DIAMOND DAVE
Robertson fans side in ninth as Yanks win first minus Mo
KANSAS CITY — There was no save situation in Friday night’s win over the Royals, but Dave Robertson left little doubt that he was ready to seize the opportunity to step in for Mariano Rivera as the Yankees’ new closer.
Robertson struck out the side to preserve the Yankees’ 6-2 victory, continuing his stellar season. “That’s a situation I’ve been in before — 6-2,” Robertson said. “It’s usually one where if I walk a guy, Mo comes in.”
There was no such safety net for Robertson on Friday, as the Yankees began their five-month journey without Rivera, whose season ended Thursday when he tore the ACL in his right knee.
Robertson blew away Eric Hosmer, Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas, throwing 11 of his 15 pitches for strikes. Robertson has now struck out the last eight batters he’s faced over three outings, giving him 21 punchouts in 12 scoreless innings this season.
“I wouldn’t say I really thought about it, but I knew I had to get three outs, finish the game,” Robertson said. “It’s going to be like that, I guess, from now until the end of the season. I can’t sit there and dwell on it; I just have to go out and throw as well as I can. That’s it. We don’t have him anymore, and it stinks, it really does.”
Joe Girardi wasn’t ready to name a new closer, saying the role would be shared by Robertson and Rafael Soriano, who had previously filled the eighth- and seventh-inning roles, respectively.
“We’re fortunate in that we believe we have two guys who are capable of doing it,” Girardi said. “You’re probably going to see both of them at some point. I believe we have capable arms down there. Mo is Mo; I’m not saying it’s easy to replace him, but guys have to step up a little bit, given an opportunity.”
Friday night, Girardi got Soriano up in the bullpen in the eighth inning in case CC Sabathia got into a jam, but once the inning ended, the manager decided the ninth would be Robertson’s.
“We wanted to get him a little experience in that sense, but he also hadn’t worked in three or four days and you like to keep your relievers going,” Girardi said. “We thought we’d get him in there.”
Soriano has far more experience as a closer than Robertson, with 90 career saves to Robertson’s three. Soriano led the AL with 45 saves in 2010 while pitching for the Rays.
“Like I said last year, my mission here is to try to help the team to win — in any role,” Soriano said through a translator. “I’ll just try to concentrate, win and be ready for any situation that the manager needs me to try to win the game.”
Robertson had a breakout season in 2011, making his first AllStar team after taking over as Rivera’s setup man. That opportunity arose after Soriano landed on the disabled list, so now another injury has opened the door for the 27-year-old to take another step.
“Sori has a lot of experience closing games,” Robertson said. “He’s got a lot of saves under his belt and I only have three. I can just go out there and do what I can do; that’s really all I can say about it. When I get the opportunity, do as well as I can and try to close the ballgame out.”
Girardi said before the game that he would like to eventually settle on one closer, but he doesn’t appear to be in a rush to make such a declaration.
“We’ve got to see how it irons out now,” Girardi said. “Because when you lose a guy on the back end, you’ve got to see how the other guys fill in. I don’t worry about Soriano and the pressure, I don’t worry about Robby and the pressure.”