NEW YORK – He was not scheduled to start until Monday afternoon, but when Dustin Moseley received the call from Manager Joe Girardi that he would sub for AJ Burnett and to prepare himself to take the ball just in case.
When Girardi alerted him in the morning that he would in face the Red Sox in the nationally televised game, even he probably did not know what to expect.
In the seventh inning with one out, Girardi came to the mound. It would be the end of the night for the right-hander as he gave his manager the ball, giving him more than he could have asked for.
Moseley continued to impress again, allowing only two runs and six hits in the Yankees 7-2 victory over the Red Sox, becoming an incredible revelation as he fills the shoes of the injured Andy Pettitte.
“You can’t dream of anything better,” said Moseley.
One of the highlights of his night came during the first at-bat of the game when he made a great play fielding slow infield chop of the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury that he was able to grab with a bare hand and nail him on a close play at first.
“You don’t ever work on those things,” said Moseley. “That is just the athletic side of it kicks in there. I got a nice bounce and barehanded it and had a nice throw.
Using his two-seam fastball on the corners for strikes, attacking hitters with his quick pace and utilizing his defense, he has been very effective during his time and continues to earn trust not only of his manager, but also his teammates.
“That’s the way I have to pitch,” Moseley said. “If I fall behind in the count, I don’t have overpowering stuff to blow things by people. I have to throw strikes and expand the zone.
In a matchup on paper that was to be a mismatch against the Red Sox Josh Beckett. Instead, Beckett would leave the mound once again battered and bruised by the Yankees offense for the fourth time this season.
Meanwhile Moseley cruised early, only allowing one hit through the first three innings. In the fourth, he ran into trouble when gave up a single to Victor Martinez and then walking both JD Drew and Adrian Beltre to load the bases. Boston could have made a dent in the game right then, but Moseley induced a groundout from Ryan Kalish to end the potential threat.
A homerun by Bill Hall to begin the fifth was one of the few blemishes on his night. Once the Yankees lead expanded from 2-1 to 7-1 going into the sixth, the game was firmly in his hands to take home.
For Moseley, this game meant a lot to him and his family back in his home state.
“I have a lot of people back home in Arkansas,” Moseley said. “Most of the people cannot afford the package, and it was good knowing the game was on ESPN, so my wife sent out a mass text to let everyone know.”
They tuned in and saw a great performance. For a pitcher who spent his early years with the Angels before injury problems plagued him, allowing the Yankees to sign him this past offseason. It has been a long road just to get back to where he currently stands now.
He has never had overpowering stuff, but the organization brought him in as a low risk move in hopes of him providing depth on the major league club at some point.
“I put a lot of hard work in these last couple years,” said Moseley. “I’ve had some bumps in the road. “
Pitching six innings of one run ball in Cleveland, he earned another chance last Tuesday against Toronto and pitched into the eighth inning despite taking the loss. Sunday, he continued his string of good outings, lessening the pain of not having Pettitte in the rotation.
So far, it has been a success.
“They (the organization) brought him in spring training, and the thought was as he rehabbed himself, he would be a guy that would help us out down the road, said Girardi. “They have been right.”
“He’s had some health issues, but he has gotten over them and he’s pitched very well for us.”
Moseley can serve in a number of roles. Starting right now is one of them. The other would be a long man out of the bullpen assuming Alfredo Aceves does not return before the end of the season. His versatility is something that can be of tremendous benefit to the club going forward.
Maybe this is just a small sample of starts before eventual regression. Or perhaps he can channel what Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small did for the Yankees in 2005 when combined to go 17-3 to help propel the team into the playoffs.
They expect Pettitte to return to the rotation in the next two weeks, so he will not have to pitch the remainder the year. However, with the innings limit the organization has on Phil Hughes, Moseley has certainly earned the teams trust to take the ball whenever the time calls.
When it was over, he walked off the mound at Yankee Stadium to a raucous standing ovation for a job well done on this night.
“It was incredible,” Moseley said. “Something I will never forget.”
He only hopes he will get more opportunities.
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