With A.J. Burnett nursing a right foot injury, the Yankees have concern about their No. 2 starter’s ability to pitch Monday night in Phoenix.
“A little bit,” manager Joe Girardi said, asked if he was concerned with the bruised fifth metatarsal on Burnett’s foot that underwent tests Thursday, but didn’t reveal a break or fracture.
Burnett (6-5) was scheduled to throw a bullpen session yesterday but didn’t. He will attempt to throw today, but there is no guarantee the push-off foot will allow him to do it without discomfort.
“They pushed me back one day,” said Burnett, who doesn’t believe he will miss Monday’s start. “I was hobbling [Thursday], but I am walking better today and that’s good.”
Burnett, who is on a three-game losing streak, took a ground ball off the foot Wednesday night against the Phillies in the second inning. He remained in the game until getting hooked in the fourth of an eventual 6-3 loss.
“Maybe he didn’t let us know,” Girardi said, asked if Burnett not coming out of the game when hit was a good sign. “Sometimes adrenaline takes over.”
Burnett ran in the outfield Thursday night, but said that may have been a mistake.
So what happens if Burnett can’t start against the Diamondbacks?
“We will have a decision to make,” Girardi said before the Yankees’ 4-0 loss to the Mets last night at the Stadium. “A lot of that will depend on what happens this weekend.”
Translated, that means if Chad Gaudin isn’t used heavily against the Mets, he could sub for Burnett. Nevertheless, if Gaudin, who did not pitch last night, is needed the Yankees could tap into their Triple-A roster for right-hander Ivan Nova. His last start was Tuesday so he would be rested.
The Yankees easily could send left-handed reliever Boone Logan back to Scranton Wilkes-Barre to make room for Nova, who is 5-2 with a 3.42 ERA in 12 games.
“It didn’t bother me after it happened or when I went home and I slept good,” Burnett said. “But the first step [Thursday morning] I felt it.”