CC Sabathia leaves game due to knee injury

On Sunday afternoon, New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia was forced to leave the game due to a right knee injury.

Giardi has come out as CC appears to be hurt. They are taking him out.

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 23, 2015

The injury occurred during the third inning of the ball game, as Sabathia struck out Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes with a 91 MPH fastball. After delivering the pitch, Sabathia landed off the mound and was walking gingerly, forcing manager Joe Girardi to remove him from the game. It is important to note that Sabathia's velocity was down early on in Sunday's ball game, as his fastball was consistently around 88-90 MPH. The injury could have been bothering the left hander earlier on, but he was able to fight through 2 2/3 innings. Nick Rumbelow was put in the game to replace Sabathia. A little while after Sabathia left the game, it was confirmed that Sabathia left the game due to a right knee injury.

CC Sabathia left today’s game with right knee pain and will undergo MRI. — New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 23, 2015

The left hander has had this same knee drained twice since spring training, so this has been an injury that has bugged Sabathia during the 2015 season. He was taken for an MRI, and no official diagnosis has yet been announced. The team's plan of going to a six-man rotation once Michael Pineda rejoins the big league club on Wednesday could be in jeopardy now, depending on how serious Sabathia's injury is. Coming into today's action, Sabathia has a record of 4-9 with a 5.24 ERA, and although he has struggled, the Yankees hope his injury is not serious. As more information comes along about Sabathia, make sure you keep up with Bronx Pinstripes for all the latest news and updates. You can follow us on Twitter @BronxPinstripes, or like us on Facebook by searching Bronx Pinstripes.