MIAMI — Though he exited Sunday’s game in the second inning, CC Sabathia strongly believes that a tight left biceps won’t prevent him from making his next scheduled start.

With a similar conviction, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi feels that his eighth-inning protest should be upheld.
“Something doesn’t add up,” said Girardi, after umpires acknowledged the Marlins made an illegal substitution on the way to a dizzy 6-5 victory at Land Shark Stadium.
In the ninth, Brett Gardner’s two-out, two-run triple put the Yankees within a run, but after pinch-hitter Johnny Damon walked, Derek Jeter bounced closer Matt Lindstrom’s first delivery into a game-ending force play.
Afterward, Sabathia said he could’ve pitched through his discomfort. “I’m not concerned,” said the lefty, who ended his run of pitching at least seven innings in eight straight starts the most by a Yankee since David Cone in 1998.
No tests are scheduled for Sabathia, who gave up a run on three hits in 1°innings.
Around the Yankees, who have lost eight of their past 12 games and dropped to four games behind first-place Boston, there was more concern about a lineup that averaged three runs in losing four out of six games to the Nationals and Marlins.
But Girardi hasn’t conceded that Sunday’s game is over yet.
With the Marlins leading 6-3 in the top of the eighth, the Yankees noticed that leadoff hitter Chris Coghlan, who should’ve been subbed out of the game in a double switch, had run out to his position in left field.
Alejandro De Aza, who pinch-hit in the seventh inning, should have assumed left field, batting ninth, as reliever Leo Nunez was in Coghlan’s leadoff position. Girardi alerted home plate umpire Tim Timmons before Nunez threw a pitch, then made his official challenge after Nunez made one delivery to Jeter.
Essentially, the Yankees argued that the Marlins now had two leadoff hitters, and that Nunez — the newest substitution — should be out of the game.
Instead, after a delay of several minutes, the umpires convened and decided to remove Coghlan, who was replaced by left fielder Jeremy Hermida. Girardi said the umpires “had never seen” such a situation before.
“We have to clear up what the ruling is,” said Girardi, who believes he has strong grounds to win his protest. “If a guy runs out there (who) is not in the game, that’s not in the rule book.”
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez took the blame. “From my standpoint, I screwed up. ... We didn’t see Coghlan go out there,” said Gonzalez, though he believes the umpires got it right.
Nunez pitched a perfect eighth, and Lindstrom wobbled in the ninth.
“You have to be aggressive with him,” Jeter said of Lindstrom, who retired the first two batters before Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera singled in the ninth.
If the protest is upheld, the Yankees would have to return to Florida, batting in the eighth, and trailing 6-3.
Hanley Ramirez’s two-run homer in the fifth, and Cody Ross’ solo shot in the sixth — both off Brett Tomko — gave Florida a 4-3 lead. Jorge Cantu’s RBI single to left off Dave Robertson, coupled with Cabrera’s throwing error, made it 6-3 in the seventh.
In his return to the lineup after two days of rest, Alex Rodriguez (1-for-4) delivered a two-run single to snap an 0-for-16 stretch and gave the Yanks a 3-1 lead off starter Chris Volstad in the third.
A-Rod’s fatigue seemed behind him, but the concern already had been switched to Sabathia.
Sabathia felt some stiffness warming up, but told Girardi he could pitch through it. However, “my velocity was down and everything was up,” said Sabathia, who was removed after Brett Carroll’s one-out double in the second.
“It wasn’t a sharp pain or anything like that,” said Sabathia, who plans to play catch Tuesday and throw his normal bullpen session Wednesday, prior to his Friday night start against the Mets.