NEW YORK (AP) -Darrell Rasner left his outing against the Mets with a broken index finger Saturday that could sideline him three months, becoming the latest New York Yankees starter to go down with an injury.
Hit on the right hand by Endy Chavez’s one-hopper, Rasner lasted only nine pitches. He left Shea Stadium to be examined by a hand specialist and surgery was recommended.
“It turned out to be a pretty bad break,” general manager Brian Cashman said.
Starters Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina have returned from hamstring problems, but the struggling Yankees are still waiting for Phil Hughes (hamstring) to get healthy and Roger Clemens to round into game shape.
Jeff Karstens is recovering from a broken leg and Carl Pavano is also sidelined – again – with an elbow injury.
Tyler Clippard is scheduled to start for the Yankees on Sunday night in the series finale. That would make him the fifth starting pitcher to make his major league debut for New York this season, and the seventh rookie to start. He would be the 11th starter overall used by the Yankees.
“To be honest, I wasn’t thinking, `Oh no, not again,”’ Cashman said. “I wasn’t really thinking about the rest of the stuff as much as I was just thinking about Darrell, and was he all right.”
Chavez’s bouncer in the first inning deflected off Rasner’s right hand and the ball rolled onto the grass behind the mound. Chavez reached on an infield single that put runners at the corners.
Yankees manager Joe Torre, pitching coach Ron Guidry and trainer Gene Monahan immediately came out to check on Rasner, along with the team’s entire infield.
Rasner took a deep breath and tried a few warmup pitches. But when he threw a splitter on his fourth delivery, he hopped off the mound in obvious pain and grabbed his right hand before running into the dugout and down the steps toward the clubhouse.
Mike Myers, normally a left-handed specialist, replaced Rasner and was given as much time as he needed to warm up. On his way back to the dugout, Torre stopped for a chat with Cashman, who was sitting in a front-row seat near the on-deck circle.
“When he threw the splitter, that’s when he really felt it,” Torre said. “It’s something you have to deal with and move on.”
Myers allowed a shallow sacrifice fly to Carlos Beltran, then struck out Carlos Delgado before David Wright hit a long two-run homer. Wright connected for another two-run shot off Myers in the third, and the Mets went on to a 10-7 victory.
Rasner got his chance in the rotation mostly because of injuries to other starters. He pitched pretty well, though, going 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA in six starts – including the loss on Saturday.
“You feel for Razzer and all the other guys that have been hurt,” Myers said. “When guys go down you’ve got to have other guys step up and do the job, and I didn’t do that tonight.”
Clemens pitched four innings for Class-A Tampa on Friday night, the first minor league start of his latest comeback. He is expected to join New York’s rotation as early as May 28 at Toronto or June 2 or 3 at Boston.
The cause and timing of Rasner’s injury was remarkably similar to Karstens’ injury exactly three weeks before. On the rookie’s first pitch in a late afternoon game against Boston, Karstens was hit on the side of his knee by Julio Lugo’s line drive, breaking his right leg.
Karstens is expected to return this season.
Add A Comment