The Yankees lost to the Braves tonight, but really the game is secondary to all the injury problems that are starting to pile up. Brett Gardner led the way with two more hits — he’s hitting .579 this spring — while Ichiro doubled and both Ronnie Mustelier and Corban Joseph singled. Add in some walks by Travis Hafner (two), Eduardo Nunez (two), and Jayson Nix (one), and that’s the offense right there. David Phelps allowed one run in four innings while Joba Chamberlain and Shawn Kelley threw perfect frames. Mark Montgomery allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base (single, two walks, hit by pitch) and that’s pretty much it. Here is the box score and here is the rest from Tampa…
- In addition to the Mark Teixeira (wrist), David Robertson (trouble loosening up), and Adonis Garcia (wrist) injury concerns, Robinson Cano was hit by a ground ball in foul territory while at third base for Team Dominican Republic this afternoon. He’s fine, but my goodness. [Matt Gelb]
- CC Sabathia threw two innings in a simulated game early in the afternoon (33 total pitches) and everything went fine. He will throw another simulated game on Sunday rather than face the division rival Blue Jays in that day’s Grapefruit League game. Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte and Ivan Nova threw bullpen sessions. [Andy McCullough & Chad Jennings]
- There’s a chance Mariano Rivera will pitch in tomorrow’s game, but that’s not set in stone. If he doesn’t, he wouldn’t pitch until Saturday because the Yankees are on the road both Thursday and Friday. Mo doesn’t do travel. [Sweeny Murti & Jennings]
- Phil Hughes has been given the okay to stretch his flat ground sessions out to 90-feet after everything went well yesterday. He said he could get up on a mound right now and be fine, but the team is being cautious for obvious reasons. [Jennings]
- Manny Banuelos continues to throw off flat ground as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. He started playing catch last month and based on the typical rehab schedule, he’s still a few weeks from throwing off a mound. [George King]
- Top prospect and catcher Gary Sanchez headlines the latest round of the roster cuts. IF David Adams, 1B Greg Bird, SS Cito Culver, 3B/OF Rob Segedin, OF Tyler Austin, C Francisco Arcia, and C Kyle Higashioka were also sent to the minor league fields. The Yankees still have 66 (!) players in big league camp.
The Yankees are playing Cano and the rest of the Dominican Republic team tomorrow afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Hiroki Kuroda gets that start and the game will be available on YES and MLB Network (no local blackout).