The Grapefruit League winning streak is up to seven after the Yankees beat the Twins 5-4 on Saturday afternoon. Masahiro Tanaka had his worst start of the spring, allowing three runs on five hits, one walk, and one hit batsman in 5.2 innings before hitting his pitch count. He struck out six, got six ground ball outs, and four fly ball outs. Tanaka got burned by the shaky infield defense a few times but he was also behind in the count quite a bit early. He wasn’t sharp but it was hardly a disaster.
Zoilo Almonte and Zelous Wheeler both had a pair of hits, including a double. Scott Sizemore singled in two runs. Brett Gardner went 0-for-3 and both Eduardo Nunez and Kelly Johnson went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Frankie Cervelli had a rough day physically, getting hit by a pitch in the left hand and also getting hit by a few foul tips. He remained in the game through it all, so I guess he’s fine. Cervelli went 0-for-2 with a run scored and the hit-by-pitch at the plate. Here’s the box score, here are the video highlights, and here’s the rest from camp.
- While Tanaka was pitching against the Twins, Hiroki Kuroda started a minor league game in Tampa. He allowed two runs in six innings and threw 84 pitches. “I feel like I’m all set,” he said afterward. Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton, Dellin Betances, Preston Claiborne, and Cesar Cabral all threw perfect innings in a minor league game. [Jorge Castillo, Donnie Collins]
- Derek Jeter took batting practice today and said he’s fine. He fouled two pitches off his left foot/ankle in last night’s game (in the same at-bat, so one right after the other), the ankle he had surgically repaired in October 2012. [Dan Martin]
- As expected, Joe Girardi officially named CC Sabathia the team’s Opening Day starter. Girardi said the rest of the rotation could be announced on Tuesday — “Maybe Tuesday we’ll announce it, would be my guess.” — though the bullpen and bench decisions are still a ways off. [Chad Jennings]
- And finally, Collins has a bunch of notes from the minor league complex, if you’re interested.
This is your open thread for the evening. This afternoon’s game will not be replayed anywhere, but MLB Network will show the Dodgers and Diamondbacks live from Australia at 10pm ET (Ryu vs. Cahill). That’s a regular season game and the second of the two-game series — the Dodgers won the first game of the year this morning. The Devils and Rangers are playing (each other) as well, so talk about these games or anything else here.