Sore shoulder likely to cost Yankees' Nova at least one start
Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova was sent back to New York on Wednesday after experiencing tightness in his right shoulder during the sixth inning of his start Tuesday night in Chicago.
Nova said he felt the tightness in the final at-bat of the sixth, after which he was removed despite throwing only 84 pitches.
"It was after the last hitter of the sixth inning that I felt something in my shoulder, the last four or five pitches," Nova said. "I was pitching my game without pain or anything. It was just in the last inning, on the last hitter."
Manager Joe Girardi said Nova would likely miss his next start, but the Yankees would not make any decisions on whether to place him on the disabled list until he sees a doctor and undergoes tests on Thursday.
"We don't really think it's a big thing, but we want to make sure," Girardi said. "Obviously, we don't think he's going to make his next start. The DL will be determined on what the doctor says. Short term there's a little concern, but I don't think it's anything serious."
Nova is 11-7 with a 4.92 ERA in 25 starts this season, though he's 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA in eight second-half starts.
"I'm always worried about my arm," Nova said. "I need to be 100 percent. With any kind of injury, you have to feel concerned about it."
