NEW YORK (AP) — Domingo Germán was scratched from his scheduled start for the New York Yankees on Monday night against Tampa Bay because of discomfort in his armpit.
Rookie right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to face the Rays in the opener of an important three-game series. To open a roster spot, New York optioned reliever Ron Marinaccio to Triple-A.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Germán felt discomfort Sunday and wasn't able to play catch. He felt good Monday, but was expected to see a doctor.
The team doesn't think Germán will need to go on the injured list, Boone said. If the right-hander is OK, he'll be slotted back into the rotation in the next few days.
“We just didn’t feel like we could risk sending him out there and then if we had to pull the plug in the first inning or something, it would put us in a tough situation,” Boone said Monday afternoon. “So he’s going to see the doctor I think in about an hour just to rule anything out. We don’t think it’s an IL situation, but want him to see the doctor and just make sure.”
Tampa Bay began the day 1 1/2 games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East and leading the wild-card standings by four games.
The last-place Yankees (55-50) were 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
Germán is 5-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 19 starts this season. He lost his past two outings and has a 5.64 ERA in four starts since pitching the 24th perfect game in major league history — and first since 2012 — on June 28 at Oakland.
Brito was 4-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 11 starts and one relief appearance over three previous stints with the Yankees this season. His most recent big league outing was June 27 at Oakland.
In seven starts at Triple-A, he is 2-2 with a 5.45 ERA.
“He’s been throwing pretty well this month down there. He’s done a good job with us I feel like. Has had really competitive outings each time he’s pitched with us," Boone said. “Had the one hiccup against the Twins a while back but in his spot starts where he’s gotten called up, he’s done a nice job. So we expect him to come up here and give us a good effort.”
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AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.
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