Nova Needs To Pitch Like The Ace The Yanks Don't Have

In 2013, the Yankees have used a franchise-record 55 players – with possibly a few more still to come – and 23 of those players have been pitchers, and yet, not one of them has taken the reins to become to true ace of the Yankees for the entire season.

Saturday in Boston, CC Sabathia -- the man the Yankees are paying to be the ace of the staff and win the big games needed the most -- was easily outmatched by Jon Lester, who went eight innings, giving up only one runs on three hits in the Red Sox’s 5-1 win over the injury depleted Yankees. For the second straight outing, and third time in his last six starts, Lester went at least eight innings.

"It's very frustrating because everyone keeps telling me I'm close,'' Sabathia said. ”But I don't see it. I want results. I know the team wants results. I know the fans want results. It's just tough not being able to deliver.''

For a team like the Red Sox that can proudly say they have two aces running out on the field, including Clay Buchholz’s, who takes the mound Sunday night for Boston with his perfect 10-0 record and 0.72 ERA in two starts against the Yankees this season.

They’ll head into Fenway for the final time this season and will look to avoid being swept by their longtime rivals on a night when Mariano Rivera will be celebrated by the Red Sox before the game.

But when the game gets going and the players take the field, Ivan Nova will be on the mound for the Yankees tonight, and he'll need to pitch like the ace that New York has been looking for.

With Sabathia’s season-long struggles and Hiroki Kuroda’s recent fall from the top of the rotation beginning in mid-August, the Yankees, who relied on their pitching more than anything early in the season, now find themselves having to deal with one of the most questionable pitching staffs in the Wild Card race.

Nova, who left his last start against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday after just six innings because of tightness in his right triceps, comes in having won seven of his last eight starts, with the only loss coming against the Red Sox last Thursday when he gave up three runs on 94 pitches in just five innings – failing to go at least six innings in a start for the first time since April 26^th.

The Yankees enter Sunday still very much in the Wild Card race, trailing both the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers by just three games. But without a true ace, it’ll be tough for the Yankees to succeed over their last 13 games. With Ivan Nova on the mound Sunday, he has a chance to be the ace the Yankees desperately need.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 Tweet