TAMPA, Florida – Corey Klüber outscored the occasional savage, allowing two runs — four hits in four innings in his second inning, and the New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 Saturday.
Klüber, who has won two Cy Young awards, is with his third team in three years. He has thrown just one inning since a line hit him in the right forearm in May 2019 and tore a muscle in his right shoulder in his debut with the Texas Rangers last July.
Klüber hit two batters, threw a wild pitch and allowed a lone homer in the third inning to Troy Stokes Jr. on Saturday. Ponchó to two, in an exit in which the Pirates went in order only once.
“Some launches could probably have been a little better, a little sharper,” Klüber said. “The home run, the first throw, left him too much on the plate. Definitely some things to work on. Location adjustment, stuff like that.”
“I was happy with the way I felt physically,” he said.
The right allowed a double from the first batter and hit a batter on the first inning, but came out of the jam with a double play. After a perfect second, Klüber gave up the Stokes Jr. home run and then avoided worse by resolving a two-base and one-out situation.
Klüber, who will turn 35 in April, poncho three to two perfect innings in his other opening on March 3 against Toronto Blue Jays. He had a live beating practice session five days later.
After losing to eventual American League champions Tampa Bay Rays in a five-game Divisional Series last year, the Yankees lost to Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and JA Happ by becoming agents. free. They signed Klüber on a $ 11 million one-year contract and acquired Jameson Taillon of Pittsburgh for four prospects.
“He looks like himself,” Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu said, “The ball is moving everywhere.”
The projected New York rotation also includes ace Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. Deivi García and Sunday Germán are among the candidates for the fifth position of starters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.