Mets, Yankees spring notebook: Bombers toss no-no, youth shines bright

Yankees toss rare spring training no-hitter

Masahiro Tanaka and nonroster lefty Jordan Montgomery combined to hold the Tigers hitless in a 3-0 victory on Friday afternoon. Joe Girardi was excited with the result, but put it in perspective.

“It’s fun,” Girardi told reporters. “Obviously it means more if it’s the regular season, but still it’s a no-hitter.”

Surprisingly, Tanaka wasn’t entirely pleased with his performance in which he struck out six batters through 4.1 innings.

“I felt that I wasn’t at my best, but I still was able to put up some zeroes so that part satisfied me,” he said through a translator. “With the slider and the cut fastball, the location of it, I felt like I was all over the place. The command of those can be better.”

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said his team did not lie down toward the end just because it was an exhibition.

“There was pride involved,” he told reporters. “You don’t want to get no-hit whether it’s spring training or regular season or whiffleball in the backyard.”

Kaprielian dazzles before demotion

James Kaprielian,the 16th overall pick from the 2015 draft, faced the minimum in a two-inning appearance on Thursday before learning he would be demoted he next day. Kaprielian says he knew he wasn’t going to make the team out of camp, but that wasn’t going to stop him from giving it his all this spring. His goal remains to make the major league roster this year.

“I think I can help this team,” he told reporters. “Obviously, I need to stay healthy, but at the end of the day, regardless of where I am, I need to be able to pitch and throw strikes and give my team an opportunity to win.”

Kaprielian suffered from an elbow issue last fall, raising red flags within the Yankees organization, but he has seemingly recovered. He’s likely to start the year in High-A Tampa.

Conforto the center of attention

Michael Conforto isn’t just excelling at the plate this spring. Playing center field for the third time this month, he made a brilliant throw to nail a runner at third base on Thursday.

“[Conforto] is trying to show people that he can play anywhere, and I thought he’s handled himself very well out there,” Collins told reporters after the game. “He’s gotten some very good jumps on balls.”

Conforto is batting .357 in Grapefruit League play with two homers and four RBI.

Rowen, Edgin in the pen?

The Mets’ bullpen situation is getting cloudier by the day, and Ben Rowen and Josh Edgin are making their cases to be included on the Opening Day roster. Rowen, a submarine-style righty, has a 1.93 ERA through 9.1 innings, but is currently not on the 40-man roster.

Edgin, once the Mets’ go-to lefty specialist, initially struggled in camp but has lowered his ERA to 4.32 (0.960 WHIP) and touched 93 mph on the radar gun on Thursday. Collins noted that Edgin has gained better command of his slider since camp began.