Third baseman Chase Headley has seven hits in 31 at-bats against Kennedy in his career with a double, a triple, a home run and three RBI.
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Pineda settled down somewhat after the first inning.
Yeah, a home run is a home run, but perhaps let’s proceed with caution here. After the first, his ERA is 4.26. The 23-year-old made his big league debut last season with two games, got off to a solid start in the minors this year and could join the Yankees as an extra hitter, possibly even a DH with Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list.
“When I’m able to locate (my fastball) inside and outside and do that, I feel like I’m able to get a lot more quicker outs”, the right-hander said. Pineda then got Alex Gordon to fly out, but it was deep enough to score Cain.
To his credit, Pineda owns a 9.5 K/9 ratio, a mark that would be a career-high if he kept it up.
“Felt really good, felt good in the bullpen”.
New York Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi delivers against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, May 12, 2016, in, New York. He pitched seven scoreless innings in that outing and allowed just four base hits while striking out six batters.
Counted on to be the Yankees’ No. 2 starter behind Masahiro Tanaka, Pineda is just 1-4 with a 6.28 ERA.
“I think I could hit it out”.
Headley didn’t have a single extra-base hit to his credit this season, serving as the poster boy for the Yankees’ offensive futility during their bad April.
Manager Joe Girardi used Dellin Betances in the seventh and Andrew Miller for the eighth, but a four-run bulge heading to the final inning led the manager to summon Chasen Shreve instead of using Betances, Miller and Aroldis Chapman in order for the first time this season.
In winning a series against the Red Sox and taking three of four against the Royals, the Yankees have actually looked pretty good this past week.
Yankees: RHP Luis Severino (0-5, 6.12) tries again for his first win when he faces ace Chris Sale (7-0, 1.79) and the visiting White Sox on Friday night.
NY is 13-19 on the season, 9-9 at home and 16-13-3 with the under. The Yankees have scored just 11 runs during Pineda’s winless streak. Schoop’s triple was the only extra-base hit in a seventh inning that included five singles. Brian McCann had a run-scoring groundout in the fifth.
Teixeira likely will be the first regular to return.
“He limited the damage really, really well and it was what we needed from him”, Yost said.
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Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia (strained left groin) will throw a bullpen session this week and anticipates he will be activated from the DL as soon as May 20, the first day he is eligible. Nathan Eovaldi will get the start for the Yankees, while his counterpart for Kansas City will be Yankees’ legend Ian Kennedy. Kennedy is among the AL leaders in ERA (2.13) and opponents’ batting average (.209). Eovaldi’s average four-seam fastball velocity of 97.7 miles per hour is the highest among big league starting pitchers this year, according to Baseball Prospectus’ PITCH f/x data.
