TORONTO — Into the flames of the hottest pennant race in baseball the Yankees have inserted neophyte right-hander Ivan Nova.
After Nova pitched very well in his initial major league start Monday night against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in a 3-2 loss, Joe Girardi announced the 23-year-old would replace struggling Javier Vazquez in the rotation Sunday against the White Sox in Chicago.
“After that, I am not sure,’’ Girardi said of what the move means following Sunday’s game. “We will evaluate.’’
Considering Nova’s lack of experience — he has pitched 8 1/3rd innings in three big league games — the move could be viewed as risky. However, 34-year-old Vazquez has struggled so much in his previous five starts that even he understood the move to the bullpen.
“I am disappointed, obviously, but also I am not doing my job. I understand that part,’’ said Vazquez, who is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in his past five outings and has given up 47 baserunners (35 hits and 12 walks) in 23 innings. “I am not surprised, I am disappointed. I am not doing my job, so …’’
Overall, Vazquez is 9-9 with a 5.05 ERA.
Girardi said he isn’t going to a six-man rotation and pointed out the previous time Vazquez was skipped (early May) he responded well. However, there are no guarantees Vazquez returns to the rotation for the remainder of the season.
Should Nova build off Monday night’s 5 1/3rd-inning effort in which he gave up two runs, six hits, featured a 97-mph fastball, didn’t panic in a big first-inning jam, and didn’t back down to mouthy Jose Bautista, the Yankees can’t afford to remove his arm from a rotation that is without Andy Pettitte and started Dustin Moseley on Tuesday when they were tied for first place in the AL East with Tampa Bay.
Vazquez could make a start in the event the Yankees decide to skip Phil Hughes at some point to ensure he doesn’t climb above the 170-175 innings mark. Hughes is at 140 2/3 innings with roughly seven starts remaining. Girardi said he hasn’t been informed there is a limit innings on Nova, who threw 145 innings at Triple-A.
Though Girardi was impressed with Nova on Monday when the only mistake he made was hanging a 2-1 curveball to Bautista that the majors’ leading home run hitter crushed for a two-run blast, the manager said believes there is more to come from the Dominican Republic product who has parlayed a break out minor-league season into a big chance to make a difference.
“I think his stuff can get better,’’ Girardi said of Nova, who was 12-3 with a 2.86 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A).
Like everybody else, Girardi was impressed with the way Nova handled the first-inning Monday night.
“I saw toughness and resiliency, he had the bases loaded, nobody out and Vernon Wells (up),’’ Girardi said. “He could have caved right there but he continued to make pitches.’’
Wells’ fly to Brett Gardner in left turned into a double play when Gardner threw out Fred Lewis at the plate. Nova left two runners on by fanning Aaron Lind with a 97-mph fastball.
As for Vazquez, who went 8-3 from May 17 to July 26, he will pitch out of the bullpen.
“They call me, I will be ready,’’ said Vazquez, who picked up a win in relief over the Red Sox on May 17 when he faced one batter and made four pitches. Of Vazquez’s 411 big league games, 408 have been as a starter.
