The LoHud Yankees Blog

Two and a half months ago, the Yankees sent Ivan Nova to Triple-A. One month ago, his spot in the rotation seemed uncertain. Today, he’s arguably their second-most reliable starter.

After last night’s no decision in Seattle, the Yankees rookie is 11-0 with a 3.35 ERA in his past 14 starts.

“I keep fighting,” Nova said. “When the playoff comes, I don’t want to be out of the playoff rotation, so you have to keep showing. You have to keep proving that you can win the game.”

Nova could have won that game last night. Sure, Dave Robertson bailed him out of trouble in the eighth, but Nova pitched 7.1 innings of one-run ball and needed just 87 pitches to do it. He hasn’t lost a game since June 3, and if his offense had given him any support, he would have picked up his 16th win in Seattle.

“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to get him a win,” Joe Girardi said. “But he was excellent.”

There’s a calm confidence around Nova these days. He’s a different pitcher than he was in April, and he’s a different pitcher than he was in July when he was the odd-man out of a rotation still needs to be trimmed before the playoffs. Nova had a good curveball last night, and he could have won another game. Instead he’ll wait for a next chance that he can be sure is coming.

“We’re not perfect,” Nova said. “And I know at some point, like (last night), there’s going to be a game like that… I think I have to wait and take it next time.”

Here’s Nova.

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Associated Press photo

On the final off day of the season, the Yankees are flying across the county one more time. It’s been a long, strange trip so far.

The Yankees knocked around Felix Hernandez, but couldn’t do anything against Jason Vargas. They saw Mariano Rivera reach 600 career saves, but watched Scott Proctor and Cory Wade give up extra-inning walk-offs. They got key pieces back from nagging injuries, but shutdown their cleanup hitter for nearly a week. They stayed at the top of the division, but missed out on some chances to put some real distance between themselves and the Red Sox.

“I like the way we went and won a series,” Joe Girardi said. “Unfortunately, we’ve lost a lot of one-run games on this trip, and that’s the hard part. We’ve lost three games by one run each, but our club has been pretty good and to win two out of three (in Seattle), you’ve got to keep doing that.”

The Yankees started this trip with a one-run loss in Baltimore. Then they lost a one-run game in Anaheim and a one-run game in Seattle. They hadn’t lost back-to-back Ivan Nova starts since May 28 and June 3, but they managed to do that this trip (losing one Nova start against the last-place Orioles, and another to the last-place Mariners).

Splitting six games on the West Coast is far from the worst-case scenario, and the success or failure of this trip will be decided this weekend in Toronto. It will be decided by the Yankees ability to beat the Blue Jays, and it will be decided by Alex Rodriguez’s ability to come back healthy and productive.

Mostly, it will be decided by where the Yankees stand in the American League East when they return home on Monday. Right now the Yankees are four games up, and Boston seems to be reeling. A big weekend in Toronto could put some real distance between first and second. A bad weekend could put the Red Sox back within reach.

“We know what’s happening to the teams behind us,” Girardi said. “It’s hard not to look. Every scoreboard has every score up, so you’re not going to miss any score. We’re going to notice.”

Associated Press photo

The Yankees are paying attention to what’s happening around them. They were well aware that tonight was a chance to increase their lead in the American League East, and they were well aware that they had their chances to win.

“You want to win this one,” Robinson Cano said. “Especially because the Red Sox lost today.”

The Yankees had just four hits tonight and got their only run on Nick Swisher’s home run. It wasn’t enough offense, even on a night when the pitching staff was tremendous except for two costly mistakes.

The wild pitch
Two outs, runners at the corners in the third inning, Nova threw a curveball to Miguel Olivo. It nearly hit the batter, shot past Russell Martin and let the Mariners take a 1-0 lead.

“It was a curveball that fell out of my hand a little bit, and I couldn’t get it down,” Nova said. “I didn’t give Russell Martin a chance to catch it. That happens. I don’t want that to happen to me, but it’s going to happen.”

Martin never really had a chance to stop it.

“It’s a curveball that backed up and that’s the one thing you can’t really predict as a catcher,” Joe Girardi said. “You can anticipate down, down, block the ball, block the ball, but that one backed up and it happens.”

The home run
Cory Wade pitched out of trouble in the 11th, but the first batter he faced in the 12th was Luis Rodriguez, who already had two doubles. The 2-1 pitch was a changeup, and Rodriguez hammered it to right.

“It’s rough,” Wade said. “Everybody’s going out and contributing and did what they needed to do, and it came down to me and I made a mistake.”

The changeup has been a good pitch for Wade, and he didn’t second guess the pitch selection. He just missed his spot.

“I threw the pitch essentially right down the middle of the plate,” Wade said. “He gets paid to hit, and he did exactly what he’s supposed to… Nova shut it down for, I think, seven innings, and everybody came out of the bullpen and threw the ball really well. It’s just unfortunate that I had to be the lone wolf to go out there and struggle a little bit.”

• Cano was hobbling quite a bit in the clubhouse, but x-rays were negative and he seems fairly certain that he’ll play on Friday. The pitch in the 12th inning hit him right in the side of the right foot. “I knew it was a lot of pain, but I didn’t think it was broke,” he said. “… We can do ice treatment tomorrow and be ready to go Friday.”

• Girardi said the plan is still for Alex Rodriguez to play on Friday. Rodriguez came through fielding drills with no problems.

• The Yankees hit several balls hard tonight, but they never got much going against Jason Vargas. Obviously they made a mistake trying to score Andruw Jones in the third, but Girardi seemed more focused on deep fly balls that didn’t quite get out of the yard. “Think about the ball Grandy hit, the ball Tex hit,” Girardi said. “We hit some balls good. I thought we were patient on Vargas, I thought the guys put good at-bats. I thought he just located well. They made him work, we just didn’t get hits.”

• Nova came out of the game after 87 pitches. Although he acknowledged it was the right call to bring in Dave Robertson, he also felt strong enough to keep going. “I threw 80 something pitches,” he said. “So I was feeling really good. I think if we got two more runs, at least a run or two more, I think I can finish the game. But unfortunately, we don’t hit today, and I’ve got to be out of the game.”

• Speaking of the decision to pull Nova, Robertson did it again, getting out of the eighth with a shallow fly ball and a strikeout to strand runners at the corners. “I’ve always said he has the ability to strike people out,” Girardi said. “You can bring him in tough situations and he did it again tonight.”

• The Yankees were held to one run or less for the 16th time this season, and the third time in their past six games. They are 4-10 in extra innings this season.

• Derek Jeter extended his season-high hitting streak to 13 games and is batting .368 in his past 29 games, since August 11. He’s hitting .346 in his past 46 games, and he’s hitting .332 since returning from the disabled list on July 4.

• This is Jeter’s 16th consecutive season with 150 hits, tying Pete Rose for the second-longest 150-hit streak in baseball history. Hank Aaron has the record with 17 straight.

• Swisher has eight home runs in his past 19 games dating back to August 23. He his just five homers in his first 60 games this season.

• Girardi didn’t know Pedro Feliciano had surgery until reporters told him about it after the game. “I would be surprised if he pitched next year,” Girardi said. “But I’d have to hear the details.”

Associated Press photos

Robinson Cano went for x-rays after being hit in the foot in the 12th inning. The tests showed no break, but Cano was still hobbling around the clubhouse with the foot heavily wrapped.

The Yankees bullpen pitched out of trouble several times tonight, but Cory Wade gave up a walkoff home run in the 12th, letting the Mariners get away with a 2-1 win in Seattle. Ivan Nova allowed one run in 7.1 innings. His only costly mistake was a wild pitch that allowed a run in the fourth. He took a no decision, largely because Dave Robertson bailed him out of a jam in the eighth. The Yankees tied the game on Nick Swisher’s solo home run in the seventh, and they missed out on scoring chances when Andruw Jones was thrown out at the plate in the third and when Jesus Montero struck out with the go-ahead run at second base in the ninth.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (90-57)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jesus Montero DH
Andruw Jones LF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez 3B

RHP Ivan Nova (15-4, 3.94)
Nova vs. Mariners

MARINERS (61-87)
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Kyle Seager 3B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Mike Carp LF
Justin Smoak 1B
Miguel Olivo C
Wily Mo Pena DH
Luis Rodriguez SS
Trayvon Robinson CF

LHP Jason Vargas (8-13, 4.49)
Vargas vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 10:10 p.m., YES Network and ESPN

WEATHER: Seriously, this city amazes me. Every day should be miserable, but somehow Seattle makes cloudy and rainy feel pleasant.

UMPIRES: HP Mike Muchlinski, 1B Jeff Kellogg, 1B Mark Carlson, 3B Tim Timmons

CASE CLOSED: The Yankees are 32-16 in series finales this season. They’ve won nine of their last 12.

MR. 600: You might have heard that Mariano Rivera recorded his 600th career save last night. It came 15 years and 119 days after his first save on May 17, 1996. Since that day, Rivera saved 61 more games than any other pitcher (Trevor Hoffman was next with 539) and 277 more saves than any other active pitcher (Francisco Cordero-323).

THE HITS KEEP COMING: Derek Jeter has 149 hits this season. He is seeking his 16th consecutive season with at least 150 hits, which would extend the longest such streak among active players and longest in franchise history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other players in Major League history have had 150 or more hits in 16 consecutive seasons: Hank Aaron (17) and Pete Rose (16).

MAGIC NUMBER: The Yankees magic number to clinch a playoff spot is eight.

UPDATE, 10:12 p.m.: Jeter strikes out because Olivo caught the foul tip, so Jeter responds with a playful shove in the box, and Olivo starts laughing. That’s the kind of thing you can get away with when you’ve played the game the way Jeter has. That sort of stuff cracks me up.

UPDATE, 10:37 p.m.: Big double play ball gets Nova out of the second inning. Still scoreless.

UPDATE, 10:46 p.m.: Bad send by Thomson. Jones is out at the plate. Would have been runners at second and third with one out, now there’s a runner at third with two outs.

UPDATE, 11:18 p.m.: So far, a wild pitch by Nova is the difference. He let one get away, and that’s led to the only run in a 1-0 Mariners lead.

UPDATE, 11:51 p.m.: Swisher ties it with a solo shot in the seventh. Vargas is out of the game and the Yankees are into the Mariners bullpen.

UPDATE, 12:01 a.m.: Leadoff walk by Jones. He comes out for Gardner, and a sac bunt moves the go-ahead run to second base. By the way, two pitchers getting loose in the Yankees bullpen: Brackman and Proctor. Surely neither of those is going to happen in this situation, right?

UPDATE, 12:12 p.m.: Gotta love the home crowd booing the decision to intentionally walk Ichiro. What were they expecting? Here comes Robertson to face Seager with runners at the corners.

UPDATE, 12:21 p.m.: At this point, it’s impossible to be amazed. Shallow fly ball and a strikeout and the runners are stranded. Just D-Rob being D-Rob.

UPDATE, 12:29 p.m.: Montero looks ugly on strike three, leaving two runners on base and sending a 1-1 tie into the bottom of the ninth.

UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: The Yankees bullpen has been terrific, but the lineup just can’t score and a 1-1 tie is heading into the bottom of the 12th. Wade still in for the Yankees.

This afternoon, a group of four or five Yankees beat writers got on the elevator that leads down to the clubhouse level. Three Safeco Field employees were on the elevator, and they had a question.

Where did Ivan Nova come from?

They’d never heard of him, but they saw 15 wins next to his name and assumed they must have come with another club. He must have been an under-the-radar signing, or a non-blockbuster trade that’s worked out incredibly well. They were stunned to learn all 15 of those wins came in pinstripes.

“You see that he has matured a lot out there,” Joe Girardi said. “His last couple starts, he seemed to have some struggles with his breaking ball, so that’s something I think we need to get going tonight, because those are big pitches for him. He’s handled the situation really well, the way you would expect a veteran player to do. When he hasn’t had his best stuff, he’s found ways to get through six innings for us, which a lot of times you see veteran players do. He has grown up.”

Nova’s breaking pitches have been key, especially the emergence of his slider.

“We talk about getting at least one of them going,” Girardi said. “You may not have both of them going right away, but you have to get one of them going. It’s important.”

• Alex Rodriguez is not going to swing a bat until Friday in Toronto, but Girardi fully expects to have Rodriguez in the lineup that day. “I’ll probably put him in the lineup, watch him go through BP and then we’ll go from there,” he said.

• Girardi said he doesn’t necessarily expect to give Rodriguez more DH starts these last two weeks, but he might not play him Saturday’s day game after Friday’s night game. “I think he needs to get in the field and get in that kind of shape,” Girardi said. “…You know that you have to get him to where he can play three or four days in a row. I think that’s important, but I think your only concern is that he doesn’t have another setback.”

• Last night’s game gave Girardi confidence to use Nick Swisher in right field again tonight. “Last night kind of showed me that he was okay,” Girardi said. “If he would have come in today and say he didn’t feel good, I would have changed the lineup. But he didn’t.”

• With Jesus Montero getting regular DH starts against lefties, keeping Andruw Jones in the lineup has to come at the expense of one of the regular outfielders. “Will I do it against every lefty? I don’t know,” Girardi said. “But it seems like a chance to give each one of our lefties a break once in a while. It’s not going to get any easier after this off-day, that’s for sure. We play 14 games in 13 days. If I can give one of them a break, it keeps them fresh. Jonesy has played so well, it’s hard not to put him in there.”

• The Yankees upcoming rotation, shuffled so that CC Sabathia won’t have six days between starts:

Friday: CC Sabathia
Saturday: Bartolo Colon
Sunday: Freddy Garcia
Monday: Phil Hughes

• The Yankees will likely have to shuffle their rotation again to leave Sabathia lined up for Game 1 of the Division Series. “I’m not worried about that,” Girardi said. “We’ll worry about that when we get there.”

• Of course there was still some lingering talk about Mariano Rivera and his pursuit of Trevor Hoffman’s all-time saves record. “I think it takes most of the arguments away that he’s the greatest closer of all-time,” Girardi said. “I’m not taking anything away from Trevor Hoffman and all the guys, but I think you have to look at his postseason work, as well. Once he passes Trevor Hoffman, it’s hard to say he’s not.”

Associated Press photos

This was inevitable…

The Yankees just announced that Pedro Feliciano had rotator cuff surgery on September 8. He initially tried to rehab his way back from his spring shoulder injury, but as time went by, it seemed less and less likely that Feliciano was going to make his way back.

There’s no timetable for his return, but obviously sooner would have been better.

Also, Steve Garrison — designated for assignment to create a 40-man spot for Austin Romine — has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Trenton.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jesus Montero DH
Andruw Jones LF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez 3B