Sabathia hopes to pitch again in 2019 after knee issue sends him to IL

New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia was pulled from his Friday start against the Oakland Athletics following the third inning after a recurring right knee issue flared up.

Sabathia's knee will be drained and he'll receive an injection Saturday, according to SNY's Alex Smith. The southpaw hopes to pitch again this season but the club announced Saturday that he was placed on the 10-day injured list.

In a corresponding move, right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Sabathia told reporters that his pain level was at "a 10" during his final inning, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, but that didn't stop him from retiring Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson in order before being removed.

"Hopefully, I can just get enough rest where it will calm down and I'll be able to get out there and throw 90-100 pitches," Sabathia said, according to Feinsand.

"It's frustrating for sure, because I feel like I can still get outs and help the team. That's the hardest part is not being able to be out there, and then when I'm out there I'm not performing, so it's frustrating."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked if Sabathia, who was making his third start since coming off the IL, will pitch again this season.

"I don't want to speculate on that," he responded.

"I could tell early on tonight that he was struggling with it," the Yankees skipper added. "The warrior that he is, he pitches as effectively as he did. Even in that third inning, it felt apparent to me and when I told him after the inning, 'That's good,' he knew."

Sabathia has been on the IL a handful of times this season due to knee issues. He's made 19 starts in 2019 and plans to retire at the end of the campaign.