He Yankees They’re struggling at the plate and on the mound right now, so they didn’t need a bad call from the umpire in their latest loss Thursday night.
In the eighth inning of the New York game 5-4 loss to the Rays, Jose Trevino He was called to bat from the bench with runners on first and second and one out. Trevino worked a 3-0 count before the left-hander Colin Pache He threw a 91 mph fastball that was visibly above the strike zone. The Yankees catcher prepared to take his base, but the home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso called a strike.
Pache would work the full count and throw another 91 mph fastball, this time below the strike zone. Again, Moscoso called a strike. Instead of the Yankees having the bases loaded with one out, a crucial second out was achieved.
The Yankees did not score any runs in that inning.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone He was asked what he liked about pinch-hitting Trevino in that spot.
The veteran Yankees captain joked: “I liked the fifth ball that Trevi ended up taking and that ended up being strike three.”
Later that same inning, during a Rays pitching change, the Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake He was ejected for arguing with Moscoso. Boone was asked if it was “inevitable” that he or someone else would be ejected.
“It was a big decision at the time. I think Trevy had a good at-bat, he was very patient. It was unfortunate,” Boone said. “I don’t know if it was inevitable or not.”
Treviño spoke after the loss and was very brief when asked about the at-bat.
“It’s frustrating, but I probably should have made the pitch 3-1 or something,” he said.
The veteran catcher said he didn’t get a chance to see the 3-2 pitch that resulted in a strikeout, but he spoke about how his team is feeling during this difficult period.
“It’s been a little tough for us. We’ve got to move on. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” Trevino said. “If anything, people want to see this. We’re the Yankees. People don’t care. If we win, yeah, we should have won. If we lose, they’ll like it. We’ll go back to where we were and play through that resentment.”
With three games against the AL East-leading Orioles in Baltimore before the Yankees enter the All-Star break, New York has a chance to finish the series in first place again, despite its struggles.
Boone isn’t thinking about Baltimore’s problems of late and whether his team should feel lucky, but he wants the Yankees to play better.
“We’ve got to take care of our own house. We’ve got to get going in the right direction right now. That’s where the focus is right now,” Boone said. “We’re coming into the All-Star break, it’s about us playing well. We can’t worry too much about that stuff.”
The Orioles enter this weekend’s series on Friday with a two-game lead over the Yankees.