Nova excited about latest chance

Ivan Nova predicted he would be in pinstripes again. He just didn't think it would be this soon.

When buddy Eduardo Nuñez called Nova this past week to inform him of his call-up from Triple-A, Nova told his minor-league road roommate that he'd be Bronx-bound soon enough. And in just a few days, he was. "Right now, I don't have words to say. I'm excited," said Nova, who'll make his first major-league start Monday night in Toronto.

Manager Joe Girardi said he's seen improvement in Nova, who is in his second stint with the Yankees. "He's got good stuff," he said. "He's got velocity as well. I liked him in spring training. When he came up and pitched a couple innings in Detroit in May, he threw strikes. It seems like he's got pretty good command."

Nova, who is accustomed to being a starter, said he didn't feel comfortable as a reliever in his first call-up. But now that he's more confident in his repertoire of pitches - a much-improved slider on top of his fastball, curveball and changeup - he is embracing the challenge that lies ahead.

"This is a big opportunity for me," said the 23-year-old, who was 12-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 23 starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. "I'm going to try to be relaxed and enjoy it."

Kearns coming along

Austin Kearns extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a homer that gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the fourth. "I was just trying to have a good at-bat and I caught one pretty good," said Kearns, who is 14-for-35 in his streak.

Extra bases

Since joining the Yankees in 2009, Mark Teixeira has been intentionally walked to load the bases 10 times. The batter behind him has gone 7-for-8 with four home runs, 25 RBIs, one walk and one sacrifice fly.