Drew Pomeranz survived fingernail, but not Giancarlo Stanton

NEW YORK -- It appeared at first to be yet another bump in the road for Drew Pomeranz.

In the second inning, the Red Sox starter seemed in jeopardy of succumbing to a torn fingernail on his pitching hand. Considering his reliance on the finger when throwing what is a spiked curveball, the prospects of Pomeranz finding a way to continue seemed bleak.

Looks like Pomeranz has a bloodied/cracked fingernail on the index finger of his left hand. He's staying in but we'll see how this effects him. pic.twitter.com/ujJ55Zo7ic

Pomeranz, however, figured it out, reporting after the Red Sox' 3-2 loss to the Yankees that his trusted curveball actually improved following the injury.

"My fingernail, the way I throw the curveball I kind of use the top part of my finger and my fingernail split down the middle and it was like a little sliver that was pulling on the skin so when I threw my curveball it kept bleeding," he explained. "I had to cut it off but I couldn't pull all of it off because it was still pulling on the skin. I thought I wasn't going to be able to throw my curveball. I didn't throw it for a few pitches and then I finally started throwing it again because I have to throw my curveball. I cannot not throw it in this game, so I just dealt with it."

What Pomeranz was left with was his best outing of the season, limiting the Yankees to just two runs over six innings. The outing dropped the lefty's ERA from 6.14 to 5.23.

Unfortunately for the Sox starter, there were two pitches he desperately needed back, both coming to Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton took Pomeranz deep for a pair of solo home runs, the first one come on an 111 mph line-drive into the left field stands, with No. 2 going into the right field bleachers.

"I think the first at-bat I got a little predictable," the pitcher said. "He just sat on a pitch up in the zone, a fastball. And then the next time I missed I missed up and away and he went the other way with it. I made a couple of bad pitches."

That ball was in quite the hurry. pic.twitter.com/UFlRm9OdY5