C.C. Sabathia picked up 2019 right where he left off last season, so much so that the 19-year veteran accomplished a feat that he never had before.
In his final start of 2018, Sabathia hurled five shutout innings of one-hit ball against the Tampa Bay Rays before getting tossed after the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth inning ended up in the left thigh of Jesus Sucre.
On Sunday, the Yankees activated Sabathia off the 10-day injured list to make his season debut against the Chicago White Sox. He responded by mirroring his Sept. 27 start, throwing another five blank, one-hit frames in the Yankees 4-0 victory.
At the age of 38, Sabathia became the first pitcher in MLB history with back-to-back starts of at least five scoreless innings with one or fewer hits and zero walks.
The win ended a four-game losing streak for New York, as their stopper came through once again. According to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Sabathia is 14-1 with a 2.81 ERA following a Yankee loss since the 2017 season.
Only 62 pitches were needed for Sabathia to record his fifteen outs as he didn’t need more than 13 pitches to get through an inning. Domingo German, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman closed out the game, combining for six strikeouts in four no-hit innings.
Sabathia is on the cusp of joining two elite groups in baseball history. His three strikeouts brought him within 11 of becoming the 17th pitcher to join the 3,000 K club. German recorded the win Sunday, keeping Sabathia’s total just four shy of 250 for his career.
On November 17, Sabathia inked a one-year deal worth $8 million with the Bombers, following it up the next day announcing 2019 will be the last season of his career. He is likely to make his second start of the year when the Yankees host the Kansas City Royals for a four-game series next weekend.
