ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- CC Sabathia impressed his manager and teammates in his first regular-season relief appearance.
The 39-year-old left-hander, who is retiring at the end of the season, worked a perfect fourth inning in the New York Yankees' 2-1, 12-inning loss Tuesday night to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sabathia had made 560 regular season starts but is being moved to the bullpen along with J.A. Happ ahead of the postseason.
"I thought he threw a lot of good cutters to their righties," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.