Yankees' Mariano Rivera Shut Down With Sore Triceps For Second Straight Game
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Deciding to play it safe, Mariano Rivera shut himself down for a second day on Tuesday.
New York's star closer felt soreness while throwing and was not available for last night's 9-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. Rivera has a sore triceps muscle, and while the 41-year-old said he could pitch in an emergency, another day of treatment and rest would be better.
"It feels better than yesterday, but it's still a little bit there," Rivera said. "I don't think I ever felt 100 percent since the first day I started playing baseball. I can pitch now, but I don't want to take a chance."
Rivera, who was not available for Monday's game, said he is not concerned by the discomfort. There are currently no plans for him to undergo an MRI or other medical tests. Rivera is hopeful he can pitch in Wednesday's series finale.
David Robertson will close until Rivera is ready to return.
Rivera arrived at Progressive Field ready to pitch if he could. But after playing long and short toss with fellow reliever Boone Logan, he consulted with trainer Gene Monahan and they decided to take the safe route.
"If I feel well, I want to pitch," Rivera said before pregame warmups. "I always want to do whatever I can for my team. I've been putting ice on it and hopefully it will go away the same way it came on."
The 12-time All-Star has 21 saves and 1.91 ERA in 35 games. He has 580 career saves, the most in AL history and 21 behind leader Trevor Hoffman.
Rivera has been remarkably durable. He has appeared in 1,013 career games and has only been on the disabled list five times, and not since 2003.
"I'm not concerned at all," Rivera said. "It's going to happen and it's going to go away. We'll do treatment and rest."
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