Yanks place O'Day (right rotator) on IL
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochNEW YORK -- The Yankees placed right-hander Darren O'Day on the injured list with a right rotator cuff strain prior to Saturday¡¯s 6-4 win over the Tigers, recalling right-hander Michael King from the club¡¯s alternate training site.
According to manager Aaron Boone, O¡¯Day was dealing with discomfort in the shoulder in early April but was able to pitch through it. O¡¯Day reported a recurrence of the issue in the past several days; his most recent appearance was on Thursday in Baltimore.
¡°By the middle of the month, it was starting to feel pretty good and was kind of a non-issue,¡± Boone said. ¡°Over the last few days, it still was just kind of in there and cranky. We decided to get it looked at and found that there was a strain in there, so obviously he's got to be shut down now for a few weeks.¡±
The 38-year-old O¡¯Day has pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 10 appearances this season, spanning nine innings. O¡¯Day has permitted eight hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Boone said that O¡¯Day dealt with a similar issue in 2016 as a member of the Orioles.
¡°You talk to any veteran relief pitcher, you're going to deal with things throughout the year,¡± Boone said. ¡°This is enough to where it does require a few weeks of shutdown. Hopefully he can get this thing right and still be an important part of our bullpen moving forward.¡±
King, 25, has been shuttled between the big league roster and the alternate training site frequently this season. He entered Saturday having worked 11 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and four walks with nine strikeouts.
¡°He¡¯s a guy [we] have a lot of confidence in,¡± Boone said. ¡°He can fill a lot of roles, as he's already shown.¡±
Playing the long game
Giancarlo Stanton is riding an eight-game hitting streak, having notched three hits in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. Even so, Boone said that he believed Saturday¡¯s matinee was the right time to give the slugger a break, which they had decided on before the Tigers series.
¡°Our guys always want to play, but this is something that I talked to him about before [Friday¡¯s] game, and I think he was on board with that,¡± Boone said.
Bombers bits
? Zack Britton (recovery from left elbow surgery) tossed 15 pitches from a mound on Friday and continues to advance well as the left-hander targets a late May/early June return to the big leagues.
? Luis Severino (recovery from Tommy John surgery) tossed 35 pitches over two simulated innings on Thursday in Tampa, Fla., according to Boone. Severino is about 10 days away from facing live hitters.
This date in Yankees history
May 1, 1920: Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a Yankee, clearing the right-field wall off Herb Pennock in a 6-0 victory over the Red Sox at the Polo Grounds.