The LoHud Yankees Blog

Before tonight’s game, Joe Girardi said the air always feels “heavy” on a night like this. It was cold and damp, not the kind of night a slumping offense usually finds its groove, but the first four Yankees had hits and the offense got rolling in a 7-4 win against the Orioles. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada both homered, and Mark Teixeira broke an 0-for-18 slide with two hits. A.J. Burnett got in and out of trouble through the first six innings before allowing a pair of two-run home runs in the seventh.

Associated Press photo of Rodriguez

YANKEES (5-4)
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C

RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 4.09)
Burnett vs. Orioles

ORIOLES (6-3)
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Derrek Lee 1B
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Adam Jones CF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino SS

RHP Chris Tillman (0-0, 3.38)
Tillman vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., MY9

WEATHER: Most of the beat writers have bailed on the front row of the open press box. It’s slightly warmer here on the second row, and it’s away from the light mist that’s been falling off and on. Should be able to play tonight, but it’s not an ideal situation.

UMPIRES: HP Doug Eddings, 1B Dana DeMuth, 2B Kerwin Danley, 3B Paul Nauert

GOING DEEP: The Yankees and Rangers are tied or the Major League lead with 18 home runs. Only the 1932 Yankees (20) and the 2003 Yankees (19) hit more home runs through nine games in franchise history. That’s according to Elias.

FIVE TIMES TWO: The Yankees scored in five separate innings on Friday and Saturday, the first time scored in five different innings in back-to-back games since 2007.

GOOD HITTIN’: The current group of Yankees has a total of just 47 at-bats against Orioles starter Chris Tillman. In those at-bats, though, the Yankees have a .383/.483/.489. Alex Rodriguez is 3-for-6 with a home run against him.

THREE AWAY: Alex Rodriguez has 1,836 career RBI. He needs one to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for sole possession of 13th on baseball’s all-time list, and he needs three to tie Ted Williams and Al Simmons for 11th. With 14 more home runs — doubt he’ll get there today — Rodriguez will tie Griffey Jr. for fifth on baseball’s all-time homers list.

OTHER MILESTONES: Jorge Posada needs one hit to tie Phil Rizzuto for 14th place on the Yankees all-time hits list… Derek Jeter needs two hits to tie Barry Bonds for 32nd place on baseball’s all-time list…. Jeter needs two runs to tie Billy Hamilton for 25th on baseball’s list.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: Granted, Nick Markakis and Derrek Lee both hit the ball hard, but give A.J. Burnett credit for not folding in that first inning. That’s the kind of inning that never went right for him after the first two months of last season. In a couple of hours, we’ll either be talking about that as an inning that showed Burnett wouldn’t buckle, or we’ll look at that as an inning that showed he didn’t quite have it tonight.

UPDATE, 7:26 p.m.: I don’t remember ever seeing Gardner thrown out by that much. Out of Wieters’ hand it was clear Gardner never had a shot.

UPDATE, 7:31 p.m.: And just like that, some of the offensive concerns melt away. Four straight hits, including a home run by Alex Rodriguez, have given the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

UPDATE, 8:34 p.m.: So far, so good for the Yankees. The offense has busted out of its slump a little bit — everyone except Posada and Granderson — and A.J. Burnett has handled some early pitch count problems with two fast innings. It’s 6-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: And just like that, Posada joins the party. A solo shot to right field has pushed the lead to 7-0.

UPDATE, 9:20 p.m.: The Yankees have announced that ticket stubs for tonight’s game can be redeemed for free Grandstand Level or Terrace Level tickets for another game this season, subject to availability. Good work by the Yankees to recognize how brutal the weather is tonight.

Meanwhile, A.J. Burnett just allowed two two-run home runs in the seventh, the first blemishes of an otherwise good night. It’s 7-4 and Burnett is being cheers as he walks off the field.

Hector Noesi said his first phone call was to his mother. Informed last night that he had been called to New York, Noesi phoned home to pass on the good news.

“She can’t talk on the phone really, she was so excited,” Noesi said.

Noesi will be a long man in the Yankees bullpen. It’s a role Luis Ayala sort of filled, though he was never a natural fit. Ayala had always been a short reliever in his career. Noesi has been a minor league starter.

In theory, adding a true long man adds some flexibility in the way the Yankees use Bartolo Colon. When Colon made the roster, Joe Girardi talked a lot about his ability to be an Alfredo Aceves-type reliever, capable of multiple innings or key one-inning bursts. It’s easy to imagine Colon’s fastball playing up in that sort of three-out situation.

“I think it’s something he could definitely do and it’s something, if the opportunity presents itself, I will not be afraid to use him in that type of situation,” Girardi said. “Maybe one inning, two innings. You could shorten his stints a little bit and maybe use him a little bit different just because we’ve got another true long guy… No matter how you use (Colon), I think he’s going to throw the ball well, but the thing you have to be careful about is a couple of days in a row, especially early on here.”

• Speaking of the bullpen, Freddy Garcia is once again listed as an available reliever. The entire rotation has been pushed back one day, so Garcia will make his first start on Saturday.

Tonight: A.J. Burnett
Thursday: Phil Hughes
Friday: Ivan Nova
Saturday: Freddy Garcia
Sunday: CC Sabathia

• Girardi said there is so far nothing new on Pedro Feliciano.

• Girardi said the other pitcher discussed for a call-up was Steve Garrison, but the fact Garrison pitched on Tuesday knocked him out of the running. “We felt that Noesi was more on turn and could give us some distance,” Girardi said. “We’ve been using our right-handers against left-handers anyway and we’d stay with that.”

• To be fair, it’s never out of the question for a minor league starter to be suddenly pulled from a start so that he can be called up. Trenton has Kei Igawa and Cory Arbiso with rotation experience, so they probably could have made a change if they really wanted to call-up Garrison. I’d say the fact he’s in Double-A also played a role here, but that’s just my own speculation.

• Noesi will wear No. 45.

• Given the Josh Hamilton injury — he’s on the disabled list after hurting himself on a head-first slide into home — Girardi said he talked specifically to Brett Gardner about it this afternoon. Players are always taught not to slide head first into first base or home plate, but there are times when they seem unable to help themselves. “You’re taught not to slide head-first, but your instinct sometimes takes over with your aggressiveness and you do it,” Girardi said.

• Girardi acknowledged that Derek Jeter is hitting a lot of balls on the ground, but he hedged with the fact that Jeter’s never really been a fly ball hitter. As I’ve written, I’m actually onboard with Girardi’s stance that it’s far too early to make any sort of definite judgment. “It’s probably a little bit of timing is all it is,” Girardi said.

ORIOLES
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Derrek Lee 1B
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Adam Jones CF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino SS

Associated Press photos

Hector Noesi is listed in the Yankees bullpen. So far, no tarp on the field.

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

The Yankees will make their first minor league call-up today. Luis Ayala is going on the disabled list, and Enrique Rojas reports that Hector Noesi will be the replacement in the Yankees bullpen.

There weren’t many options for the Yankees to choose from, but Noesi makes good sense. He last pitched on Saturday, made three Triple-A starts last season and made his way into Baseball America’s top 10 Yankees prospects this season. Highly touted for his command, Noesi walked 28 batters in 160.1 innings last year.

As a minor league planning bonus, calling up Noesi would open a Triple-A rotation spot for Kevin Millwood.

All other 40-man pitchers came with obvious reasons not to call them up.

Dellin Betances: In Double-A. Seems unlikely he’d jump all the way to New York.

Andrew Brackman: Started for Scranton yesterday.  Wouldn’t be immediately available.

Steve Garrison: Started for Trenton yesterday. Also would not be immediately available.

Jose Ortegano: On the Triple-A disabled list.

Ryan Pope: On the Triple-A disabled list.

Of the pitchers not on the 40-man, the only one who jumped out at me as a strong option was lefty Andy Sisco. I thought he might make sense as a second lefty who could pitch multiple innings. He’s pitched three innings in Triple-A this season, allowing no hits and one walk while striking out four. His last outing was two innings, he was effective — but wild — in big league camp, and he has 151 games of big league experience.

Then again, the Yankees would have needed to open a 40-man spot for Sisco, and unless today’s MRI on Pedro Feliciano shows a serious problem, there wouldn’t be an easy or obvious way to create an opening.

The Yankees beat writers have left Florida, but The Associated Press is still down there and offers some updates on Kevin Millwood, Mark Prior and Carlos Silva.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees pitcher Kevin Millwood threw 75 pitches over 5-plus innings Tuesday in his second extended spring training start.

Millwood gave up four runs, three earned, and seven hits against Philadelphia minor leaguers. He faced two batters who singled and scored in the sixth to reach his scheduled pitch count.

The 36-year-old Millwood, who was 4-16 last season with Baltimore, felt good after the outing and could pitch for Double-A Trenton or Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Also, Mark Prior expects to pitch again for Class-A Tampa on Wednesday or Thursday. The right-hander pitched on consecutive days for the first time last weekend.

Carlos Silva will have his first on-field workout at the Yankees’ complex on Wednesday. The right-hander agreed to a minor league contract Saturday.

Associated Press photo of Millwood

Pedro Feliciano said he never felt pain during today’s throwing session, but he did feel a slight “pinch,” and that made him feel like something might not be quite right. Feliciano said his arm is usually very loose, and that pinch made him feel like “it wasn’t my arm.”

When he met with the doctor later — after he initially talked to the media — Feliciano spoke up about the pinch. The doctor then prodded near his shoulder, and Feliciano felt the same problem as before.

“I was so happy, jumping all over to play catch,” he said. “And then I came back, not sad, but I just came back with not the result that I want.”

This will be a more thorough MRI, and Feliciano is obviously disappointed. He’d never been on the disabled list before this season, and obviously you have to wonder if his workload with the Mets is finally catching up to him. But that’s an issue for another day. For now, the Yankees have to figure out how much longer they might be without him.

“It’s a concern because we were hoping after these two weeks that he would be able to take the next step, then the next step,” Joe Girardi said. “We’re just not there yet.”

Here’s Feliciano.

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• Luis Ayala has a strained lat. He felt it after Saturday’s game, and it was still tight on Sunday so he was tested today. He’ll go on the disabled list tomorrow. “Instead of saying that he might be back in 4-5 days, we’re just going to be smart and make sure we have enough pitching,” Girardi said.

• Is it possible the Yankees will use that roster spot to call-up a second lefty? “It’s a consideration,” Girardi said. “But we’ll probably take who we feel will help us the most right now.” Steve Garrison’s name obviously jumps to mind, but otherwise there’s not really an obvious candidate.

• Tomorrow’s game will not be a doubleheader. The Yankees have not announced a makeup date for tonight’s rainout. They will play single games Wednesday and Thursday.

• Speaking of which, A.J. Burnett will be bumped back to start tomorrow and Phil Hughes will pitch on Thursday. The Yankees haven’t set a rotation beyond Thursday. It’s possible Freddy Garcia could be skipped again on Friday to let Ivan Nova make that start, but it’s not certain.

• The Yankees have games the next five days, so Garcia should get a start during this home stand at some point.

• No problems with Alex Rodriguez, who had to skip Sunday’s game because he was sick. He was in the lineup, and he was still scheduled to play up until the moment the game was rained out. “He was good,” Girardi said. “He was smiling today; it was good to see him smiling, because he wasn’t smiling Sunday.”

• If you’re looking for good news on Feliciano, he said the two weeks off weren’t a complete waste. The doctor said his arm was legitimately stronger than when he left spring training. “It’s stronger from the bands and the weights and the treatment,” Feliciano said. “But he wants to see more deeper what’s in there with the MRI.”

• From the meaningless information department: Dave Robertson has moved lockers, moving just a few feet to the corner of the clubhouse. He was on Boone Logan’s right, now he’s on Boone Logan’s left. Said he just felt like taking that locker instead. Fair enough.

Associated Press photo of the rainy stadium

Pedro Feliciano said pregame that he felt good after today’s throwing session, but Joe Girardi said otherwise. Feliciano will go for an MRI tomorrow. Apparently he felt something during the session.

Also, Luis Ayala will go on the disabled list tomorrow. The Yankees will call-up a pitcher to replace him.

Tonight’s game has been rained out. No makeup date announced.

The rain has started falling again here at Yankee Stadium.

The sky cleared for a while and there seemed to be some hope that the Yankees would play tonight — and that might still be the case — but it’s certainly taken a turn in the past 15 minutes or so. When A.J. Burnett heard reporters making small talk with Phil Hughes about the possibility of a rain out, Burnett emphatically said the Yankees would play tonight.

We’ll see.

Joe Girardi said the Yankees would probably push all of their starters back a day if they’re rained out tonight, but that’s not set in stone. I have to assume that means Freddy Garcia would be skipped again, but Girardi didn’t go into detail.

“The idea is that you could push everyone back if you have to do that,” Girardi said. “Is that exactly what we’ll do? I don’t know. I try not to get too far ahead, as you know. We discussed it briefly today, but we believe that we’re going to play, so I didn’t put too much into it.”

Here’s Girardi’s pregame press conference.

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• Pedro Feliciano played catch this afternoon, but he was throwing lightly and said the session didn’t really tell him whether he’s fully healed from the triceps injury. That said, he feels good, and he’s going to talk to the doctor later today to get an idea of what’s next.

• It’s been 14 days since Feliciano last threw a baseball. Girardi said that’s a slightly off schedule from what the Yankees expected out of spring training. They were expecting him to take 10 days off. “Today’s a big step because you want him to be able to say that he feels good after he plays catch, and then you go one from there,” Girardi said. “You go at the pace that you can go at but you can’t rush it because you don’t want any setbacks.”

• Girardi talked to Alex Rodriguez yesterday and said he was fairly certain he’d have his third baseman back in the lineup today. “I talked to him a little bit yesterday and suspected that he would be fine today,” Girardi said. “He said he was good to go.”

• The plan is for Russell Martin to have a day off on Friday when Freddy Garcia is scheduled to start. Of course, that could change if tonight is rained out.

• Phil Hughes usually throws two sides between starts. This time he threw only one because he’s been doing more long toss to try to build arm strength. “If it’s not there I still have to find a way to pitch,” Hughes said.

ORIOLES
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Derrek Lee 1B
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Adam Jones CF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino SS