Yankees hope Heaney’s mechanics changes result in more innings

NEW YORK — Andrew Heaney’s introduction to the Bronx was not the best, but Saturday’s start, his second since being acquired from the Angels, is exactly why he is here. The Yankees’ pitching depth was hit hard in the first half of the season, they needed arms to pitch innings through the dog days of the season and especially now as they try to navigate their third COVID-19 outbreak.

The Yankees rotation is stretched incredibly thin with Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery on the COVID-19 injury list and Domingo German on the IL with shoulder inflammation. They are still waiting for Corey Kluber, who has been on the IL since May, and Luis Severino, who got Tommy John surgery last year, to return.

So far, they have been relatively lucky, with Luis Gil stepping in for Cole to make a brilliant major league debut on Tuesday night and expected to return on Sunday. Nestor Cortes has been solid in place of Kluber and German this season, but Friday night, the Yankees had to give the ball to lefthander Wandy Peralta, who had never made a start in 242 previous big league appearances, and then were planning to mix and match out of the bullpen.

The Yankees made major upgrades at the deadline with their offense, adding lefty hitters Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo to balance with their slugging righthanders. The key for their playoff push, however, will be how they handle their pitching. It’s not just COVID19 and injuries, but managing the fatigue factor will be key as pitchers push way past the workload they had last year.

So a guy like Heaney, who came to the Yankees with a 5.74 ERA, could be critical if he can just give them innings and give the offense a chance to work. Heaney, the left-handed starter, has to be better than Monday night for it to work.

He said before Friday’s game he feels more confident going out there, having worked with Blake on some changes to his delivery.

“I talked with Matt Blake about a couple mechanical adjustments. I made quite a few mistakes, like pulling my changeup across my body a little bit, and so we’ve got a couple things in the works I’ve been working on in my bullpen.”

Heaney allowed a careerhigh-tying four home runs in his Yankees debut Monday in a loss to the Orioles. It was not the best first impression.

“I am definitely getting a little bit more settled in here. Kind of getting into my routine and talking with each of the different kinds of departments and tweaking a few things,” Heaney said. “It’s definitely been a little bit different for me, but it’s been, it’s been a good process. And everybody here has been great and helped me get acclimated quickly.”