The Yankees' Domingo German, left, warms up during a spring...

The Yankees' Domingo German, left, warms up during a spring training workout on Feb. 22 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II

TAMPA, Fla. — Domingo German demonstrated Friday the foremost reason why the Yankees stuck with him after the righthander received an 81-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.

German, officially hit with the suspension in January 2020 after an MLB investigation into alleged incidents involving his girlfriend in September 2019, was terrific in his exhibition debut against the Tigers at Steinbrenner Field.

German, who went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 27 games (24 starts) in 2019 and is in a camp competition for the fifth starter job, struck out four and allowed one hit in two scoreless innings of a 1-1 tie in front of 2,352.

"I’ve been satisfied with the work we’ve done," German said through an interpreter. "One of the things I wanted to do is pitch in winter ball [in the Dominican Republic] like I did, and pitching over there gave me the ability and the confidence to see that I can still compete at a high level against really good competition.

"It put me at ease that I can still compete and that I can find my way back to be the same pitcher that I was back in 2019."

Keep it in perspective

Brian Cashman has been doing his job long enough not to get carried away at any time of the year, especially spring training. And so, while pleased that his prospective 2021 rotation filled with question marks — primarily Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon because of past injuries — is off to a good start, the longtime general manager recognizes it as just that.

"Everybody is getting their work in and so far, so good, I guess, is all I could say," Cashman said. "That is all we could hope for at this stage right now . . . The early returns are good, but the records in the standings are still the same where we’ve got no wins, we’ve got no losses, obviously, because the season hasn’t been started yet."

What a cannon

Gary Sanchez threw out his second runner in as many games, cutting down Akil Baddoo on an attempted steal of second base for the second out of the fifth inning.

Happy to have him

Bench coach Carlos Mendoza, filling in for Aaron Boone while he recovers from Wednesday’s medical procedure, interviewed for open managerial jobs in Boston and Detroit in the offseason. Cashman said it’s only a matter of time before the highly regarded coach lands one of the 30 dugout lead jobs.

"His day is coming without a doubt," Cashman said. "He is going to manage a major-league team and I think he’s going to be really good at it."

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