By GEORGE A. KING III
Wanting to see a repeat of the stuff Chien-Ming Wang displayed Tuesday in a bullpen session, the Yankees will leave the righty in the minors for a start tonight for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Pawtucket.
“We want to see what we saw in the bullpen,” Joe Girardi said. “That will tell us a lot.” What do the Yankees exactly want to see tonight against Triple-A hitters?
“The consistency of the slider and the explosion of the slider,” Girardi said.
Sunday, in Wang’s second rehab start, his fastball was clocked between 88 and 91 mph. The Yankees didn’t have a speed gun working during Tuesday’s bullpen session.
“He understood,” Girardi said of Wang having to make a third minor league outing instead of coming off the disabled list and returning to the majors. “We all know he wants to be here and we want him here.”
The Yankees don’t need the pitcher who was 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA in three starts before going on the shelf due to a lack of arm strength that has been blamed on last year’s foot injury and weak hips.
With Wang pitching Friday at Triple-A, Phil Hughes will start Monday for the Yankees in Texas.
Wang’s 30-day rehab assignment officially started May 12 so the Yankees have more time to play with if they don’t believe Wang is ready.
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Johnny Damon wasn’t in the lineup due to a sore back, the result of chasing Adam Jones’ fifth-inning homer to the left-field wall Wednesday night.
“He is stiff and sore, we will give him a day,” said Girardi, who expects Damon to return tonight against the Phillies.
Melky Cabrera started in left field.