The Yankees, with their bullpen strained by recent heavy use, designated release Dennis Santana on Sunday and recalled another right-handed reliever, Ron Marinaccio, from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Santana struggled against the Dodgers on Saturday, unable to get out of the top of the ninth inning, forcing the Yankees to use infielder Oswaldo Cabrera to get the final out.
After Saturday’s game, manager Aaron Boone blamed overuse for Santana’s ineffective pitching, after he threw 33 pitches on Wednesday, 12 in his first appearance on Friday and 39 on Saturday.
The 28-year-old Santana has been inconsistent for much of the season and has been particularly ineffective recently, giving up eight runs in 5 1/3 innings over his past four starts.
The 28-year-old Marinaccio has pitched well this season with the Bronx and Southwest Boston.
