Dellin dealing
Betances dominating again after rough patch
TORONTO — Overlooked when the job gets done. Blaring back pages when it doesn’t.
That’s the life of a late-inning reliever and the way it was for Dellin Betances from June 22-July 5 when the right-hander many consider to be the best reliever in baseball went off the rails.
In seven games — the Yankees went 2-5 — Betances worked 4 2/3 innings, allowed five hits, nine earned runs, walked 12, struck out eight, was 0-3, blew a save and opponents batted .278 against him. Most alarming were the walks. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild and Betances pointed to mechanical flaws as the reason for the miserable numbers that resulted in questions about Betances.
Now, Betances is back to flashing the form that has made him an All-Star the past four seasons. From July 8-Aug. 5, Betances has worked in 13 games that the Yankees have gone 11-2 in. He has given up seven hits, one earned run, fanned 23, walked six and held hitters to a .146 average.
“The biggest thing is the breaking ball, I am back to where I am throwing it for strikes,” Betances said. “I had a period there where I wasn’t throwing it for strikes.”
Betances said he didn’t alter the grip on his breaking ball, which when right and mixed with the high-90s fastball is at times unfair.
“It was just a matter of trying to get that feel back,’’ Betances said.
Change, however, did come in Betances’ delivery.
“Just trying to stay back and keep things simple,’’ Betances said. “The way I throw strikes, it is back to normal. Early in the year my body was too crossed and I feel that was causing some of the inconsistency.’’
Joe Girardi will be armed with a full bullpen Tuesday night when the Yankees open a three-game series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. That means the manager won’t be shy about using it at any time.
Saturday night Girardi hooked Jordan Montgomery after the rookie lefty allowed one run in five innings and retired the final nine Indians he faced, striking out five of them.
Still, Betances worked the sixth, David Robertson pitched the sev- enth and eighth and Aroldis Chapman the ninth for the save. Robertson, Betances and Chapman didn’t work in Sunday’s 8-1 win, so they should be available Tuesday.
After seeing eight straight right-handers, the Yankees face Blue Jays lefty J.A. Happ on Tuesday night. Despite switch-hitting
Chase Headley on a 20-for-57 (.351) hot streak, it’s likely Girardi will start right-handed hitting Gar
rett Cooper at first base. Headley is 22-for-101 (.218) versus lefties.
With Triple-A Scranton/WilkesBarre on the road in Lawrenceville, Ga., Aaron Hicks will likely continue his minor league rehab assignment in Hartford with Double-A Trenton on Tuesday after a day off Monday. The switch-hitting outfielder is 6-for-16 (.375) in five games for the RailRiders. He has been out since June 26 with a strained right oblique. There is a chance Hicks rejoins the Yankees this week if they feel he has gotten enough at-bats from each side of the plate.