Mitchell, Triple-A Yanks toss one-hitter

D.J. Mitchell combined with a pair of veteran relievers on a one-hitter Sunday, but few of his Yankees teammates were aware of the feat.

While Mitchell was taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning, the scoreboard at Syracuse's Alliance Bank Stadium was not functioning properly. The old-school substitute noted nothing more than the score and the inning at any moment.

"I don't think a lot of guys in our dugout really knew about it, to be honest," Yankees hitting coach Butch Wynegar said.

Mitchell (1-0) retired the first nine batters he faced and did not allow a hit until Major League veteran Mark Teahen singled with two outs in the fifth inning. The 24-year-old right-hander faced just one more batter, exiting after throwing 61 pitches. He struck out four and walked one.

Wynegar, a 13-year Major League veteran who caught Dave Righetti's no-hitter for the Yankees on July 4, 1983, had lots of praise for Mitchell.

"We're all really fond of D.J.," Wynegar said. "He did it all today. He pitched from behind. He pitched backwards with his changeup. He was always on the attack. He really followed through with the plan that [pitching coach] Scott Aldred set for him."

Mitchell is beginning his third season at Triple-A after the Yankees took him in the 10th round of the 2008 Draft. The former Clemson standout went 13-9 with a 3.18 ERA for the Baby Bombers last season, recording 112 strikeouts over 161 1/3 innings. His ERA ranked fifth in the International League.

Manny Delcarmen struck out one in two innings and fellow big league veteran Jason Bulger pitched around three walks over the final two frames for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Shut out in two of three games -- all losses -- to open the season, the Yankees broke out against left-hander John Lannan (0-1).

"It was the first time we stayed patient for a whole game," Wynegar said. "We didn't go up hacking away at everything but instead were swinging at good pitches. That really helped us hit a lot of balls hard. It was a good combination of being aggressive but at the same time staying patient."

Jack Cust led went 4-for-4 with four RBIs to raise his average to .400, while Chris Dickerson chipped in three hits, three runs scored and an RBI.

"Jack's a pro hitter," Wynegar said. "He has a good idea of how to stay within himself. He didn't get a lot of at-bats [after signing late] but today showed what he's capable of up there."

Lannan lasted only two innings in his first Minor League start since July 2010. He surrendered five runs on six hits and two walks. Rafael Martin also gave up five runs, retiring only two batters in the seventh.

Nationals No. 1 prospect Bryce Harper was 0-for-4 and committed his first error of the season when he booted a ball in right field in the seventh.