"Masahiro [Tanaka] should catch the ball because he's there to protect me," Nova quipped. "I didn't know it was that close to me; I just protected my head and the ball hit me."
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that a fluke injury would have been the last thing his team needed on a day when the bullpen was short-staffed, wrapping up a 10-game road trip. But Nova looked just fine, whipping 90 pitches before leaving with an 11-run lead.
"He was really good, to give us those six strong innings," Girardi said.