Yankees lose DH as Derek Jeter goes in for Eduardo Nuñez
Derek Jeter reacts after popping out to second base during the ninth inning of a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto. (Sept. 29, 2012) Credit: AP
TORONTO -- Before the game, Joe Girardi said he was comfortable with Eduardo Nuñez in the field. But in the middle of a tight game Saturday against the Blue Jays, he decided to go with some surer hands.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Derek Jeter, who started the day as the DH, trotted out to short, replacing Nuñez. The move cost Girardi his DH. "Just defensive,'' he said. "I have to do what I feel is best.''
Nuñez, who singled and hit two other balls hard, did not sound thrilled with the decision, though his defensive issues have been well-documented. Was he surprised? "A little bit,'' he said. "It's early, but it doesn't matter what I think. If he wants to make a move, it doesn't matter.''
Girardi inserted Brett Gardner as a pinch runner in the eighth to steal a base, but he was thrown out at second on a bang-bang play. Replays indicated he was safe, and although he believed that to be the case, Gardner didn't entirely blame umpire Tim Welke. "If I got a little better jump,'' he said, "it wouldn't have been an issue.''
X-rays of Robinson Cano's left hand, taken late Friday night after he was hit by a pitch, came back negative. "I was worried a little bit,'' Cano said before going 2-for-3 with an RBI yesterday.
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