When Yankees second baseman Stephen Drew fielded a routine grounder and threw cleanly to first baseman Mark Teixeira for the final out of the fifth inning, pitcher Ivan Nova aggressively slapped his glove several times.
Nova was most likely upset with himself for creating his own trouble, walking two batters — the potential tying and go-ahead runs — to start the inning. But he may also have been congratulating himself for pitching out of the mess.
The way the Yankees have played this season, building a four-and-a-half-game lead in the American League East entering Wednesday, their starting pitchers have not been asked for much — simply to keep the team in the game and hope its big bats can provide a lead for the bullpen, which has been among the best in baseball.