Nova Strutting His Stuff

While there is no doubt that the New York Yankees have problems generating offense, keeping guys healthy or even having one stay off the juice, one problem they do not have is pitching.

This really came to light in last night's 8-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. Yes, the team's offense came to life but more impressive was the second straight solid performance from starting pitcher Ivan Nova.

Nova burst onto the scene with the Yankees in 2011 and in his first big-league season, showed that he had the stuff to be an above average starting pitcher in the Major Leagues. That season, Nova won 16 games, had a 3.70 ERA and finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

With that kind of season, the team and their fans were excited about his future and their expectations were raised. Unfortunately, Nova fell off last season as he won 12 games and had an ERA of just over five, which made the team wonder if he was a one-year wonder.

While that question is still being asked, Nova has definitely turned it around in his last few starts. As Yankees' manager Joe Girardi mentioned after the game last night, Nova did a good job of mixing all his pitches and showed that he is more than capable of being a starter in any Major League rotation.

Nova's last two starts in particular are reasons why the team and their fans should continue to be patient and show some faith in him. Last Friday night in the team's 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, Nova was masterful in pitching a complete game, allowing two earned runs and striking out 11 against an extremely talented offensive Orioles ball club.

Last night against the Royals, Nova was just as good in allowing just one run and striking out five over eight innings. Put the last two games together and that three earned runs in 17 innings.

Remember folks, Nova is just 26 years old and has shown that he can pitch well and do so in big games. If the Yankees want to stay in the tight race in the American League East, Nova will need to continue to strut his stuff like he has done over the last few games for his team.