New York Yankees notes from Baltimore

The New York Yankees lost two out of three in Baltimore. Here are some notes from the last couple of days. Phil Hughes had a dreadful start his last time out, he couldn’t even get out of the first inning. He pitched on Tuesday night though and was a lot better. He gave them a quality start even though he or they didn’t win. Vidal Nuno has pitched well in the limited time he has pitched. He came in though in the game and gave up a walkoff homerun to the only batter that he faced. 
Nuno though to his credit isn’t rattled. He has been a starter and isn’t used to coming into a game in the tenth inning. He hasn’t pitched in a while though since his start was skipped with the rainout and he was available for multiple innings, unfortunately he gave up a homerun and that ended the game.

Hughes did give up a couple of more homeruns, they were both to Chris Dickerson a former teammate. That is Hughes big knock against him, he does give up a lot of homeruns, at least these two were solo homeruns. Preston Claiborne has been a find for the Yankees. He was one of the last guys to be cut in spring training, continued to pitch well in AAA and got his chance in the majors. He has been great and pitched in a tie game in the ninth inning on Tuesday night. He has impressed everyone.

Travis Hafner has returned from injury and gone 4-9 in the past couple of games. He had two RBI last night. The game on Tuesday night was the first time this season the Yankees lost after scoring first in a game. It was the longest such stretch all-time for an American League team according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Joba Chamberlain was supposed to make an appearance today in a rehab game in Tampa. Joe Girardi said he wants him to have a couple of those before he is activated. He will most likely rejoin the team next week. Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira are playing in simulated games now which is a good sign. Ivan Nova is feeling good but no one is saying right now what is next for him. Andy Pettitte may just pitch in a simulated game, no rehab game.

Hiroki Kuroda left the game on Wednesday after getting hit in the foot due to not being able to push off of it. He is scheduled to make his next start though and said he could of pushed through the start but they took him out as a precaution. Kuroda had allowed two homeruns three homeruns this season and then allowed two in the first inning in this game. He had a very rare off night even before being injured. He allowed a season high in hits and runs in this game. Eight and five were the numbers and he pitched in just two plus innings.

Claiborne hadn’t allowed a run this year until rushing into the game to replace Kuroda and giving up a three run homerun. Claiborne to his credit said he was fine, just didn’t execute the pitch. Adam Warren was impressive pitching four shutout innings, he allowed five singles and no walks. He induced two double plays and has a 1.14 ERA this season. Curtis Granderson had his best night since coming off the dl. He was 3-3 with a double and a homerun. He appears to be getting his timing back and he should be a big help to the team and offense.

David Adams has been impressive in the field at third and with the bat. He hit his second homerun in three days on Wednesday night. The Yankees are off on Thursday and then will play a three game weekend series in Tampa Bay. They will see some of their teammates down there who are rehabbing. They will then come back to New York to play the Mets two games at Citi Field and then two home games against them before playing the Red Sox at home.