not start in five days. Last night Hughes showed some early signs of velocity, then he lost it.

“It was like he ran out of gas after two innings,” Girardi said.

Sounds like Bartolo Colon is moving into the rotation for the time being.

Lance Pendleton is coming up from Scranton.

The New York Post is reporting that Phil Hughes is going to Triple-A and will be replaced by Lance Pendleton.

The Yankees have two off days next week, so this seems to be a chance to skip a Hughes start and try to let him build arm strength in Scranton.

Joe Girardi is speaking in a few minutes. I’m sure he’ll address it.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Andruw Jones LF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF

Tonight
RHP Ivan Nova (1-0, 6.10)
vs.
LHP Matt Harrison (2-0, 1.29)
7:05 p.m., YES / MLB Network

Saturday
RHP Freddy Garcia (0-0, 9.00)
vs.
LHP Derek Holland (2-0, 2.25)
1:05 p.m., YES

Sunday
LHP CC Sabathia (0-1, 1.45)
vs.
Alexi Ogando (2-0, 0.00)
8:05 p.m., ESPN

Colin Curtis is having surgery today to repair his injured right shoulder.

The Yankees initially believed Curtis would be rehabbing for about a month after suffering a shoulder subluxation during spring training. At the time Curtis said he wanted to avoid surgery “at all costs.”

He hurt himself making a diving catch on March 6. Although he no longer seemed to be favoring the shoulder in the clubhouse, Curtis went for another exam while the Yankees were in Boston and the decision was made that he would need surgery.

It’s unclear at this time how much longer Curtis will be out.

This morning, manager Joe Girardi, general manager Brian Cashman and assistant general manager Jean Afterman will be among the Yankees representatives supporting a youth baseball and softball clinic in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. Here are a few more details from the league.

Major League Baseball will be joined by representatives of the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers Manager Ron Washington in commemorating the 8th Annual Jackie Robinson Day by supporting a youth baseball and softball clinic for players that participate in the Newark Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. MLB annually recognizes April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day in memory of the late Baseball Hall of Famer. Robinson played his first Major League game at Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947 as a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Approximately 250 young people, ages 5-18, from the Newark RBI program will participate in various stations covering basic baseball and softball skills. The clinic will be operated by the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. The equipment for the clinic will be donated by Pitch In For Baseball. The RBI program is the Major League Baseball youth initiative designed to provide opportunities to play baseball and softball, to encourage academic success, and to teach the value of teamwork and other important life lessons to underserved young people, ages 5 to 18, from urban communities. RBI supports more than 200,000 young people in more than 300 programs established in more than 200 cities worldwide.

Additionally, the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) will unveil a newly constructed indoor practice facility at Kasberger Field. A BTF grant of more than $33,000 provided funding for the purchase of batting cages, pitching tunnels and related equipment for the indoor facility, as well as coaches training clinic expenses.

—

Additionally, tonight the Yankees will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day with a series of pregame ceremonies. The details from the team:

Friday is Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball. All MLB players, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42 as a tribute to Robinson, who broke Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers on 4/15/47 at Ebbets Field.

MLB and the Yankees have scheduled an on-field ceremony which will include Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s wife and Founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation; their daughter Sharon Robinson, Vice Chair of the Foundation; and two Jackie Robinson scholars.

Additionally the Tuskegee Airmen will be honored as part of the pregame celebration.

Jorge Posada has seven hits this season. Five of them have been home runs, including the game-tying solo shot last night against the Orioles.

“I have no idea (why there are so many homers),” Posada said. “I’m not complaining. They’re hits, so I’m happy with the way it’s going. I went through a funk a little bit and went through a little slump, and hopefully we can get going throughout the whole year.”

Last weekend in Boston, Posada said he wasn’t feeling comfortable at the plate. Last night he said he’s feeling good.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting a little streak going and getting good pitches to hit and understanding what they’re trying to do,” Posada said. “Hopefully it gets me going. Postive helps.”

For now, the Yankees are committed to Posada as their designated hitter. He’s batting just .189, but that’s easy to overlook — or at least, it’s easier to overlook — when he’s hitting for this much power.

“He’s had some home runs for us, and he had a nice night (Wednesday),” Joe Girardi said. “You hope that it just gets him going, gives him a little bit of momentum to get him going again. We feel that Jorge is important to this offense, and we’re going to need his bat.”

Here’s Posada speaking briefly after last night’s game.

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Associated Press photo of Posada and Nick Swisher after Swisher’s game-winning sac fly