BALTIMORE — Jhony Brito will get another crack at starting for the Yankees.
The righty will make his second major league start on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles with the rest of the rotation being pushed back. Brito had been sent down earlier this week after his MLB debut on Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.
Brito threw five scoreless innings last weekend and gave up just two hits in the Yankees’ win.
Prior to Friday’s loss to the Orioles, manager Aaron Boone had said that Brito was on the taxi squad and the Yankees would make a decision pitching-wise later in the day. New York made the decision Friday evening.
Brito is back in the starting rotation as the Yankees continue to deal with injury issues, particularly to their pitching staff. Starters Frankie Montas, Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino have all been dealing with injuries that have forced them to miss the start of the year.
Brito auditioned well in one of the last spring training games of the year to earn the MLB start.
The Yankees will have to make a roster move in order before Saturday’s game to fit Brito. Boone had said before the game that Josh Donaldson was “likely” headed to the injured list due to the hamstring tightness that he’s been dealing with since Wednesday.
Franchy Cordero plays well against former team
The Yankees didn’t come away with the win on Friday, but Franchy Cordero got to get a little revenge against the team that cut him during the spring. Cordero’s time with the Orioles only consisted of spring training before they cut him.
Cordero had a strong showing in spring training, but was a casualty of a Baltimore squad that had too much talent and not enough space. On Friday his three-run home run in the fourth inning helped pull the Yankees back from a four-run deficit in what eventually became a 7-6 loss.
Cordero has faired well since joining the Yankees, slashing .222/.222/.333 going into Friday’s game. Boone called Cordero’s homer against the Orioles “very cool.”
“He’s done a great job,” Boone said. “He’s got a couple of big hits for us, obviously, the big homer today. Hit a double. He’s done a nice job for us and it’s good to see. Hopefully continue to impact us like that, but it’s been fun to see.”
