Nova expects to make scheduled start

ARLINGTON -- One day after experiencing fatigue in his pitching arm that limited him to 75 pitches against the Rangers, Yankees righty Ivan Nova said that his fears were calmed by talking to a few pitchers who could relate to what he is going through.

Nova called upon a good friend, Francisco Liriano of the Pirates, as well as his teammates Dellin Betances and Nick Goody. They all assured Nova that the fatigue was part of the process in recovering from Tommy John surgery, quieting any alarms in the right-hander's mind.

He remains scheduled to pitch Sunday against the White Sox and said that he will go through his normal pre-start regimen. Nova lasted five innings and earned the victory in Monday's 6-2 win at Texas.

"I'm not hurt or anything like that, so there isn't any reason to think that I'm not going to pitch," Nova said. "I already asked some guys that went through Tommy John and they said it's normal, that at some point you're going to feel something like it. I'm not worried about it."

Nova said that the fatigue was near the triceps of his right arm. The fact that he did not experience any discomfort on Tuesday afternoon was encouraging to manager Joe Girardi, who said that he is "probably less" concerned than after Nova's five-inning effort on Monday.

"He woke up today and said it was pretty much normal, how he felt was normal after his start," Girardi said. "We still have him scheduled to pitch on Sunday. We'll have him do his bullpen and go from there. I feel OK about it."

Worth noting

• The Yankees recalled right-hander Diego Moreno from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, believing that he could offer them some length in relief of left-hander Chris Capuano if necessary. In a corresponding move, Goody was optioned to Triple-A; he did not appear in a game after being added to the roster on Saturday.

"It just gives us a guy that can give you a little more distance," Girardi said. "He's made a couple of starts here and has went 55 pitches, so you figure he could give us 65, 70. Goody could have given us maybe 30, 35 at the most. It just puts us in a tough position."

• Girardi said that he was surprised by the addition of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to the American League East race. Acquired by the Blue Jays from the Rockies late on Monday, Tulowitzki could now be a factor as the Yankees have 13 remaining contests against Toronto.

"It's not something I expected, because they had [Jose] Reyes," Girardi said. "Obviously he's another guy that's extremely dangerous, hits the ball out of the ballpark, middle-of-the-order hitter. But we'll worry about ourselves. Our guys are playing well, let's continue to play well."

• Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran were out of the Yankees' starting lineup on Tuesday for rest. In addition, the Yankees cancelled batting practice as an accommodation to the 100-degree heat in Texas, and Girardi said they might not hit on the field for the rest of their time in Arlington.

"You try to save their energy," Girardi said. "We're what, 98 games in? I think sometimes it helps them being off their feet, especially in these long stretches."