Austin Romine still recovering from concussion

BALTIMORE -- Austin Romine said the headaches are mostly gone but "issues" remain. And until those clear up, the backup catcher, who left Tuesday night's game here with a concussion after taking a foul ball off his mask, won't be available.

"With these things you never know," Romine said yesterday. "There are still things you have to take care of before you get back on the field."

Joe Girardi said Romine was scheduled to take an impact test, which is administered by MLB, sometime last night.

Romine, who suffered a far more severe concussion on a play at the plate in 2011 when he was with Double-A Trenton, described the test. "A bunch of memorization stuff," he said. "Very tedious and it takes a long time and it's hard."

Romine said he feels "it's going the right way" in terms of his progress and Girardi said he hopes the 24-year-old can return this weekend.

Nova: So far, so good

Ivan Nova, removed from Tuesday night's game with right triceps tightness, felt good after throwing what he called a "regular" bullpen session Thursday.

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Though he said he plans to make his next scheduled start Sunday in Boston, there is some worry regarding the tightness he said he's pitched with for the last month or so.

"The last thing I want is to be hurt, especially at this point," Nova said. "You get a little bit concerned every time you feel something."

A-Rod again the DH

Girardi had Alex Rodriguez at designated hitter a second straight game, not entirely certain the third baseman's left hamstring is 100 percent. Rodriguez left Tuesday night's game after tweaking the hamstring rounding third base on Robinson Cano's RBI single.

"I just asked him how he felt and he said better," Girardi said. "He didn't tell me he felt great, so I just decided to DH him. I think it's something we have to watch a little bit."