TAMPA, Fla. -- It wasn't the real deal for Kei Igawa, but it was pretty close. Wearing his Yankees pinstripes, the 27-year-old left-hander connected with batterymate Jorge Posada, worked with the Major League infield of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Doug Mientkiewicz behind him, and pitched well.
So what if it was just an intrasquad game, and the first batter -- speedy leadoff man Brett Gardner -- shocked Igawa with a perfectly-placed bunt single?
With 19 pitches, 14 strikes and two scoreless innings in the books, Igawa has wet his feet in preparation for a Grapefruit League debut on Monday against Detroit.
"I'm very honored to play with these teammates," Igawa said through interpreter Yumi Watanbe. "I was not nervous, but I was definitely excited."
Before his performance at Legends Field, pitching coach Ron Guidry took Igawa aside and told him to have fun. Igawa has shown improvement since a rusty bullpen session two weeks ago, and Guidry's message was to not try and impress anyone in this setting -- as he put it -- don't try to make the ballclub in one day.
"It was a good outing for him, to get this kind of stuff out of the way in a game situation," Guidry said. "The game didn't mean anything, but it meant a lot to us just to watch him throw so we can familiarize ourselves with how he goes about his work."
Pitching for guest manager Yogi Berra and facing a lineup commanded by Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and comprised mostly of Minor Leaguers, Igawa kept the ball on the ground, worked quickly and showed good mound presence.
"He's very efficient," manager Joe Torre said. "There's really no wasted motions. He's very compact and he goes after hitters. I think that's a sign of knowing what you want to do."
After Gardner's leadoff bunt single, Igawa induced Bronson Sardinha to bounce a double-play ball to Jeter, then got Jose Tabata to ground out.
In the second inning, Juan Miranda hit a sky-high pop-up on the infield that Doug Mientkiewicz snagged, then retired Josh Phelps and Marcos Vechionacchi on infield outs.
"The fastballs were well located," Phelps said. "It looked like he had an idea."
Igawa has worked two batting practice sessions with the Yankees' hitters, plus the two-inning performance on Tuesday, so he is becoming less of a mystery within the clubhouse.
Opposing clubs -- like the Tigers next week -- should still regard him as a curiosity, and the Yankees hope that Igawa's abilities will continue to be a great unknown, at least a few times around the American League.
"The word gets out quick," Mientkiewicz said. "That's why they've got 15 people [scouts] checking you out each game. I'm sure they've got tapes on him already, but until you're in the box facing someone like that for the first time, it's going to take some time."
