Kevin Millwood not only delivered his longest outing since June on Monday night against the Athletics, he also guaranteed himself $12 million for the 2010 season. He finally surpassed that elusive 180 innings mark with a fifth-inning double play.
“I knew what I had to get to. But I wanted to get deep
in the game and win the ballgame. If I do that, everything else will
take care of itself.”
Millwood went 8-5 with a 2.64 ERA
through the first three months of the season, but has really struggled
since, going just 3-5 with a 5.66 ERA. After his last start was
skipped, many were wondering if the Rangers would purposely trying to
prevent the option from vesting, however it appears he just needed some
extra time to work on mechanics with pitching coach Mike Maddux.
Now that Millwood is guaranteed $12
million for 2010, it likely limits general manager Jon Daniels’
ability to upgrade the team in the free-agent market. Owner Tom Hicks has already borrowed millions from Major League Baseball, and in turn, the Rangers were reportedly forced to lowball first-round pick Matt Purke. It’s a real shame for a team that clinched their first winning season since 2004 on Monday night.
Yankees place Nestor Cortes on 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff strain
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain that will sideline the left-hander for at least two starts.
The move is retroactive to Monday and Cortes will be shut down for at least 15 days.
After Tuesday’s game, Cortes said the shoulder has been bothering him between starts and more so after he pitched five innings May 30 in Seattle.
“I took two days off and when I got to LA and threw that first day, I didn’t feel right,” Cortes said Tuesday. “But it was first day coming back from pitching so I knew it was going to be nagging a little bit. So I waited a little bit.
“That second day in LA was when I said something because it felt like I had pitched yesterday. So I wasn’t recovering in time.”
Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.
Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.
Randy Vásquez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to take Cortes’ spot in the rotation and will make his second career start in Thursday’s doubleheader. Vásquez made his major league debut May 26 against San Diego when the Yankees needed a starter because Domingo Germán was serving a 10-game suspension for using sticky substances.