Bombers bits

• It was curious when right-hander Michael Pineda was removed from his start on Tuesday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after just 39 pitches, but general manager Brian Cashman said that the reason for Pineda's early hook was "innings management."

"I think they're trying to manage his innings because he's coming off that shoulder surgery," Girardi said. "They don't want him to go over a certain level -- that's why you're seeing him back off a little bit. That will increase as time goes on. They're scaling back just because they're worried about the amount of innings after sitting out a year."

• The Yankees' Aug. 18 game against the Red Sox has been picked up by ESPN and will be played at 8:05 p.m. ET.

• On this date in 1983, the infamous "Pine Tar Game" was played at Yankee Stadium. Kansas City's George Brett hit a two-out, ninth-inning homer off Goose Gossage to give the Royals an apparent 5-4 lead, but Brett was subsequently called out by umpire Tim McClelland after Yankees manager Billy Martin pointed out that Brett's bat exceeded the acceptable 18 inches of pine tar. The Yankees won, 4-3, but the victory was only temporary, as the American League upheld the Royals' protest. The game was resumed, including Brett's homer, on Aug. 18 and Kansas City completed the win.