TERRIBLE IVAN
rays sting Yanks, end nova’s solid run
ST. PETERSBURG – If Ivan Nova was hoping not to be traded this weekend, he may have helped his cause Friday night.
Nova allowed five runs over 4.1 innings, dooming the Yankees to a 5-1 loss to the lastplace Rays to kick off a critical series with Monday afternoon’s trade deadline rapidly approaching.
The righthander allowed six hits and three walks during his forgettable outing, striking out three in the loss, his first in six starts dating back to June 21.
“It was bad,” Nova said. “I got hit in the middle of the plate and fell behind almost every hitter. It was not good.”
One scout in attendance called Nova’s performance “erratic,” adding that his trade value should be as “a throw-in at best.”
Nova’s outing may have done more than scare off some potential suitors; it also put a dent in the Yankees’ playoff push as they lost back-to-back games for the first time since July 15-16. They missed another chance to pick up a game in the AL East as the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays, leaving the Yankees six games back.
Jake Odorizzi fired 6.2 scoreless innings, limiting the Yankees to six hits. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
The Yankees actually out-hit the Rays, 107, but a 1-for-9 night with runners in scoring position resulted in 10 runners left on base.
“When you’re not hitting homers and doubles, you have to get a lot of singles in a row,” said Mark Teixeira, who drove in the Yankees’ lone run. “We had a couple hits, we just couldn’t put them together when we needed to. It was that kind of night.”
Nova — who had a 2.66 ERA over his previous four starts — said this week that he hasn’t paid attention to the myriad trade rumors that have been swirling, so he refused to use that as an excuse for Friday’s subpar start.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Nova said. “I don’t have any control about that.”
With several scouts watching from the stands, Nova got off to a horrid start as Logan Forsythe led off with a home run. Two outs later, Corey Dickerson launched a solo shot of his own, the 18th homer allowed by Nova in 15 starts this season.
Brad Miller opened the third with a triple, scoring on Dickerson’s fielder’s choice to push the lead to 3-0.
“It was more of a command issue,” Joe Girardi said. “He just wasn’t commanding his fastball or his curveball.”
Odorizzi breezed through the Yankees’ lineup. After allowing a pair of one-out hits in the first, he retired 14 of the next 15 batters, blanking the Yankees through five.
“He’s putting fastballs at the top of the zone to everybody,” Brian McCann said. “That’s not easy to do, and he’s repeating that time and time again. Every fastball he threw tonight was at the top of the zone.”
Nova gave up back-to-back doubles to Miller and Evan Longoria to start the bottom of the fifth, boosting the lead to four runs. A one-out infield hit by Steve Pearce put runners at the corners and ended Nova’s night after 4.1 innings, bringing in Chad Green.
Nova exchanged a few words with home plate umpire Laz Diaz on his way off the field, unhappy with the strike zone.
“I just felt I made pitches that I should have gotten the call; I just let him know,” said Nova, who said the strike zone wasn’t the reason for his bad night.
Green allowed one of Nova’s runners to score, but the rookie pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving the offense a chance to come back.
Odorizzi left with two on and two out in the seventh, but Kevin Jepsen escaped the jam. A two-out rally in the eighth prevented the Yankees from being shut out, but that was merely a moral victory.
“We’ve been feeling pressure for a long time,” Teixeira said. “We’ve kind of had our backs against the wall all season because of the way we started. We’ve been trying to win every single game. We still have a chance to win this series, which is kind of our goal.”