MINNEAPOLIS â After throwing three perfect inðļnings and 35 pitches in relief Friday, when he was the winner against the Twins at Target Field, David Huff was asked if he were stretched out enough should Yankees manager Joe Girardi be looking for a starter to replace Vidal Nuno or Chase Whitley.
âI think so, weâll see,ââ said Huff, who is 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA in eight relief appearances since being acquired from the Giants on June 11 for cðžash.
As for Whitley, he is 0-3 with a ghastly 14.81 ERA in his last three starts aðĪŠnd not fooling anybðody.
âI was unable to repeat my delivery,ââ said Whitley, who was fortunate to not get saddled with another loss after giving up four runs and eight hits through three innings Friday in the Yankeesâ 6-5 victory. âItâs been an issue the last couple of times. I have to battle throughð it.ââ
A reliever for most of his minor league career, Whitley has worked 49 innings in 10 gameę§s as a starter, and the right-hander could be tired.
âęĶšItâs hardð to say,ââ Whitley said of fatigue being a problem. âThis is the most starts, obviously. We have to figure it out.ââ
Brian McCannâs left foot wasnât swollen or bruised as he sat at his locker Friday morning, but it was enough of a problem that Girardi startðed Francisco Cervelli behind the plate.
âItâs sore, and when I push off, ęĶit bites,ââ McCann said of the feeling he got when he moved out of the batterâs box Thursday night on a single to right during the Yankeesâ 7-4 win. âIâll be ðĶĐall right.ââ
McCann said he could have played Friday. Cervelli started behind the plate for the seventh time this season and went 3-for-4 with two dęĶoubles.
After starting nine straight games and playing seven consðecutive days, Derek Jeter sat on Friday.
âJust a day off. Heâs played seven days in a row and a day game ęĶafter a night game,ââ said Girardi, who started Brendan Ryan at short for the ninth time this year. âJust a day off in a long stretch.ââ
Ryan delivered a sacrifice fly in the Yankeesâ âthree-run second.
In Jeterâs last 21 games since June ð 10, he is batting .302 (26-for-86).
Zelous Wheelerâs MLB debut included his first hit â ð―a homer â and a 2-for-4 night that helped the Yankees win Thursday, but Girardi started Kelly Johnson at third base Friday.
âThatâð°s as good as it gets,â Girardiâ said of Wheeler. âHe was drafted in 2007 [by the Brewers] and his first hit is a home run.ââ
Wheelðer said by the time he spoke to his mother inð Alabama on Thursday night, she had lost her voice from celebration screams.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wheeler is the sixth Yankee in the last 40 years whose first big league was a homer. The others are Andy Phillips, Marcus Thameðs, Alfonso Soriano, Dan Pasqua and Joe Lefebvre.
Inserted as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning for Johnson, Wheeler made a sensational catchâ on Sam Fuldâs foul pop for what was initially called the first out of the ninth. However, a review showed Wheeler was inside the Yankeesâ dugout and on the waðy down the steps when he made the catch, and thus out of play.
âI thought he was out but itâs not my call,â Wheeler said. â My job iāžšs to catch it.ââ
The Yankees have won seðven straight at Target Field and are 13-3 all-time at the facility that opened in 2010.
Mark Teixeira loves seeing the Twins and Target Field. Since 2003 his .371 (101-for-272) career batting average against thðŪe Twins is the highest among all major league players, and heâs batting .364 (12-for-33) in nine career games at Target.
Major League Baseball commemorated the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehriðâgâs inspirational âLuckiest Manââ speech Friday.
âI think itâs an important date in American history and an important day in Yankees history,ââ Girardi said. âThe type of player he was and the type of man he was and what he meant to the orgaânization.ââ
Why the Yankees werenâtð· home for the anniversary is a question only the schedule maker can answer, but it would have been a better setting tðĶđhan a city in which Gehrig never played.