The durability of Michael Pineda’s right arm has been a question that has flummoxed the Yankees for weeks, but it took on a different significance Wednesday night.
He had thrown 94 pitches through six innings against the Miami Marlins, and the scoreboard still had yet to register a hit. His fastball was explosive, his stuff electric. Nine Marlins had struck out, and the closest they had come to a hit was a hard ground ball swallowed up by shortstop Didi Gregorius in the fifth.
But with the Yankees already training a vigilant eye on Pineda’s innings this season, it seemed impractical to believe he could complete the game, no matter what history was at stake.