[ad_1]
BALTIMORE — For the first time this season, the Yankees had Michael King available to pitch a second consecutive day on Saturday.
They did not end up needing him in an 8-3 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards, but it marked a significant step for the right-handed reliever, who has not pitched on back-to-back days all season.
“That’s in the mix,” pitching coach Matt Blake told The Post before the game. “So I’d say after [Friday] night, he’d be in the mix for a back-to-back [Saturday]. Not trying to take him away from the longer outings, but at least give ourselves the option to go in shorter duration if it presents itself.”
King threw 13 pitches to record two outs in the eighth inning of Friday’s 1-0 loss before he was replaced by lefty Wandy Peralta. It was the fourth time in his last five appearances that King threw less than an inning after he had done so just once in his first 30 outings of the season.
The shorter outings have been notable for King, who spent the first half of the season as a multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen. He pitched on back-to-back days five times last season, but the final time he did so ended with him walking off the mound in July with a fractured elbow.
For that reason, the Yankees have been cautious with King’s workload so far this year, but have been building towards a point at which the right-hander becomes more regularly available.
That is now beginning to happen.
“It’s nice to have flexibility,” Blake said. “If there’s a nice righty lane in there for him to go in and face them, he’s a great option before you get to Clay [Holmes]. So obviously if you’re in the seventh or eighth inning and you don’t necessarily want to make him go two-plus innings — you want him available for today or tomorrow, it is nice to have that flexibility. But at the same time, you also don’t want to diminish his value by not getting him into those longer situations. So it’s a delicate balance.”
Jonathan Loaisiga (elbow surgery) will start a rehab assignment on Sunday with Low-A Tampa, manager Aaron Boone said.
The reliever is expected to need at least three or four rehab outings, including one in which he stretches into a second inning of action, before he could rejoin the Yankees.
Nestor Cortes (rotator cuff strain) came through his rehab outing Friday feeling good and remains on track to make one more start before potentially returning to the big leagues.
Boone watched Cortes’ start Saturday morning and said he was impressed.
“He looked really good to me,” Boone said.
“He was only 49 pitches, so that next one will probably be in that high 50s, 60s range. But I really liked what I saw. … He was sharp.”
Ian Hamilton and Nick Ramirez combined to retire the final 12 Orioles on Saturday.
Hamilton struck out three across two innings.
Three days ahead of the trade deadline, Boone spoke to general manager Brian Cashman on Saturday, but said nothing was imminent.
“He gave me a little overview, they’re in the war room fielding all these calls,” Boone said. “Things build, things go away. But until something’s imminent — like, ‘This might be a reality’ — we got this to worry about. We have the Orioles and trying to get a victory.”
[ad_2]
Source link