Girardi "encouraged" after Sabathia's second start

CC Sabathia might have left some pitches up in his start against the Mets Sunday afternoon, but his manager is still pretty content with what he saw.

Yankees skipper Joe Girardi noticed some good signs during Sabathia's four-run outing in Port St. Lucie, he told reporters after the 6-0 loss. 

"I saw some good things," Girardi said, according to NJ.com. "I saw some good sliders, some good fastballs, change-ups."

Sabathia went 2 2/3 innings and struck out four in Sunday's contest -- giving up five hits while walking none. He allowed a pair of solo home runs to Juan Lagares and Lucas Duda in the bottom of the first, as well as a two-run shot to David Wright in the third.

It was Sabathia's second consecutive game in which he yielded two or more earned runs, and his ERA on the spring is now a hefty 11.57.

"You know, I think we forget: CC didn't pitch much last year," Girardi said. "And for him, it's about getting back to the consistency and getting some work. CC's always thrived on work."

Sabathia is attempting to come back from a knee injury that limited him to just eight starts in 2014, and his primary goal for this month seems to be -- as Girardi says -- re-acquainting himself with the mound. That appears to be the reason for the Yankees' lack of concern over his bad numbers, which include nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. 

So when Sabathia feels good about a particular performance, the team feels good too.

"He feels great, and there's a lot of life to his arm," Girardi said. "So I'm still encouraged."