ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Since the Yankees have carried an extra pitcher in the bullpen after Jayson Nix was lost with a fractured hand, right-hander Preston Claiborne was told he was being sent down after yesterday’s 3-2 win over the Rays to make room for Derek Jeter.
The rookie has become one of the most reliable arms out of the bullpen for Girardi and has been pitching well lately, as well, giving up just one run in his previous 6 1/3 innings over four appearances.
The move would leave Joe Girardi with two long relievers in Adam Warren and David Huff, as the struggling Phil Hughes gets the start tonight in Toronto.
Claiborne would likely head to Class-A Tampa, since their season is slated to end the earliest and allow for his return to The Bronx.
* Robinson Cano was thrown out by about 50 feet at third after his sixth-inning double to right.
“I thought [third base coach Rob] Thomson was waving me on,” Cano said. “It was my fault.”
The play helped halt the Yankees’ rally that inning, but Cano still drove in two runs and had three hits.
* Lyle Overbay returned to the lineup yesterday after suffering from flu-like symptoms the last two days and went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
“Hopefully whatever was going on is behind us,” Girardi said.
* With Alex Rodriguez not starting, Mark Reynolds played third base and although he struck out three times, he contributed defensively.
In the first, he started a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning on a James Loney grounder.
“I take grounders over there whenever I’m not playing,” Reynolds said. “The hard part was because he’s a lefty hitter, the ball was slicing. Once I caught it, I had no other thought but to go home to at least keep a run off the board.”
Rodriguez had a pinch-hit single in the 10th. He had been 0-for-14 as a pinch-hitter in his career.
* Evan Longoria tore up Yankees pitching throughout the three-game series, hitting three homers, including one in the sixth yesterday that tied the score at 2-2.
“He’s hot,” Ivan Nova said. “You can’t make mistakes to him and I did with a curveball…”
Hughes has been bad all season, but he has had slightly more success on the road than at Yankee Stadium, so perhaps pitching in Toronto will help his cause. He’s 2-10 with a 5.08 ERA in his last 17 starts… Mariano Rivera was asked about pitching for the last time at Tropicana Field, barring a playoff matchup: “You don’t see me crying,” Rivera said with a laugh.
— Additional reporting by George A. King III
