SEATTLE — In his return from a 10-game suspension, Domingo German avoided enough bats and, more importantly, excessive stickiness on Monday night.
German was not his sharpest, but was not his stickiest either, allowing him to pitch 6 ¹/₃ solid innings within the Yankees’ 10-4 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Making his first start since May 16 — when he failed a foreign-substance check in a game against the Blue Jays, resulting in his ejection and automatic suspension — German’s hands figured to be heavily scrutinized Monday.
But he appeared to breeze through his checks with umpires, apparently having found the suitable amount of rosin.
German insisted he used “concerning the same amount” of rosin as in his previous starts and that he was not feeling any pressure in his return from the suspension.
“But there are occasions where [in] the sport, perhaps you don’t need to make use of some since you’re feeling comfortable executing pitches,” German said through an interpreter.
The best-hander was checked for foreign substances after the primary inning and before the fourth inning, and every time passed with none issues.
“I used to be just focused on getting the job done today, executing pitches, staying calm through different situations in the sport and I desired to go as deep as possible,” German said. “Calm, clear plan of attack.”
On an evening when he gave up 4 runs on seven hits and three walks with 4 strikeouts, German was efficient together with his pitch count as he worked into the seventh inning before being pulled.
Heading into the sport, the Yankees said they’d be vigilant concerning the amount of rosin German had on his hands throughout his outing, including checks by pitching coach Matt Blake and others within the dugout.
“He’s gotta give you the chance to grab the rosin on the market when he’s pitching,” manager Aaron Boone said before the sport. “I’m not a pitcher, but slightly little bit of tack — I don’t think anyone’s trying to throw anyone out, but so long as you’re throughout the lines, I believe you’re going to be high-quality.”
Boone said there was still a “gray area” by way of how much rosin was an excessive amount of, but German was in a position to avoid checking out on Monday.
“Overall, I believed he threw the ball well,” Boone said. “I believed his stuff was good. Probably not his best command, but to pitch us into the seventh, he got us off to a very good start on this trip.”
