Joba Chamberlain made his first relief appearance since being named a member of the Yankees’ bullpen — and not their starting rotation — during Saturday’s spring game against the Tigers. He threw a scoreless inning, allowing two hits but also racking up a strikeout. The 24-year-old had a 14.09 ERA and a 2.48 WHIP over his first 7 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League play and officially lost the Yanks’ final rotation spot to Phil Hughes this week. Chamberlain had a 2.84 ERA and a 7/1 K/BB ratio in 6 1/3 innings out of the bullpen during last year’s playoffs and should do well in a setup role this season.
Justin Verlander earns 200th career win
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Astros starter Justin Verlander wasn’t his usual dominant self on Sunday against the Athletics, but he was good enough to get the win. In doing so, he earned the 200th win of his career, becoming the 117th member of the 200-win club.
Verlander went 5 1/3 innings, yielding four runs (all earned) on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts. On the season, Verlander is now 12-8 with a 2.65 ERA and a 223/29 K/BB ratio in 169 2/3 innings. Sunday’s win helped the Astros stave off the surging A’s. The Astros now have a one-game lead in the AL West.
Only two active pitchers have more wins than Verlander: Bartolo Colon (247) and CC Sabathia (244). Zack Greinke will likely be the next member of the 200-win club as he currently has 184 to his name.
