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Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova was lifted from his Friday night start against the Blue Jays because of discomfort in his triceps/elbow area. At this writing, Nova and the Yankees are waiting on the results of an MRI.
Jorge Arangure Jr. of the New York Times describes the end of Nova's night:
Nova’s fastball, which registered as high as 93 miles per hour in the first inning, had difficulty breaking into the 90s by the third. He pitched a scoreless first, but struggled badly in the second. After throwing nine off-speed pitches out of 20 total in the first, Nova abandoned the breaking ball and threw nine consecutive fastballs to start the second.
After the second inning, Nova came back to the dugout and complained of triceps pain, but he asked Girardi for a chance to pitch the third. But Nova hit Munenori Kawasaki to start the inning and then allowed a line-drive single to Davis.
After the hit, Nova walked around the mound for several moments, which led the Yankees’ trainer, Steve Donohue, and Girardi to race from the dugout. Nova, who has struggled badly this season, appeared despondent as he came out of the game.
This season, Nova is struggling: a 6.48 ERA and 1.86 WHIP across four starts. The 26-year-old is coming off a 2012 campaign in which he managed to give up 87 extra-base hits in just 170 1/3 innings. For his career, Nova owns 95 ERA+ in 69 games, 65 of which have been starts. Last season, he spent time on the disabled list with an inflamed rotator cuff.
Should Nova's injury cause him to miss time, swing man David Phelps would likely replace him in the Yankee rotation.
