BOSTON — As expected, Ivan Nova beat Andy Pettitte back from the DL. Now, the Yankees are leaning on the erratic right-hander to prop up a rotation that needs help.
“He will start Saturday,” Joe Girardi said of Nova, who has been out since Aug. 21 with an inflamed right rotator cuff. “We have had struggles getting depth out of our starters. I liked the way he threw (in a simulated game) the other day. We are going to put him back in the rotation. This guy was really good for us a substantial period of time and ran into some bumps.”
On July 8, Nova was 10-3 with a 3.92 ERA. He then lost four of five starts. In the five starts before going on the shelf, Nova was 1-3 with an 8.59 ERA.
Nova will replace Freddy Garcia in the rotation. Garcia was the biggest culprit of not providing depth to the game. In Garcia’s past four starts he got into the sixth inning once and posted a 0-1 record with a 7.64 ERA.
“He was on a roll and pitched very well and we need him to do it again,” Girardi said of Nova, who is 11-7 with a 4.92ERA in 25 starts.
As for Garcia, he goes to the bullpen where he could be available Wednesday night. While starters sent to the pen often are limited to long relief, Girardi said there is a chance that if he believes Garcia’s stuff matches up well with a certain hitters, the veteran right-hander will be used for one or two outs.
Garcia is 7-6 with a 5.19 ERA in 27 games (17 starts).