NEW YORK -- This much is clear: Michael Pineda had a dark substance smudged on his pitching hand during his first win for the New York Yankees. Ivica Zubac Jersey . Pine tar or dirt? We might never know. Pineda took a two-hit shutout into the seventh inning, and Jacoby Ellsbury hit an RBI single off old roommate Clay Buchholz in his first game against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees 4-1 victory Thursday night left a bit of a mystery: Were Pinedas pitches plain old nasty, or was something more sinister involved? "Its dirt," Pineda said. "Between the innings, Im sweating too much, my hand. Im putting dirt -- Im grasping the dirt. ... Im not using pine tar." Ellsbury drew all the pregame attention after switching sides in the rivalry during the off-season. But it was the dark brown, seemingly tacky substance on the lower palm of Pinedas right hand that became the focus. Close-up camera shots showed Pineda (1-1) pitching during the early innings with something on his hand, and there was speculation it was pine tar to help him get a better grip on a chilly night. The game was never stopped for an umpire to examine him, and it whatever it was, it was gone by the fifth. "I became aware of it in the fourth inning through the video that someone had seen," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "And then, when he came back out for the fifth inning, it looked, based on where it was told to me it was located, it looked like the palm of his right hand was clean." Buchholz and fellow Red Sox ace Jon Lester both attracted questions last year about substances they had on the mound, but nothing came of them. "The Red Sox didnt bring it to our attention, so theres nothing we can do about it," umpire crew chief Brian ONora said. "If they bring it to our attention, then youve got to do something." Yankees manager Joe Girardi essentially repeated the same answer five times during his postgame news conference. "I never saw it. Theres nothing really for me to talk about," he said. Making his first Yankee Stadium start 27 months after he was acquired from Seattle, Pineda appeared completely recovered from the shoulder surgery that sidelined him for two years. Throwing at up to 95 mph, he allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked two. Brian McCann ended an 0-for-14 slide with a run-scoring single that put the Yankees ahead during a two-run fourth that also included a run-scoring double-play grounder by Alfonso Soriano. Making just his third big league start after 554 games in the minor leagues, 27-year-old infielder Dean Anna homered as New York made it 4-0 in the fifth. Anna opened spring training wearing No. 93 after six minor league seasons with San Diego, which traded him to New York in November. Now wearing a more respectable No. 45, he was greeted after the homer by Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who gave him a high-five. Anna had received more than 100 emails and texts by the time the game ended, and he even got the ball back. "Words cant explain it. Honestly, they really cant. All the history with these two teams," Anna said. This was slightly different than the way he dreamed it would happen. "In Wrigley Field, actually," he said. "But Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox I think is pretty good, too." After spending nine years in the Red Sox organization and winning World Series titles in 2007 and last year, Ellsbury left for a $153 million, seven-year contract with the Yankees. And his first game put him at the plate against Buchholz (0-1), his roommate at Lowell of the New York-Penn League in their first summer of professional ball. On a 1-for-4 night, Ellsbury reached on third baseman Jonathan Herreras fielding error and scored the games first run in the fourth and singled sharply to left to drive in a run in the fifth. Daniel Nava led off the seventh with a home run into the second deck in right, and Xander Bogaerts single chased Pineda. With David Robertson on the disabled list and Shawn Kelley and Adam Warren unavailable after pitching Wednesday, the Yankees scrambled their bullpen. Cesar Cabral and David Phelps retired Bostons last nine batters -- striking out five -- and Phelps got seven outs for his first career save. "I just figured as long as I was keeping guys off base, they were going to let me go," Phelps said. "Any time you can get a first, as long as its a good first, is always exciting." NOTES: Jeter went 2 for 4 with a double, raising his average to .290. ... The Yankees employed an unusual shift with Grady Sizemore up: Jeter remained at shortstop and rookie Yangervis Solarte moved from third to the first-base side of second; Sizemore grounded out to Solarte in the third. ... CC Sabathia (1-1) is slated to face Lester (0-2) in Fridays second game of the four-game series. Mfiondu Kabengele Jersey . The first baseman hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Chris Paul Clippers Jersey . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. https://www.clipperslockerroom.com/Terance-Mann-City-Edition-Jersey/ . - Aroldis Chapman, with two black eyes, has returned to the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse four days after being hit in the face by a line drive.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Fredi Gonzalez has seen this before. Every summer it seems. There will come a time during the season when something clicks in Justin Upton and all the rest of the Atlanta Braves have to do is hop on and enjoy the ride. Like now, for example. Upton went 2 for 4 with five RBI in Atlantas 11-3 thrashing over reeling Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The Braves have won five straight and are 7-3 during Uptons current 10-game hitting streak. "He gets hot and he can carry us," Gonzalez said. "Hes done that a few months so its nice to have that big bat right behind (Freddie) Freeman, who is starting to roll the pole a little bit also." Uptons 24th homer — a three-run shot off Francisco Liriano (3-10) in the third — broke things open early. He added a two-run single off reliever Brandon Cumpton in the fifth as the Braves extended Pittsburghs losing streak to a season-high seven games. Jason Heyward went 2 for 5 with three RBI for the Braves while Evan Gattis hit his 19th homer on a tape-measure shot that landed halfway up the rotunda behind left field. "That was a joke," Upton said of Gattis shot. Aaron Harang (10-7) struck out four without a walk in 8 1-3 innings, his only misstep coming in the ninth when he couldnt quite nail down his first complete game in 14 months. "I was locating, getting ahead early, not deep into counts a lot," Harang said. "They were being really aggressive and swinging at pitches out of the zone. Guys were there to make plays for them." Harang even added his first RBI in two seasons, a single up the middle in the second that put the Braves up 1-0. Upton did most of the rest as the Braves ruined Andrew McCutchens return to the lineup for Pittsburgh. McCutchen went 0 for 4 in his first game back after missing two weeks with fractured cartilage in his ribs. The reigning National League MVP left the game after grounding into a double play in the bottom of the eighth. He reported no discomfort but allowed it may take a bit for his timing to come back. "This is definitely something Im trying to do, get back in the rhythm oof things, get back in the swing of things," he said. Lou Williams Jersey. "That will come sooner rather than later." Travis Snider, Starling Marte and Russell Martin had two hits apiece for the Pirates, whose current losing streak is their longest since dropping seven straight Sept. 7-14, 2012. Lirianos real problems began in the third. He allowed singles by Phil Gosselin and Freddie Freeman to start the inning. Upton sent a lined shot over the wall in left to make it 4-0 and the Braves kept piling on. Liriano gave up nine runs, seven earned, in four-plus innings. He walked three and struck out four while his ERA rose from 3.78 to 4.18. "One of those nights anything you throw is gonna get hit," Liriano said. "Theyve been pretty hot last couple games. Ive got to put it behind me, got to move forward." TRAINERS ROOM Braves: After failing to retire a single batter against Charlotte in an International League game on Wednesday night, rehabbing right-handed reliever Shae Simmons will make a third appearance for Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday. Simmons, who has been on the disabled list since July 27 with a strained right shoulder, pitched one scoreless inning in his first outing last Saturday against Norfolk. Pirates: Shortstop Clint Barmes was given a night off in Triple-A Indianapolis as he recovers from a strained left groin that has sidelined him since late June. The 35-year-old Barmes went 0 for 3 in his first game with the Indians on Monday night. UP NEXT Braves: Alex Wood (9-9, 3.07 ERA) goes for his third straight victory on Wednesday for Atlanta. The 23-year-old has a 1.45 ERA over his last six starts but remains at .500 on the season because he receives the second-lowest run support in the majors. Pirates: Ace-in-training Gerrit Cole (7-4, 3.78 ERA) returns from his second stint on the disabled list on Wednesday. Cole hasnt pitched in the majors since being sidelined by right lat soreness on July 9. He pitches seven scoreless innings for Triple-A Indianapolis last Friday. Cole is 4-1 in his last five decisions. He will be making his first career start against Atlanta. ' ' '