BOSTON — Joe Girardi has very simple reasons for Carlos Beltran’s slow start at the plate.
“Go back to [Friday]. He had two hits and hit the ball hard,’’ Girardi said of Beltran, who doubled and singled in the first two at-bats and went 2-for-4 against the Red Sox on Friday night. “When he made the out it was probably a ball a little bit off the plate. It has to do with pitch selection which is the case a lot of times when hitters are struggling.’’
The switch-hitting Beltran, who didn’t play Saturday against lefty Wade Miley, batted sixth Sunday night versus right-hander Joe Kelly and went 2-for-4 with an RBI. He is now batting .197 for the season with a .316 slugging percentage and .244 on base percentage.
“Sometimes it can be a little bit mechanical. I think it was part of that early on. I think that has been corrected and now it comes down to pitch selection,’’ Girardi said of Beltran.
Beltran said his physical woes of a year ago aren’t in play this season.
“Physically I’m fine. I continue to work in the cage until it comes naturally,’’ Beltran said.
Asked if he was getting closer, Beltran said, “I don’t know, looking forward to happen soon.In my last game here I felt I saw the ball good, hit the ball good. I was able to drive the ball. I’m working on a few things approach-wise, trying stay inside the ball, being aggressive with my hands instead of using my body. My body is getting in the middle of my swing. I’m trying to use more hands more than the body.’’
The Yankees asked for and received permission from MLB to fly Monday to Toronto instead of after Sunday night’s game. MLB frowns on teams flying the day of games but the Yankees did it to avoid an arrival of 4 a.m.
Brendan Ryan has been shut down for a week because of a hamstring problem during his minor league rehab assignment.
“He was running [Saturday] and his hammy grabbed,’’ Girardi said of the utility infielder who has been on the disabled list since the start of spring training with a strained right calf. “They will reevaluate him after a week.’’
Jose Pirela is about ready to end a rehab assignment and there is a chance the utility man could be with the Yankees.
“We will continue to evaluate and see what we are going to do,’’ Girardi said of Pirela, who started the season on the seven-day concussion DL.
Factoring into the decision to put Pirela in the big leagues is Gregorio Petit, who has contributed in a backup role.
“That’s a decision we have to make,’’ Girardi said. “I will talk to [general manager] Brian [Cashman] and we will go from there.’’
Petit has options remaining so the Yankees wouldn’t risk losing him if he is sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The reports on Chris Capuano and Ivan Nova were good after they threw in rehab outings Saturday.
“Everything was good. I would imagine the next step is five days away from [Saturday],’’ Girardi said.
Capuano (strained right quadriceps) gave up an unearned run in four innings for Single-A Tampa in his first outing. Nova (Tommy John surgery) threw 18 pitches in an intrasquad game in Tampa.
Girardi said he won’t insert a sixth starter into the Yankees’ rotation the next time through which starts Tuesday in Toronto when Michael Pineda faces the Blue Jays, but he said it could happen the time after that.
“We have not discussed it, but there will be discussion,’’ Girardi said.