During his last start, Michael Pineda performed like an ace, tossing eight scoreless innings for a vicory.
For his encore on Sunday, the oft-injured Pineda struck out a career-high 16 batters in seven innings, emphatically staking his claim as the Yankees No. 1 starter, in defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2.
Lately, the role of Yankees ace has been unsettled. Masahiro Tanaka and C. C. Sabathia still roam the clubhouse, but either injuries or decreasing velocity have taken the luster off their former dominance.
Before the game, Manager Joe Girardi acknowledged that Pineda’s starts are becoming special occasions.