Yankees’ Hiroki Kuroda showing some signs of form – MLB New York Yankees News
Hiroki Kuroda is one of the key players for New York Yankees. The starter was signed for $10 million one year deal during the offseason in an effort to power Yankees’ pitching rotation.
Kuroda has given some incredible performances since the start of the season. However, Manager Joe Girardi will be expecting a lot more from him.
In a game against Oakland Athletics on Sunday, May 27 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California, Kuroda displayed some high quality pitching skills to help his team secure an important series sweep that improved Yankees’ record to 26-21.
Showing great composure and ability to handle pressure, Kuroda pitched right scoreless innings to single handedly win the game for Yankees. Giving up just four hits, he created all sorts of problems for A’s batters to win for the fourth time this season.
"He just got a little rushed," catcher Chris Stewart said. "He was trying to force pitches instead of just throwing them. I just wanted to calm him down and let him know he doesn't have to try to overdo anything. Just trust his stuff and do what he did in
the beginning of the game. Once he was able to take a breath and knew his stuff was good enough, he made some big pitches."
“It’s a long season, you take the good with the bad,’’ said Derek Jeter in a post game interview.
New York will need similar performances from him throughout the season to have any chance of making to the World Series. Considering Yankees’ leading prospect Michael Pineda’ season ending shoulder injury, Kuroda will have to take more responsibility on
his shoulders
He will also have to play a more effective supporting role to help Yankees’ ace C.C. Sabathia achieve his desired goals.
Kuroda’s team mate Mark Teixeira was extremely pleased with what he saw from him on Sunday night. Teixeira is convinced that Kuroda is destined for bigger things.
Of course, the Japanese starter is still new to Major League Baseball and he will need some time to adjust his game play accordingly. It will be interesting to see if Kuroda can keep on giving such powerful performances throughout the season to shut his
critics.
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