Kei Igawa returns to the minors

Kei Igawa's poor outing for the New York Yankees last week earned him a quick return ticket to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA) where he has pitched well. Here are the highlights of the story as posted on the Yankees official website (www.yankees.mlb.com):

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees recalled right-hander Ian Kennedy from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make Thursday's start against the Rays at Tropicana Field, optioning left-hander Kei Igawa to Triple-A.

The 28-year-old Igawa started on Friday [May 9] at Detroit, his first start of the season in the Majors, and was rapped for six earned runs in three-plus innings.

When the Yankees were rained out on Sunday, they took advantage of the opportunity to shuffle their rotation, moving Igawa to the bullpen for three games. He did not appear in the Yankees' series at Tampa Bay.

"I am disappointed that I was not able to produce the results that I wanted, as well as what was expected out of the team," Igawa said in a statement. "Moving forward, I will continue to work hard to be able to contribute to the team in the future."

Igawa is 2-4 with a 6.75 ERA in 15 big league games (13 starts), allowing 87 hits and 53 earned runs in 70 2/3 innings.

"We still picture him as a starter," Girardi said. "We don't want him to pitch every once in a while. We need him to pitch and continue to improve."