Kuroda Gives Yankees a Pair of Aces Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times Hiroki Kuroda left after seven innings Tuesday with a 1-0 lead over Matt Harvey and the Mets, but the Yankees went on to lose. C. C. Sabathia's command performance Friday night lent assurance to the notion that he was still the Yankees" ace and could be depended on to pitch well the rest of the season. But Sunday night's starting pitcher, Hiroki Kuroda, has been every bit as good, if not better, since the Yankees acquired him before the start of last season. Kuroda goes into Sunday's game against the Red Sox with a 6-3 record and a 2.39 earned run average. Since joining the team, Kuroda is 22-14 with a 3.10 E.R.A. in 44 starts. During the same period, Sabathia is 20-10 with a 3.47 E.R.A. in 40 starts. Kuroda has never been seen as an ace while in the United States. But every time he take the mound, his competitive nature, guile and talent are plain to see. "The two years that we've had him, he's been very consistent, and when he pitches you are always going to have a chance to win," Manager Joe Girardi said. You look at his last start, it was him and Harvey, and he pitched great. Against the Mets and Matt Harvey last week, Kuroda allowed no runs in seven innings and left with a 1-0 lead. But the Mets won the game in the ninth when Mariano Rivera had his first blown save of the season. Kuroda, 38, is one of the few pitchers to improve after moving to the American League. He was 41-46 with a 3.45 E.R.A. in four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 2-2 with a 3.74 E.R.A. in his career against the Red Sox. With Andy Pettitte due to come off the disabled list to pitch Monday, the Yankees will have to make a difficult decision regarding their roster. Pettitte's return will very likely be at the expense of a position player, since the Yankees have 12 pitchers and usually prefer to go with 11. But there is no obvious choice for demotion. If they send outfielder Brennan Boesch to the minors, they will have only three outfielders. Another option could be third baseman David Adams. But the Yankees would like to find a way to keep him on the roster because they value his bat from the right side. Lyle Overbay is a left-handed first baseman who just lost his starting job because of the return of Mark Teixeira. But if the Yankees take him off the roster, they will have to release him and will almost certainly lose him to another team. Overbay plays only first base, while Kevin Youkilis can play first or third. Still, Overbay provides insurance if Teixeira reinjures his wrist. Girardi has given few hints other than to say it would be almost unthinkable not to have two shortstops, suggesting that Jayson Nix and Reid Brignac are safe. "Let me explain this to you real simple," Girardi said. I would never tell you the move we're going to make before we do it just because, A, there's feelings in that clubhouse, and B, you don't want a guy ever to think that he's going to be the guy that's going down and is just kind of a lame duck. So I would never give you any idea of what we're going to do, because my job is to get the most out of the guys in the room, and they are all very important to us. And the other thing is, something could happen before then. It's Saturday and we haven't even played yet. So to me, giving a move before you're going to make it doesn't make any sense. When Teixeira and Youkilis returned from the disabled list Friday, Ivan Nova and Vidal Nuno were optioned to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. A FAN FOR A CENTURY The Yankees had a special visitor during batting practice Saturday. Bernando LaPallo, who said he would be 112 years old on Aug. 12, recalled watching the Yankees play at Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan, the Yankees" first stadium in the early 20th century. The Yankees, originally known as the Highlanders, played there from 1903 until 1912, and the next year they moved into the Polo Grounds, according to the team's media guide. Asked what he remembered about Hilltop Park, LaPallo looked around at their current home and said, "It was nothing like this." LaPallo, who walked on the field with a cane before the game, spoke to Derek Jeter. LaPallo said he met Babe Ruth when Ruth was pitching for the Red Sox.