Giancarlo Stanton faces Yankees aces

TAMPA, Fla. -- The one-two combination of Luis Severino and Aroldis Chapman presents no picnic for American League batters, but they provided a welcome challenge on Thursday morning at Yankees camp, as Giancarlo Stanton continues to get his swing ready for the regular season.

Hours before he appeared in the lineup as the left fielder in New York's 8-6 victory over the Pirates, Stanton volunteered for extra swings against the hard-throwing tandem, both of whom were hurling simulated games on a practice diamond behind George M. Steinbrenner Field.

"They aren't going to make it easy out there for me," Stanton said. "Practice like it's going to be out there. Those are some of the best guys in the league. If you're going to prepare for a season, that's what you want."

But the pitchers were ahead this morning. With pitching coach Larry Rothschild calling balls and strikes, Severino struck out Stanton twice looking and Chapman -- celebrating his 31st birthday -- fanned Stanton swinging at a slider. Gary Sánchez, Kyle Holder and Matt Lipka also batted.

"It wasn't fun, but it's a good match," Severino said. "It's nice to be facing hitters like that. You can work with your pitches and get ready for real games."

In his final turn at bat, Stanton connected on a one-hop grounder that Severino stabbed in front of the mound. Severino joked about having "great hands" and said that his next outing should come in a game, which he strongly prefers to facing his own teammates.

"It's tough for us, because we don't want to hit anybody," Severino said. "It's not like when you face another team. You don't want to hit your teammates."

In the split second after contact, Stanton said that he had no concern for Severino's safety.

"It was in his glove before anyone saw it anyway," Stanton said.

Happy Chappy

Chapman said that he feels ready to pitch in a game, and that his left knee is healthy as a result of a modified winter program. He spent four weeks on the disabled list last season with tendinitis in that knee, returning to action on Sept. 20.

"I took a little extra time off," Chapman said through an interpreter. "We also focused on rehabbing the knee, making sure I did all the programs and everything I was supposed to do to rehab the knee and get it back to being 100 percent and stronger."

Chapman, who recorded 32 saves in 34 chances and posted a 2.45 ERA over 55 appearances last year, has said that he was dealing with the knee issue since at least May.

"It is definitely not ideal to pitch like that, but at the end of the day, I'm here to do my job and help my team," Chapman said. "You've got to go through things like that, put them aside and go out there and pitch. The good thing about all this is, this is in the past. That's last year. We're able to turn the page from that and focus on the upcoming season."

Starting point

J.A. Happ permitted two or more homers just twice in his 11 regular-season starts after joining the Yankees last July, so it was uncharacteristic to see the left-hander serve up a pair of dingers in his Grapefruit League start on Thursday.

Jung Ho Kang hit a solo shot in the first inning, and JB Shuck added a two-run blast in the second to chase Happ, who allowed three runs and three hits. He walked none and struck out one, throwing 27 of 38 pitches for strikes.

"I feel good about throwing strikes, but the execution wasn't as fine as I'd like," Happ said. "I don't like giving up runs, whether they count or don't count. I want to put up zeroes and have success. At some point, you want to see consistent outs, getting reactions from hitters. I got some of that, but I didn't get the consistency of that today."

Bombers bits

• Tyler Wade is in competition for a spot on the Yankees' bench, and the 24-year-old helped his case by cracking a fourth-inning homer off Pittsburgh's Brandon Waddell. Boone believes that Wade's speed and defensive versatility could be assets to the roster.

"It's been good to see him impact the ball a little bit more," manager Aaron Boone said. "The last couple of days, his batting practices have been sharp. A no-doubter to right today; that's one of those that off the bat you're like, 'Ooh, OK.' He's come in here wanting to fight for something."

• The Yankees are not certain when (or if) Russell Wilson will join them in camp. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback spent a week with the club last spring, culminating in a Grapefruit League at-bat; Wilson struck out.

Up next

Sanchez is expected to play in his first game of the spring on Friday as the Yankees host the Orioles in a 6:35 p.m ET contest at Steinbrenner Field. Left-hander James Paxton will start for New York, opposite left-hander John Means.