Yankees acquire Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks for Vidal Nuno

The Yankees made a nice upgrade in their beleaguered starting rotation on Sunday, acquiring right-handed pitcher Brandon McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, along with cash, and all for the price of lefty Vidal Nuno.

ESPN Buster Olney says that the D-Backs will eat $2.05 million of the $4.1 million owed to McCarthy for through the remainder of the 2-14 season. The Yankees, meanwhile, will pay the $1 million assignment bonus in McCarthy's contract -- he is a free-agent after the season.

McCarthy is coming to New York after going 3-10 with a 5.01 ERA over 18 starts with Arizona this season. McCarthy was 1-10 with 5.38 ERA in first the 16 starts this season. However, he's won his past two outings, allowing 3 earned runs with 12 strikeouts over 12.2 innings.

Because of numbers like the first 16 starts, this move doesn't really excite me -- especially when you consider that he was pitching in big pitcher-friendly parks out in the west, and not he'll be coming to a very hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium -- but he's definitely an upgrade over Nuno, who was 2-5 with a 5.42 ERA over 17 appearances (14 starts) in 2014.

He spent several years of his career with the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He was really good for a couple of years in Oakland during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but hasn't been as good since moving out to Arizona before the 2013 season.

"McCarthy's an experienced starter," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We expect him to pitch well for us and give us distance. I know he's had his struggles, but he's seemed to turn it around. He's got a good arm, and we need him to help us."

McCarthy told reporters that we will make his Yankee debut on Wednesday in Cleveland, but Girardi wouldn't confirm that, rather hinting the Yankees could bring somebody up from the minors to take Nuno's spot and pitch on Monday.

 Which, by the way, the Yankees just announced that Shane Greene will come up and start against the Cleveland Indians tomorrow.

After reports came out yesterday that the Yankees were swapping proposals on trades with the Chicago Cubs regarding Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel -- both traded to the Athletics -- it only confirmed that Brian Cashman is working away to improve his club a few weeks before the trading deadline.

I think that Cashman made a great deal here, whether it works out or not. I mean, he got the D-Backs to give up McCarthy and pay for part of his salary, and all it took was Nuno! Now that's what I call a steal.

As for Nuno, he'll make his debut for the D-Backs on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins.

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Yankees 6, Red Sox 0: Vidal Nuno and the bullpen shutout the Sox

Facing a Red Sox lineup that has under-performed this season, Vidal Nuno pitched probably his best outing of the year, tossing 5.2 shutout innings with just two hits -- retiring 10 straight before walking David Ortiz with two outs in the 6th -- in the Yankees' 6-0 win over the Red Sox on Friday night in the Bronx.

Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was forced to answer more questions about not skipping over Nuno tonight after the off-day on Thursday, and he wasn't very pleased to answer them. Having pitcher poorly of late, Nuno was much better tonight, picking up just his second win of the season.

The Yankees' offense gave Nuno an early lead with a run in the 1st inning. Derek Jeter, a day after turning 40 years old, picked up the first of his two hits on the night with a single to right field, the Jeter way. Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a double against his former team, then Mark Teixeira hit a sac-fly into left field that scored Jeter for Teixeira's 40th RBI of the season.

In the 3rd, the Yankees tried playing for a run but came away with none. After Kelly Johnson walked, Brett Gardner bunted him over. Jeter singled and Ellsbury walked to load the bases ahead of Teixeira, who struck out, and Carlos Beltran, who grounded out to end the inning.

An inning later, Johnson and Gardner took Red Sox starter Brandon Workman deep on back-to-back blasts, pushing the Yankees' lead to 4-0.

Brian McCann opened up of the bottom of the 4th with an opposite-field single, then after a couple of outs by Brian Roberts and Ichiro Suzuki, Johnson smacked a two-run homerun, his fifth of the season -- he now has more then Robinson Cano (4), in case you were wondering. A couple pitches later, Gardner hit his 7th of the year.

The lead was more than enough for Nuno, who was curving his way through Boston's lineup with much ease. The only hits he gave up to Jonny Gomes, who singled to open the 2nd, and Brock Holt, who doubled in the 3rd. As you could have guess, neither hit lead to anything for the Sox. For a guy that has been awful at homerun this season, Nuno pitched really well, and quieted down some of the haters for at least another start.

As for Workman, he had a decent night on the mound for Boston, and it was made better by the fact that he was able to complete seven innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, with two walks and five strikeouts on 108 pitches.

Dellin Betances took over for Nuno with two outs in the 6th, walked Mike Napoli to begin his night, then set down the next Red Sox hitter to get out of the two on, two out jam. Betances then worked around a two-out double by Stephen Drew in the 7th, to finish off his night with 1.1 innings of scoreless ball.

After Adam Warren worked his usual scoreless 8th inning, needing just 10 pitches to set down the side in order, McCann delivered a 3-1 pitch from Craig Breslow deep into the right field seats for a two-run homerun, bringing in Teixeira, who singled, to make it a 6-0 game.

With the Yankees up six, there was no need to send David Robertson, so Matt Thornton took the ball and tossed a quick three up, three down to finish off the game, which took under three hours to complete -- a very rare occurrence for a Yankees-Red Sox game.

The series continues on Saturday with Tanaka Day, as Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound for the Bombers, going up against Jon Lester at 7:05 pm.

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Vidal Nuno's struggles showing the Yankees' need for another starter

The Baltimore Orioles slung another beating to Vidal Nuno on Saturday, knocking in five runs (four earned) on three homeruns against Nuno to beat the Yankees 6-1. After the game, manager Joe Girardi told reporters after the game that Nuno's next start, against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, will not be skipped, and even though he didn't say it, it's probably not because Girardi believes that Nuno actually the best man for the job -- the Yankees flat out don't really anybody to replace him.

CC Sabathia isn't coming back until August, likely. He threw a 38-pitch bullpen before the game and is heading down to Tampa this week. Girardi also announced afterwards that there is still a trace of inflammation in Michael Pineda's shoulder muscles, meaning he'll be shutout for another week. I don't think we'll be seeing him against until at least either.

Down on the farm, Manny Banuelos is still throwing three innings a start down in Double-A Trenton. If he comes to the big leagues at all this season -- which seemed like a possibility during spring training -- it would likely be as a reliever during September call-ups. Shane Green isn't ready, I don't think, and the closest thing to a ready starter at Triple-A is a guy hardly anybody would risk giving a chance to -- Alfredo Aceves.

A lot of people have been bringing it up lately that the Yankees could always move Adam Warren to the rotation. I think that would be a very silly mistake on Girardi's part. Warren is in the bullpen because he wasn't one of the team's best starters, but he was still good enough to help the team. He's helping in the bullpen, with 2.04 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 39.2 innings this season. Not to mention, he hasn't started since spring training, so you'd have to stretch him out first.

So it's pretty evident that the Yankees need to deal for another starting pitcher before the trading deadline is they want to stay in this playoff race -- and the way things look, which ever teams makes the biggest move at the deadline could very well win the AL East.

General Manager Brian Cashman said earlier in the week that the Yankees are looking to make a couple of moves before the July 31 trade deadline, and ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote this week that the Yankees have been asking teams about almost only pitchers in their preliminary trade talks.

At this point in the season, it's tough to tell which teams might actually be willing to deal one of their best starters thanks to the second wild card spot keeping more teams in the playoff race far past July 31, meaning more teams are now waiting to see if they're actually a contender or a pretender.

There are a few notable pitchers on the trade market that the Yankees could look into, and a few more that will figure to be on the market depending on where their team is in the standings that the Yankees have been linked to, too.

Let's get the obvious names out of the way: the Yankees, for some reason, were one of the many teams to have a scout at David Price's start against the Houston Astros on Friday night. The Yankees don't have enough in their farm system to piece together a respectable offer for the Rays, and even if they did, it would be hard to see Tampa dealing Price within their own division.

Jeff Samardzija is a more realistic possibility for the Yankees, but even then, I still think his price tag will be too high for them to match. If you're looking for a reasonable name to watch, it would be Samardzija's teammate with the Cubs, right-hander Jason Hammel, who would be a very quality middle of the rotation start for the Yankees, slotting in behind Masahiro Tanaka and Hiroki Kuroda.

Hammel is currently 6-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 14 starts for Chicago this season, with 85 strikeouts, 19 walks, and a 1.019 WHIP in 89.1 innings. I think of all the pitchers on the market, Hammel might be the best fit and most safe pick, in terms of them not having to give up a ton, compared to the king's ransom they're throw at teams for Price or Samardzija.

One last name getting a lot of thought -- from me, at least -- would be the Phillies' Cliff Lee, who has been on the DL for the past month but hopes to return before the All-Star break. The Yankees have had an eye on Lee for quite some time, and given then opportunity to get him, Cashman might not pass up on it.

Right now, the Yankees' rotation is being carried by the leading AL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young candidate Masahiro Tanaka, who has been everything and more then the Yankees hoped, and Chase Whitley, who is 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA in seven starts -- but we really don't know how long he can keep it up -- so until the Yankees get their reinforcements in Sabathia and Pineda -- again, don't know when or even what you'll get from them -- they have to make moves to avoid sitting through more troubling starts from Vidal Nuno.

Like I said, the AL East can easily be won by the team that makes the best mid-season move to improve their club. It's time for the Yankees to make that move.

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Yankees 1, Orioles 6: Too many damn dingers

Possibly pitching with his rotation spot on the line, Vidal Nuno didn't pitch well enough to keep it, as the Baltimore Orioles tagged him for five runs in 6.2 innings, as the O's rebounded from Carlos Beltran's wall-off homerun last night to beat the Yankees, 6-1, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium thanks to a quartet of homeruns.

The Yankees honored former first baseman Tino Martinez before the game, but didn't make the actual game any more special. The O's took an early lead and never looked back, eventually extending that lead on a couple of homeruns by Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce later in the game.

Adam Jones put Baltimore on the board with a 1st inning homerun off of Nuno, taking him deep ot left field as the third batter of the game, making it 1-0. Jones later walked to open the 4th inning, then Cruz followed with a two-run shot that extended the Orioles' lead to 3-0. That was Cruz's 23rd homerun of the year -- what a bargain for Baltimore, right?

Mark Teixeira was the only Yankee of the day to drive in a run against Bud Norris, who was setting down the Yankees' lineup rather easily, with just two walks and a single through three innings. It was Teixeira's team-leading 12th homerun of the season that cut the lead to 3-1.

Norris gave up a Brian Roberts double in the 5th, the only other hit against him after the Teixeira homerun. He was only able to make it through five innings, though, having to leave the game with a groin injury after throwing just a couple of warm-up pitches prior to the bottom of the 6th. He only gave up a run on three hits, with two walks and four strikeouts in five frames.

Pearce pushed Baltimore's lead up to four in the 5th inning with another two-run homerun off of Nuno, making it a 5-1 game.

Nuno somehow made it into the 7th inning -- I'm guessing that Joe Girardi was trying to get as much as he could out of Nuno without going to the bullpen. He left after retiring Nick Markakis with his 107th pitch of the day. He was hit for the three homeruns, four earned runs of the five, with six hits, two walks and four strikeouts. It'll be interesting to see if he gets another start.

Jose Ramirez took over with an out in the 7th, finished off the inning, gave up a homerun to JJ Hardy in the 8th -- Hardy's first homerun of the season -- that put the Orioles by five runs, then worked around a couple of singles by Pearce and Jones in the 9th.

Looking to rally in the 9th for the second straight day, Tommy Hunter retired the first two hitters before Ichiro Suzuki singled and took second on defensive-indifference, but Brian McCann flew out to end the game.

The Yankees and Orioles will both look to take the rubber-match of this three-game series tomorrow afternoon, with Masahiro Tanaka and Chris Tillman on the mound for their respective teams. Tanaka Sunday, y'all!

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Yankees 5, Athletics 10: Vidal Nuno rouged up as Yanks drop series finale

Vidal Nuno was a road warrior coming into his Sunday afternoon start against the Oakland Athletics, having been 2-0 with a 1.81 ERA in six career starts as the visiting pitcher. It didn't take the A's very long, though, to turn him into road kill.

For Nuno and the Yankees, road start No. 7 is one everybody would like to forget after the left-hander was tagged for a career-high eight runs on eight hits in just three-plus innings, as the Yankees fell to the A's, 10-5, on a nice Father's Day afternoon out in Oakland.

Worst of all, the Yankees used five pitchers in this game, and not one of them was Ichiro Suzuki.

To make this recap quicker than Nuno's day, the A's jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the four batters into the first inning when Derek Norris took  Nuno deep -- practically across the bay -- for a three run homerun. An inning later, in the 2nd, Coco Crisp added another three-run dinger that made it a 6-0 game.

After Nuno worked a three up, three down 3rd, the A's put four more runs on the board, beginning when the first two batters reached base against Nuno, who's day was done after that. Joe Girardi called upon Joe Ramirez, who walked Crisp to load the bases, hit Craig Gentry to force in a run, then gave up a couple of singles to Yoenis Cespedes, scoring a run, and Josh Donaldson, scoring two, to make it a 10-0 game.

Nuno was knocked around for the eight runs in eight hits, with a walk and two strikeouts. He hadn't given up a homerun before on the road, but gave up two of them today. Ramirez, meanwhile, was charged with two of the four 4th inning runs on three hits.

The Yankees were making Jesse Chavez look very good through the first five innings until Mark Teixeira finally put them on the board in the 6th inning with and RBI double to drive in Derek Jeter, who doubled ahead of him.

Chavez lasted six inning, giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out four without a walk to his credit. He was 0-3 in his last three starts coming into the game, but was much better in this one.

That cut the deficit to 10-1, then Carlos Beltran gave the Yankees another run in the 7th with a solo homerun off of Ryan Cook -- his 6th homerun of the season, and his first since coming off of the DL. Later in the inning, Jeter hit a sac fly to drive in Ichiro, making it a 10-3 ballgame.

Shawn Kelley tossed a scoreless 5th inning. Adam Warren struck out four in two shutout inning, giving up one hit. And Matt Thornton rounded out the game for the Yankees' bullpen with a scoreless 8th inning. So at least everybody behind Ramirez did their job.

The Yankees refused to go down quietly in the 9th inning, as Brett Gardner pulled the Yankees to within five runs in the 9th inning with a two-out, two-run homerun off of Jim Johnson, his 5th long ball of the season.

Brendan Ryan followed with a walk and Alfonso Soriano trailed behind with a single, knocking Johnson out of the game. But the rally didn't go any farther, as Luke Gregerson struck out John Ryan Murphy to end the game.

The Yankees have Monday off as they travel back from following this 10-game, three-city road trip. When they get back home, they'll be greeted by the Toronto Blue Jays, who the Yanks will start a three-game series with at Yankee Stadium this week. Masahiro Tanaka will be on the mound for the series opener on Tuesday, facing off against Marcus Stroman at 7:05 pm ET.

(Box score from today's game)

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Game 68: Good bye, West Coast

With just one more game left in Oakland, the Yankees' 10-game road trip with a couple of west coast stops finally comes to an end on Sunday with Derek Jeter's final farewell to the city of Oakland -- unless some magic happens and the Yankees met the A's in the playoffs, of course.

The Yankees kicked off this trip in Kansas City, taking two of the first three games before Monday night's game was rained out. Then it was off to Seattle, where the Yankees swept the Mariners in three games. And that lead us to where we are today, as the Yankees will look to take the rubber game of this three-game series with the Athletics after dropping last night's game, 5-1.

Mark Teixeira will be in the lineup this afternoon as the Yankees try to win a series against the best team in baseball, boosting the league's best run differential -- +127.

Teixeira was a late scratch from Saturday night's game because of some soreness in his rib. Neither Teixeira or the Yankees were very sure of what exactly the injury was; Teixeira said if definitely didn't feel like an oblique injury, and something more of a muscle spasm.

Either way, he's been a productive hitter in the lineup this season when healthy, so as long as he is good enough to go, that's fine with me.

Today's lineup against Oakland:

LF Brett Gardner
SS Derek Jeter
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
1B Mark Teixeira
C Brian McCann
DH Carlos Beltran
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Yangervis Solarte
3B Kelly Johnson

Pitching matchup preview:

After the A's knocked Hiroki Kuroda around for five runs in seven hits, forcing him out of the game in just 4 2/3 innings, which tied his shortest outing of the season, Vidal Nuno will take the mound for the Yankees today and is looking for another quality road start on the season.

In just six career starts away from Yankee Stadium, Nuno is 2-0 with a 1.81 ERA. His last outing was against the Mariners in Seattle, where the lefty tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball.

Jesse Chavez will get the ball for Oakland today, as he is matching up with Nuno for the second time this season. The two starters last faced-off on June 4 in the Bronx;Chavez claimed the win after giving up four runs in seven innings, while Nuno allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Chavez is 0-3 in his past three starts after giving up two earned runs on eight hits in six innings against the Angels in his most recent outing.

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Yankees 3, Mariners 2: Ellsbury's late hit propels Yanks to series-opening win

Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the top of the 8th inning that also gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead after the Seattle Mariners had tied things up in the bottom of the 7th, and the Bombers would go on to beat the M's by that same score on Tuesday night in Seattle.

Vidal Nuno's final pitching line may have looked good -- he only gave up one run 5 2/3 innings -- but the actually results were much worse; the Mariners hit him around the yard, but he was lucky enough to only have given up the one run.

The Yankees jumped all over Hisashi Iwakuma in the 1st inning, tagging him for two runs on four hits. Derek Jeter singled with one out, moved to second base on a two-out single by Mark Teixeira, then scored on a double down the left field line by Carlos Beltran, putting the Yankees up 1-0.

The double was just Beltran's second hit since coming off of the DL -- he was 1-for-14 -- and the first hit was also an RBI double.

A batter later, Brian McCann reached on an infield single when Brad Miller made a great diving play at shortstop, but couldn't get McCann out at first base in time, letting Beltran score from third base.

Nuno came out in the bottom half of the first inning and quickly gave the Mariners one of their runs back.

Robinson Cano slapped a two-out double into left field, then Conner Gillespie singled to drive in Cano, cutting the Yankees' lead to 2-1.

Nuno worked around some trouble in the 2nd inning when Mike Zunino doubled with one out, then advances to second base on a wild pitch, but Nuno retired the next two hitters to escape the threat. A couple innings later, he also had to strand Kyle Seager at second base.

Nuno, like I said, lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits, while walking one and striking out two. He got a lot of help fro his defense, with Ellsbury and Ichiro making a couple of great plays in the outfield. Not to mention, the spacious Safeco Field helped keep a couple of balls in the yard.

Dellin Betances took over with two outs in the 6th, and set down the only batter of the inning. He retired Seager to open the 7th, but hit Zunino, and two batters later, after Zunino moved to second base on a wild pitch, Dustin Ackley singled to tie the game at 2-2.

The Yankees did very little damage against Iwakuma in the innings following that. Iwakuma didn't give up more then one in any inning after the 1st. He, somehow, lasted 7 1/3. leaving after giving up an ground-rule double to Jeter with one out in the 8th after Brett Gardner nearly took him deep twice.

Charlie Furbush took over in relief for Iwakuma in the 7th and was greeted by Ellsbury, who singled to center field to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead with Jeter scoring, as well as extending his hitting streak.

Adam Warren worked around a Cano single to get through the 8th inning, then David Robertson struck out the first two batters of the 9th, walked Ackley, but came back to strike out John Buck to end the game.

The Yankees will look to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday night when they send the ace, Masahiro Tanaka, to the mound to take on Chris Young. First pitch is once against set for 10:05 pm ET.

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Game 63: Yankees open up series in Seattle vs Mariners

Following Monday night's rain out in Kansas City, the Yankees are in Seattle to open up a three-game series against Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners. The M's have taken the first three games of the season series, including a makeup game at Yankee Stadium last Monday.

The Yankees are still trying to turn things around, having lost six of their last eight games, including a 2-1 loss to the Royals on Sunday in which the Yankees were 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

Now I don't know about you guys, but I miss Robinson Cano, and I'm sure the Yankees do, too. The $240 million man entered Monday hitting .370 (47-for-127) since May 3, the top average in the Majors in that span. Meanwhile, the Yankees' current second baseman, Brian Roberts, is sporting a .239 batting average through 55 games.

It's not just that Cano is playing better than pretty much any Yankee right now, either, but that the Mariners are playing better, too.

Entering Tuesday night's game, Seattle (34-29) leads the Yankees (31-31) by 2.5 games for the second wild card spot in the American League. Before the season, most people laughed about how Cano would go to the Mariners and never win, but right now M's have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Yankees.

Tonight's lineup against Seattle:

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Carlos Beltran DH
Brian McCann C
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Brian Roberts 2B

Vidal Nuno LHP

* Jeter has been awful lately, hitting .115 (3-for-26) over the past week. Joe Girardi really needs into moving him down in the lineup because he is not helping the Yankees at all, and that's what matters to Jeter. As you can see he's batting second against tonight, but hopefully that'll change soon if he doesn't start hitting.

* Girardi told reporters before the game that Shawn Kelley is expected rejoin the Yankees tomorrow night/ Kelley has been on rehab the past week, pitching in games for Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton.

Pitching matchup preview:

After his start last night was rained out, Vidal Nuno will get the ball for the Yankees in tonight's series opener. Nuno will be trying to get the Yankees a much needed win as they kick off this west coast swing that'll also make a stop in Oakland.

Nuno is coming off of a no-decision against the Athletics in his previous start on Wednesday in the Bronx. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, two runs and striking out five.

In five career starts outside of Yankee Stadium, Nuno owns a 2.08 ERA.

The Yankees will be opposed by right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, who would have been going up against Masahiro Tanaka tonight had last night's game not been rained out. Iwakuma, if you didn't know, spent five seasons as Tanaka's teammate in Japan.

Iwakuma missed the first month of this season with a torn finger tendon, but has gone 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA since coming off of the DL. He is coming off seven innings of shutout ball in Atlanta when he allowed six hits, no walks and seven strikeouts in a 2-0 win.

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Game 63: The rain can stop, but will the Yankees score tonight?

The Yankees' offense is struggling right now and is throwing too many "let's not score any runs" parties. There is plenty of blame to go around, and a handful of people to throw it at.

1-for-17 with runners in scoring position on Sunday was pretty atrocious, as the Yankees were only able to produce one run through a countless number of scoring chances.

Derek Jeter, for one, has been awful lately, hitting .115 (3-for-26) over the past week. Joe Girardi really needs into moving him down in the lineup because he is not helping the Yankees at all, and that's what matters to Jeter. Just because it's Jeter, that doesn't mean he has to bat second every game, Joe.

Tonight's lineup at Kansas City:

Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alfonso Soriano RF
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran DH
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Brendan Ryan 2B

LHP Vidal Nuno

It's raining right now at the ballpark, and it has been all day with no stop in sight, according to the weather reports. Let's see if they get this game in.

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Spring Training Game 19: Yankees at Orioles

By: Gavin Ewbank | Lead Writer

While most of the big names prepared for a match against the Miami Marlins tonight in Panama, the Yankees have sent a bunch of minor leaguers to take care of business in Sarasota today as the face the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.

Vidal Nuno will make his first start in a while. He came into the spring as a far outside shot to win the Yankees' fifth starter job, and even though he pitched well in his first two starts of the spring, it seems as if he is already out of the race with about two weeks left in Florida.

Nuno's last start was against the Toronto Blue Jays back on March 2nd, and he pitched pretty well, tossing two innings of one-run ball, giving up two hits while striking out three. His only blemish of the day was a solo homerun off the bat of Jose Bautista in the 1st inning.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the game that it's possible Nuno could be placed in the bullpen to start the season if he doesn't win the fifth starter job.

“I think you have to consider him, too,” Girardi said. “I think you have to. He’s left-handed. He can give you some innings. He can get left-handers and right-handers out. I think you have to look at it.”

Today's lineup against Baltimore:

Today's lineup vs. BAL: Suzuki RF, Roberts 2B, Johnson 3B, Romine C, Flores LF, Williams CF, Roller DH, Angelini SS, Arcia 1B, Nuno P.
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank) March 15, 2014

Only a few unknown names in the starting lineup, but it gets worse with the second string players listed below. Eduardo Nunez will cleated in the leg during yesterday's game, but he wasn't scheduled to play today anyway, so that is not why he isn't playing today. Russ Canzler was suppose to travel with the team today, but stiffness in his neck that came up the other day have kept him out.

Today’s second string: C Pete O’Brien, 1B Zach Wilson, 2B Rob Refsnyder, SS Cito Culver, 3B Rob Segedin, LF Ben Gamel, CF Jake Cave, RF Taylor Dugas.

Today’s scheduled relievers: Brian Gordon, Mark Montgomery, Danny Burawa, Diego Moreno and Joel De La Cruz (Shane Greene, Manny Barreda, Graham Stoneburner, Branden Pinder and Charlie Short are also making the trip).

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Beltran, Nunez and Murphy go yard Yankees' 8-2 win over Blue Jays

Carlos Beltran finally collected his first hit of the spring, launching a solo homerun in the 4th inning of the Yankees' 8-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, Florida.

"That's why we're here, to try to get our swings and to try to get our timing back," Beltran said. "It always feels good every time you square a ball and hit it good."

Eduardo Nunez also smacked his first homerun of the spring -- making up for an error that he made at shortstop in the first inning -- and John Ryan Murphy hit a three-run homerun in the 8th to blow the game wide open, putting the Yankees up 8-2.

Vidal Nuno started the game for the Yankees, and he pitched pretty well in his second start of the spring. He tossed two innings of one-run ball, giving up two hits while striking out three. His only blemish of the day was a solo homerun off the bat of Jose Bautista in the 1st inning that gave the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.

Nuno said that overall, he was pretty happy with his performance today. 

“Just one (bad) pitch,” he said. “And Bautista just hit it out.”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the game that it's possible Nuno could be placed in the bullpen to start the season if he doesn't win the fifth starter job. 

“I think you have to consider him, too,” Girardi said. “I think you have to. He’s left-handed. He can give you some innings. He can get left-handers and right-handers out. I think you have to look at it.”

Bautista took advantage of an offspeed pitch that Nuno left up in the zone, the kind of pitch that Bautista can do damage with, and sent it over the left field wall into the palm trees.

Adonis Garcia, who collected two hits on the day, opened the 2nd inning with a single to right field, then Brendan Ryan singled a couple batters later to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one-out.

A sac-fly by Russ Canzler moved Garcia to third, putting runners on the corners for infield bench candidate Dean Anna to rip a single into right field, tying the game at 1-1.

An inning later in the 3rd, the Yankees took the lead on a three run inning that started with a leadoff walk by Jacoby Ellsbury and was followed by a two-run homerun off of Nunez's bat. Beltran went back-to-back with a homerun a couple pitches later, extending the lead to 4-1.

Girardi also addressed the chances of Nunez making the team as a backup infielder. 

“Obviously (he can make the team) by being able to play all over the place and playing well is the important thing,” Girardi said. “We know there’s a lot of talent in that young man, and there are some things that he can do. He provides speed for you. But he’s got to be able to play all over.”

Shane Greene gave up Toronto's second run of the game in the 6th inning on a RBI double by Melky Cabrera. A one-out double by Edwin Encarnacion put him on second for Cabrera to drive him home a two batters later.

The Yankees got that run back in the following half inning after Garcia doubled to open the inning and Gary Sanchez singled to put runners in 1st and 3rd with one-out, then Corban Joseph grounded to the second baseman, making it a 5-2 ballgame.

And then Murphy's three-run shot in the 8th made it a five-run game. Antoan Richardson and Yangervis Solarte both singled with one out in the inning, then Murphy got a pitch he could hit from Neil Wagner, sending it out of the park.

Bryan Mitchell tossed two scoreless innings for the Yankees in the 3rd and 4th innings, striking out three in-a-row at one point. Bruce Billings and Fred Lewis reached three a scoreless inning in relief, and Matt Daley closed out the game with a clean 9th inning.

Solarte continued to have a great spring, going 2-for-2 at the plate. He is slowly putting himself into the bench spot competition. And Garcia had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Yankees are back at it tomorrow in Tampa when they face the Washington Nationals at 1:05pm EST. Ivan Nova will get the ball for the Yankees in his first start of the spring.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Spring Training Game 6: Yankees at Blue Jays

Masahiro Tanaka's spring training debut went off without a hitch yesterday in Tampa. The $175 million Japanese right-hander was finally able to face live hitters for the first time this spring, and the Philadelphia Phillies was the lucky team to face him.

Tanaka threw the ball pretty well -- especially the famous splitters we've heard so much about, which he used to strikeout Ben Revere to open the 6th inning. He tossed two scoreless innings in the 5th and 6th, giving up a pair of single, while striking out three.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasn't ready to say after the game when Tanaka would make his next spring start, but you can bet that it'll be later in the week, or over the weekend.

Today the Yankees get on the bus and travel to Dunedin for a 1:05pm EST matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays, who 23 games out of first place in the AL East last season after making a load of roster changing moves that they thought would get them back to the playoffs.

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Yankees defeat Florida State, 8-3, in spring opener

For the first time in 261 days, Jameis Winston lost a game at Florida State University when his FSU Seminoles were defeated by the Yankees, 8-3, Tuesday at George M. Steinbrenner in their spring training opener.

Vidal Nuno started the game for the Yankees, pitching two very quality innings, striking out three -- two in the first inning -- and giving up just an infield single.

"I felt good," he said. "Starting the season, just having everything in place right now. I got a lot of more work to do, to get done, but overall I'm happy where I'm at right now. But every day I gotta keep working at it."

Nuno said he took his usual approach into this game: throw strikes and keep hitters off balance.

“Throwing strikes, that’s my main concern about right now,” he said. “Showing the coaches that my main concern is throwing strikes. … It’s getting out there and just showing the pitching coach and the coaches that I can get out there and do that every five days.”

Nuno, in my opinion, has a much better chance of winning the fifth starter job than most people think. He showed his stuff pretty well in a few appearances with the Yankees last season, and now gets a chance to really show the Yankees' coaches what he has.

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Preview: Yanks open spring schedule against Florida State University

It feels soooo good to be back. The Yankees are finally back to taking the field against players other than themselves. Today, they host Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and his undefeated Florida State University squad at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Vidal Nuno will be on the mound for the Yankees, and says that he is expected to pitch two innings.

Nuno is an underdog candidate to grab the Yankees' fifth starter job. Even after a good showing in the big league's last season, people don't see Nuno as a serious candidate, but he actually has a good chance of getting a spot with a good spring.

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Vidal Nuno to start the Yankees' spring training opener vs FSU

Vidal Nuno told The Star-Ledger Sunday morning that he will start the Yankees' spring training opener Tuesday against Florida State University at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

"They just want me to throw strikes," Nuno told the New Jersey paper. "For me, I want to get back into game situations and umpires."

Nuno said that he expects to throw two innings, the norm for early spring training starts.

Nuno is one of the four pitchers that are battling for the fifth spot in the Yankees' rotation this season, and though he might not be the top candidate, he certainly has shown in the past that he is capable of giving the Yankees quality starts.

He made his major league debut with the Yankees last season on April 29th, pitching three scoreless innings of relief against the Tampa Bay Rays. He pitched five scoreless innings in his first start for the Bombers on May 13th in the second game of a double-header against the Cleveland Indians.

Nuno was optioned back down to Triple-A Scranton on May 30th, and suffered a groin injury on June 7th that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

He is a guy that can throw a lot of strikes. People that have watched him before say how much it's like he's a pitcher in a video game, where you can just put down a target and he'll hit it.

You would think that his pretty good stint with the Yankees last season gives him a better chance to make the club. But we shall see.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter @GavinEwbank.

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Spring Training notebook: Day 6

TAMPA, Fla. -- Today was the first day of full-squad workouts for the Yankees, so spring training is completely underway. The first exhibition game is next Thursday against Florida State University at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Here's today's notebook.

No Derek Eater: Thursday was the first official practice of Derek Jeter's final season, and the captain said afterwards that he's coming into camp weighing less than he usually does.

Jeter enters the spring five to six pounds lighter than he has been in previous years in an effort to reduce the strain on his surgically-repaired left ankle, the one that only put him into the lineup 17 times last season.

"I did a lot of conditioning, a lot of running," Jeter said after Thursday's workout. “I wanted to be a little lighter, take some pressure off my legs and move around a little bit better.”

Having weighed 199 in previous years, Jeter says he came to camp this time around at 193 pounds after an offseason of healthier eating and more intensive workouts.

Joe Girardi was even able to tell the difference in Jeter's weigh right away.

“I would say last year at times, just going through what you might consider everyday activity and jogs, running the bases, you would notice it," Girardi said. “His running looked normal to me, what I was used to seeing from him in the past. Today it looked like he never got hurt."

Girardi said there are no real restrictions on what Jeter can do this spring.

“I don't know if he'll play the first game or two, but beyond that we don't really have a lot of restrictions on him right now,” Girardi said. “I think we want to make sure he gets enough days of baserunning in to make sure he’s ready to go.”

Pineda throws: Michael Pineda threw an early pull Thursday, and he came out just fine. Girardi has been saying that he doesn't want player trying to battle for spots on the roster just yet, but would rather that they take things slow for the first couple of weeks.

Pineda has already thrown a couple of times this spring, and has been getting some high praise for the way he is throwing.

"How the ball is coming out of his hand is the biggest thing for me." Girardi said Thursday. "Does he look like he's putting too much effort to let the ball go or is it coming out easy? That's what I've seen. It's coming out easy, I don't see him overthrowing and the stuff being sharp, hitting his spots with some sink and some run to it.

"His slider looks good, his changeup looks good. His mechanics to me look much more polished than they were a couple of years ago. He's had a lot of time to work on it and to think about it. He's much more consistent in his delivery."

Pineda has yet to throw live batting practice, but Girardi said that has nothing to do with health concerns.

"It’s just some guys are a little bit ahead of others for various reasons," he said. "Maybe they started a little bit earlier here with Larry is usually the main reason. We might have a little caution, (but) he’s healthy. Pineda looks good to me."

Living batting practice: Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno, two of the four pitchers battling for the fifth spot in the rotation this season, threw live batting practice today. Both were said to have thrown well; nothing overwhelming, but still well. Good things to hear early.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter (below).

Follow @GavinEwbank

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