CC the ‘ace,’ but Hiro the ‘stopper’

Since he was first fitted for pinstripes, in fact for most of his career, CC Sabathia has been considered a rotation ace. From the time he became a Yankee in 2009, The Big Lefty has been “The Man,” no questions asked.

However, after seeing what Hiroki Kuroda did Friday night at Yankee Stadium, I reserve the right to pose the question on who is the Yanks’ true staff ace. Call Sabathia and Kuroda New York Yankees starters 1 and 1A if you wish, but there’s no doubt that Kuroda has been the team’s best pitcher.

Kuroda played the stopper’s role on Friday with eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to improve to 6-2, with a 1.99 ERA. Considering that Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Matt Moore and Hisashi Iwakuma all pitch in the American League, it’s way too early to consider Kuroda a Cy Young Award front runner.

But an early candidate? Absolutely.

Kuroda showed his stuff once again on Friday by wiping out the Blue Jays in two hours and 28 minutes – tied for the shortest game the Yankees have played in 2013 -- and preventing New York from losing three straight for the first time all season. The right-hander faced only two batters over the minimum and after allowing a leadoff double to Melky Cabrera held the Jays hitless over his next 19 men faced. Kuroda is especially adept when the heat is turned up. His opponents are 0 for their last 25 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-30 on the season.

“You don’t really have to worry a whole lot about him,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “When I think about Hiroki, the one thing that we do pay attention to is some of his pitch counts because he’s not 25, either. But he goes out there and sometimes acts like he is, so we have to make sure that we don’t get confused and forget how old he is, and that we take care of him and make sure that he can bounce back every start, because that’s what you want.”

At the ripe young age of 38, Kuroda has pitched at least seven innings without allowing more than two runs in four straight starts. When you think about it, Kuroda could be undefeated. He took a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on May 7 despite allowing two runs over seven pitching in Denver’s thin air. And a line drive hit Kuroda on his pitching hand that forced him from his first start of the season after 1 1/3 innings of an eventual 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

“Every once in awhile, you can feel it out there when a pitcher goes out there, and no matter what you put down, it’s going to be a good pitch,” said catcher Austin Romine said. “It made my life a lot easier. He pitched to the glove all night, and we were on the same page. It was smooth out there.”

On the day 40-year-old Andy Pettitte landed on the disabled list, Kuroda stepped up yet again and was smooth as silk. Sabathia has long been the Yankees’ unquestioned ace, but seeing what Kuroda as done, the Yankees now have two.

If the Yankees’ season is on the line, who do you go to, Sabathia or Kuroda?

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC