Sabathia Shuts Down Pirates In Yankees Victory

Mar 21, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia (52) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Even with reduced velocity, maybe CC Sabathia is putting the pieces to the puzzle together. Sabathia dropped his spring ERA to 2.70 with a second straight strong outing, going seven shutout innings, striking out seven and giving up four hits as the Yankees shut out the Pirates 4-0.

The Yankees got to Edinson Volquez right away. After he retired the first two batters, Carlos Beltran singled. Mark Teixeira walked. Brian McCann followed with a double to bring home Beltran and move Teixeira to third. Tex would come home to score on a wild pitch with Alfonso Soriano up.

The Yanks would get their other two runs in the second. Kelly Johnson led off with a walk. Brian Roberts and Ichiro Suzuki singled to load the bases. Groundouts by Gardner and Jeter would bring home two more runs.

The Yankees improved to 13-9.

The Yankees head over to Ft. Myers to take on the Twins. Masahiro Tanaka will take on Kevin Correia at 1:05. The game is on MLB.tv with the Twins broadcast. You can listen to the Yankees radio call on WFAN.