Higashioka Blasts 3 Homers, Cole In Postseason Form As Yankees Slam Blue Jays Again — CBS New York

The Yankees hit a season-best seven homers in another Bronx air show, thumping the Toronto Blue Jays 13-2 on Wednesday night.
Higashioka Blasts 3 Homers, Cole In Postseason Form As Yankees Slam Blue Jays Again — CBS New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Kyle Higashioka hit a career-high three home runs, DJ LeMahieu connected twice and the resurgent New York Yankees hit a season-best seven homers in another Bronx air show, thumping the Toronto Blue Jays 13-2 on Wednesday night.

Luke Voit lofted a three-run drive for his major league-leading 19th homer and Clint Frazier added a solo shot as the Yankees won their seventh straight game following a 5-15 slide. New York moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Toronto for second place in the AL East, with the top two teams ensured spots in the expanded postseason that begins in less than two weeks.

Higashi-omg 😱 pic.twitter.com/wKpNuQTQ7u
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 17, 2020

LeMahieu, Voit and Frazier also connected Tuesday — Voit homered twice — when New York hit six home runs and pummeled Toronto 20-6. It’s the first time the Yankees have hit six homers in consecutive games.

Gerrit Cole (6-3) had another overpowering start for New York, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth. The right-hander completed seven innings of three-hit ball, striking out eight and walking two. He also took a no-hitter into the fifth in his previous start — a seven-inning, two-hit shutout against Baltimore in the opener of a doubleheader Friday.

Aaron Judge was activated from the injured list but wasn’t much help, going hitless with three strikeouts. The two-time All-Star had been out since Aug. 26 after re-aggravating a strained right calf.

Higashioka had never topped three homers in a season but has four in the past six days while emerging as Cole’s preferred batterymate. The last New York player with three homers in a game was teammate Gary Sánchez on April 7, 2019 at Baltimore.

The 30-year-old Higashioka hit a two-run homer in the third off Tanner Roark (2-2), a solo shot in the sixth against Jacob Waguespack and another two-run drive in the seventh off Hector Perez. He matched a career high with five RBIs.

One of the organization’s longest-tenured players after being drafted in 2008, Higashioka didn’t make the majors until 2017 and was routinely shuttled between Triple-A and the majors prior to this season. He started the year as Sánchez’s full-time backup and has been getting more playing time as Sánchez struggles. Higashioka is batting .250 in 12 games this season.

New York is the first team in major league history to have their Nos. 1 and 9 hitters connect at least twice in the same game, according to STATS.

Judge’s return gives manager Aaron Boone a full stable of position players after injuries to Judge, LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela nearly derailed New York’s season.

LeMahieu got the fully loaded Bronx Bombers going with his major league-leading fifth leadoff homer, a liner that narrowly cleared Yankee Stadium’s short right field fence. He also had for a two-run shot in the fourth, his ninth of the season. LeMahieu has five career multihomer games, including two this month.

Jonathan Villar ended Cole’s no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the sixth. Villar later scored on Cole’s wild pitch.

Jonathan Loaisiga relieved Cole and pitched a scoreless eighth in his first appearance since recovering from an undisclosed illness. Nick Nelson allowed Joe Panik’s solo homer in the ninth before finishing off the five-hitter.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: OF Teoscar Hernández (left oblique) was activated from the IL. … RHP Ken Giles was placed on the 10-day IL with a right flexor strain. … RHPs Perez and Waguespack were called up from the alternate site. Perez made his major league debut. … OF Derek Fisher was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee bruise. … LHP Anthony Kay was optioned and added to the taxi squad.

Yankees: LHP James Paxton (left flexor tendon strain) was transferred to the 45-day injured list, ending his season. … Torres (quad) was held out of the lineup for a second straight game with tightness that Boone said was minor. Boone said Torres was available as a late-game replacement and is expected to start Thursday. … Stanton (left hamstring) was held out a day after returning from the injured list as part of New York’s plan to ease him back into full-time duty. Boone expects Stanton to start Thursday.

UP NEXT

Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka (2-2, 3.16 ERA) closes out the series against Toronto, which hadn’t announced a starter.

A’s Melvin happy to escape smoky Seattle: “You felt it, for sure” — Times-Standard

A’s manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday some of his players were feeling some minor effects of playing a doubleheader in worsening air quality the day before in Seattle, but nothing that would prevent them from playing that night against the Colorado Rockies. The A’s played the Mariners twice Monday as a thick haze inside the…
A’s Melvin happy to escape smoky Seattle: “You felt it, for sure” — Times-Standard

World Series at Arlington, first time at one site since 1944 — MLB | NBC Sports

Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed to play the entirety of the 2020 World Series at the Rangers’ new ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
World Series at Arlington, first time at one site since 1944 — MLB | NBC Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The World Series will be played entirely at the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark in Arlington, Texas, as part of a bubble agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association, the first time the sport’s championship will be played entirely at one site since 1944.

As part of an agreement finalized Tuesday, the Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series will be part of a bubble designed to minimize exposure to the coronavirus, which decimated the regular season and limited it to a 60-game schedule for each club. The best-of-three first round of the postseason — expanded from 10 to 16 teams this year — will be at the top-seeded teams.

The World Series will be at Globe Life Park in Arlington, a retractable roof stadium with artificial turf that opened this year adjacent to the Rangers’ old ballpark. The American League Championship Series will be at San Diego’s Petco Park, and the National League at Globe Life Park.

The AL Division Series will be at San Diego and Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium, and the NL Division Series at Globe Life and Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

Texas is last in the AL West at 17-30 entering Tuesday, with little chance of advancing to the postseason.

“In the view of our infectious disease experts, the biggest risk of exposure for players and staff is contact with family members and friends who have been exposed to COVID-19 in their communities,” Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem wrote in a memo sent to teams Monday night. “Nearly all of the positive test results that have been reported for players and staff in the last month can be traced back to contact with an infected family member, domestic partner, or friend outside of club facilities.”

Halem said MLB and the players’ association were in the process of finalizing details of the agreement, which provides for players to be tested daily during the postseason.

While the NFL plays the Super Bowl at a neutral site selected in advanced, baseball has resisted the idea, which has been long advocated by prominent agent Scott Boras.

The World Series was last played at one site in 1944 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, where the Cardinals beat the Browns 4 games to 2. New York’s Polo Grounds hosted all the games in 1921 and 1922, the last two seasons it was the home of both the New York Giants and Yankees. The Giants won both titles.

AL teams in mathematical contention are to start a transition period on Sept. 22 and NL teams the following day in which up to 28 active roster players, 12 taxi-squad players and 50 additional personnel ranging from bullpen catchers to front-office staff must remain at the team’s transitional hotel or travel with the team on the road.

Under an exception wanted by the players’ association, any player who either lives him himself, lives with a spouse or domestic partner who is pregnant or has special medical needs documented by a physician or is living with children may quarantine at home during the transition period, with a provision that MLB will not approve a large number of requests to quarantine at home.

Only spouses, domestic partners, children and child care providers can stay with players during the transition period, and people other than players may not bring family to the transition hotel or on the road. Family members will not be allowed into the bubble hotels at the four sites unless they complete a supervised seven-day quarantine.

A player also may have up to six family members and quests stay at separate family hotels at the four sites. MLB said it will use best efforts to arrange visits in supervised, outdoor places.

Blue Jays thriving and up for the challenge of meaningful September baseball — Toronto Sun

Rob Longley Publishing date:Sep 14, 2020 •

BUFFALO — How does it feel to be a Blue Jays fan and an avid daily observer of the Major League Baseball standings? Read More
Blue Jays thriving and up for the challenge of meaningful September baseball — Toronto Sun

BUFFALO — How does it feel to be a Blue Jays fan and an avid daily observer of the Major League Baseball standings?

It has been a while, but it’s a thing.

Blue Jays thriving and up for the challenge of meaningful September baseball

With their final off-day of the 60-game season spent here in Buffalo on Monday and then on an afternoon flight to New York for a three-game series against the Yankees beginning on Tuesday, the excitement of September baseball is catching on.

You can hear it in manager Charlie Montoyo’s voice, even though he quite wisely is focusing on the immediate daily challenges rather than getting distracted by the long view. And it definitely has become a topic of conversation in the clubhouse among a group that boldly talked of big expectations of itself from the start.https://www.youtube.com/embed/nACk_BuDUnA?embed_config={%27relatedChannels%27:%20[],%27autonav%27:true}&autoplay=0&playsinline=1

“We have (14) games to play and if we can win as many games as possible, it puts us in a better spot,” utility infielder Joe Panik said on a Zoom call this past weekend. “I’m not saying we want to be a specific seed, but we want to be in front of as many teams as possible to set ourselves up for the best matchup possible.

“The goal is to make the playoffs, but if we can have some sort of momentum going into the playoffs, that’s where we want to be.”

The Jays are being careful not to get too far ahead of themselves, which is always wise. There is enough business to take care of over the final two weeks and the post-season permutations are likely to fluctuate daily. First up there are 10 consecutive games against teams in playoff spots, beginning with three in the Bronx.

The pending series against the Yankees figures to be a stouter challenge than the one last week at Sahlen Field in which the Jays took two of three. The Yankees have reeled off five wins in a row and have starters Delvi Garcia (who stymied the Jays last week), ace Gerrit Cole (who returned to form with a seven-inning shutout of the Orioles on Friday) and another tough test with Masahiro Tanaka getting the ball on Thursday.

The Jays will counter with Taijuan Walker followed by Tanner Roark and a starter to be named later for the third game.

The two teams will enter the series with the Jays holding a narrow half-game lead for second in the division and with it the No. 5 seed among the eight available in the AL. As it stands, that spot gets you a first-round series against Josh Donaldson and the Minnesota Twins.

The best-of-three opening round will have a crapshoot element to it and not much is to be gained about obsessing over the opponent, but from a fan and player perspective, it is in some ways irresistible.

“We’re not looking behind us, we’re not looking in front of us,” Panik said. “We’re looking to win every day and if we take care of business every day, we will be where we want to be. If we could set us up for the best possible matchup for the wild-card round, that would be ideal.”

Speaking of business, there is enough on the agenda as the Jays look to not only secure a spot (and with a 5.5 game margin over those outside of the top eight prior to Monday’s action) the odds are certainly piled high in their favour.https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMTn0g6a48o?embed_config={%27relatedChannels%27:%20[],%27autonav%27:true}&autoplay=0&playsinline=1

Over the coming days, Montoyo and pitching coach Pete Walker will devise a plan to maximize their pitching options, tailoring it to suit a best-of-three wild-card round series. Assuming he continues the form he showed in Sunday’s six-inning, seven strikeout, one-run allowed outing, Hyun-Jin Ryu will carry his ace status into either the first or second game.

Walker would be expected to get whichever of those assignments Ryu does not, but the remainder is up in the air. All season, the Jays coaching staff has been creative with starting assignments and bullpen days and with pitchers returning from injury, there will be options.

And yes, there is also the business of those on the mend. Teoscar Hernandez, who still leads the Jays in RBI despite missing the past seven games with a mild oblique strain, is progressing nicely. Hernandez hit off a tee and ran in the outfield on Saturday and on Sunday had a limited batting practice session, an extremely encouraging development.

The Jays won’t rush Hernandez back, but if he can see action during the final week of the season, it could be a massive addition to the team’s attack over the final weekend and into the opening round.

Pitching wise, closer Ken Giles has already been activated after missing 40 games. The right-hander acknowledged it’s going to take a number of outings to reach shut-down form but felt confident that the final two weeks of the season will be enough to do so.

Matt Shoemaker and Nate Pearson are both nearing a return and likely to fill bullpen roles in some form. But as they have done throughout his challenging of seasons expect Montoyo and Walker to be creative in their approach in their plan to get 27 outs a night.

Barring an epic collapse over the remaining 14 contests, in two weeks the Blue Jays will be in the playoffs with meaningful September baseball potentially transitioning into October.

“Once we start winning, it feels like we can win on any night,” Ryu said on Sunday through interpreter Bryan Lee. “Getting confidence least to good results well. It’s a great cycle to be in so we’re definitely in a good spot right now.”

Report: Former Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval finds a new home with contender — Times-Standard

When the Giants made the challenging decision to cut Pablo Sandoval last week, they moved on from one of the greatest postseason performers in franchise history. The Giants still have a chance to play in October, and it’s possible Sandoval does too. The switch-hitting corner infielder and former Giants fan favorite has reportedly agreed to a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves…
Report: Former Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval finds a new home with contender — Times-Standard

Albert Pujols equals Willie Mays on all-time HR list, helps Angels to victory — Press Telegram

Not long after Albert Pujols belted his 659th homer, to pull within one homer of Willie Mays, the Angels were playing the San Francisco Giants, and Pujols got a text from the Giants’ great. “This is your time now, so go get it,” Pujols said Mays wrote. “I wish that it would have happened against…
Albert Pujols equals Willie Mays on all-time HR list, helps Angels to victory — Press Telegram

A’s say Matt Chapman is done for season — Times-Standard

CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device The Oakland A’s will be without one of their best players for the rest of the season. Platinum Glove third baseman Matt Chapman will undergo surgery on his right hip Monday that will sideline him for the rest of a…
A’s say Matt Chapman is done for season — Times-Standard

DeGrom, In NYPD Hat, Backed By 10-Run 4th, Mets Rout Jays — CBS New York

Dominic Smith hit his first career grand slam and Wilson Ramos had a three-run double in a 10-run fourth inning.
DeGrom, In NYPD Hat, Backed By 10-Run 4th, Mets Rout Jays — CBS New York

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jacob deGrom, wearing an NYPD cap in honor of first responders on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, pitched six strong innings and the New York Mets backed him in a big way, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 18-1 Friday night.

In addition to the police department, caps for the fire department, Port Authority police, Department of Sanitation and Office of Emergency Management were worn by the Mets.

“Everybody remembers that day and exactly where they were, how much that stopped the world and witnessed how many great men rose to that occasion,” Mets manager Luis Rojas, who wore an FDNY hat, said before the game. “It’s special for me that to be wearing this. For the people who were directly involved that day. I’m proud and honored just to be representing.”

DeGrom (4-1) struck out nine and held the Blue Jays to three hits, two walks and a first-inning run, his 13th straight start allowing no more than two earned runs, the most by a Mets pitcher since Johan Santana in 2008-09.

The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.67 on a night where the gametime temperature was 61 degrees and fell to the mid-50s by the end.

“Run support is always a plus,” said deGrom, who hasn’t always gotten a lot of offensive backing. “I wanted them to score as many runs as they could. I did the best I did to stay loose in the dugout. I knew it was cool, so I continued to move around. But there wasn’t a time where I thought, ‘OK this is enough.’”

Rojas was also glad to see deGrom working at his peak.

“This is the best version of Jake deGrom that I’ve seen,” Rojas said. “Stuff-wise, demeanor-wise, confidence-wise, he wants the ball and he’s pushing for this team to keep winning and get into playoff position. He’s in a good spot.”

BUFFALO, NY – SEPTEMBER 11: Dominic Smith #2 of the New York Mets runs the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field on September 11, 2020 in Buffalo, United States. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Dominic Smith hit his first career grand slam and Wilson Ramos had a three-run double in a 10-run fourth inning. Ramos hit a late solo homer.

“I was just trying to get the runner in from third,” Smith said. “I got a good swing on it and it left the ballpark.”

Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer as the Mets scored four times in the third.

Erasmo Ramírez worked the final three innings and was credited with his first save since 2017.

Chase Anderson (0-1) allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Former Mets prospect Anthony Kay was tagged four six runs while recording two outs as Toronto had its hold on second place in the AL East trimmed to a half-game over the Yankees, who swept their doubleheader against Baltimore.

“When they’re hard fought and tooth-and-nail, extra-inning games and you lose by a run, that might be a little bit tougher to swallow,” Anderson said. “This one kind of stings while it happens, but you get to kind of watch it, come back tomorrow and try to even the series up.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in the Toronto run on a sharp single that Conforto couldn’t wrangle against the right field wall.

Conforto, who along with Ramos scored four times, hit his ninth homer to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

Smith struck for his eighth homer to make it 11-1 and Ramos’ double gave the Mets their first 10-run inning since they scored 10 at Philadelphia in the fifth inning of a 24-4 win on Aug. 16, 2018. Ramos added a leadoff homer in the eighth off Toronto reliever Ken Giles, who was activated from the injured list before the game.

TAKE AND GIVE

Toronto, which put up a 10-run inning on Monday against the New York Yankees, became the third team in the expansion era to score and allow 10 or more runs in an inning in a four-game span, according to STATS. The other two occurred in August 2003, when St. Louis and Pittsburgh did it against each other in back-to-back games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder discomfort) threw a side session and is expected to be activated soon. … Rojas said RHP Dellin Betances (right lat tightness) was responding well to his workout progression.

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (right knee sprain) played in a seven-inning intrasquad game Friday at Toronto’s alternate training site and could be activated soon, according to GM Ross Atkins. “The next day depends on his recovery and how he’s feeling,” Atkins said. … OF Teoscar Hernández (strained oblique) did some rotational work and will soon resume baseball activities barring any setbacks.

UP NEXT

Mets RHP Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.05 ERA), who has a 1.54 ERA in his three starts this season with 20 strikeouts, will take the mound on Saturday in the middle-game of the three-game series against Blue Jays LHP Robbie Ray (1-4, 7.51), who was acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.

You can get the latest news, sports and weather on our brand new CBS New York app. Download here.

Two Giants-Padres games postponed after positive SF virus test — MLB | NBC Sports

The game between San Francisco and the San Diego Padres was postponed minutes before the scheduled first pitch Friday night after someone in the Giants organization tested positive for COVID-19.
Two Giants-Padres games postponed after positive SF virus test — MLB | NBC Sports

Two Giants-Padres games postponed after positive SF virus test

Associated Press Sep 12, 2020, 12:22 AM EDT

The game between San Francisco and the San Diego Padres was postponed minutes before the scheduled first pitch Friday night after someone in the Giants organization tested positive for COVID-19.

Saturday night’s game at Petco Park also was called off. The teams were scheduled to play through Sunday.

This was the first postponement due to COVID-19 for both teams. There have been 45 major league games postponed this season because of coronavirus concerns.

Both teams lined up for a moment of silence for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and then the national anthem. But the Padres didn’t take the field and the team announced the game had been postponed.

Players from both teams lingered in and around the dugouts well after Garrett Richards was scheduled to throw the first pitch.

About a half-hour after the game was to have started, the Padres announced the reason for the postponement. A few minutes after that, the Padres filed into the stands for a team meeting.

Giants make a surprising free agent signing, add veteran slugger Justin Smoak on minor league deal — Times-Standard

After winning 14 of their last 19 games, the Giants have climbed above .500 and are increasingly considered a legitimate threat to sneak into the postseason. With the club in the midst of a playoff push, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made a surprising addition to the team’s player pool on Wednesday by signing…Justin Smoak
Giants make a surprising free agent signing, add veteran slugger on minor league deal — Times-Standard

Smoak will report to the team’s alternate site in Sacramento and isn’t yet a member of the 40-man roster, but he’ll need to be added to the club by Sept. 15 to become eligible to participate in the postseason.

Smoak began the season with the Milwaukee Brewers and hit .186 with five home runs in 113 at-bats before being released on Sunday. The switch-hitter posted above-average numbers in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with the Toronto Blue Jays, but struggled to provide the Brewers with any production this year and was ultimately let go after striking out in more than 30% of his plate appearances.

The timing of Smoak’s signing with the Giants is curious because it’s not immediately clear how he fits the team’s roster.

First baseman Brandon Belt has emerged as a down-ballot MVP candidate and is still in contention to win the batting title. When Belt isn’t in the lineup, infielders Wilmer Flores and Pablo Sandoval have also proven capable of playing at first base.

Smoak doesn’t have much positional versatility as he’s likely limited to first base and designated hitter at this point in his career, so it’s uncertain whether the Giants will end up adding him to the roster. It’s possible Zaidi pursued Smoak with the idea that he could provide some insurance in the event Belt, Flores or Sandoval is injured down the stretch.

The Giants have also had several other players including Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford miss games over the last week due to nagging injuries, so the front office may have viewed the opportunity to add a veteran on a low-risk deal as a move it couldn’t pass up.

Smoak was an All-Star in 2017 with the Blue Jays and is a close friend of former Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar, who won the 2019 Willie Mac Award and is currently trying to help the Rockies push past San Francisco in the postseason race.

Yankees’ Luke Voit lashes out after fifth-straight loss — Empire Sports Media

The New York Yankees lost 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday evening, with JA Happ on the mound. Lasting 6.1 innings and logging two earned runs, Happ actually had a fantastic outing. He racked up 10 strikeouts over 113 pitches, giving Michael King and Zack Britton a smooth ride the rest of the […]
Yankees’ Luke Voit lashes out after fifth-straight loss — Empire Sports Media

he New York Yankees lost 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday evening, with JA Happ on the mound. Lasting 6.1 innings and logging two earned runs, Happ actually had a fantastic outing. He racked up 10 strikeouts over 113 pitches, giving Michael King and Zack Britton a smooth ride the rest of the way. However, the offense couldn’t pick up the slack, despite a solid start from Happ.

Things are seemingly ripping apart at the seams, as the Yankees posted seven runs on Monday but followed it up with a one-run performance on Tuesday. They recorded five hits on the night, with youngster Miguel Andujar furthering his momentum as of late.

Andujar now hosts a .240 batting average, which is much better than it was just two weeks ago. Increased at-bats have given him more time and comfort at the plate, and it is proving to be beneficial. Leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu has struggled, and I believe he is still dealing with a thumb issue, but it’s simply playing through it.

Nonetheless, the Yankees have lost five straight, including two to the Toronto Blue Jays and three to the Baltimore Orioles. Slugger Luke Voit was angry after the game, and rightfully so.

Yankees’ Luke Voit was brutally honest about the state of the team:

“We’ve got to get back to what the New York Yankees are. I feel like teams aren’t even scared of us now. … We’ve been playing like crap.”“I almost feel like it’s embarrassing for us right now.

Voit is having a solid season, hitting .273 with 14 homers and 29 RBIs. He was the only Yankees to cross home plate and put them on the board on Tuesday, but it simply wasn’t enough. The Yankees are now .500 on the season at 21-21, and desperately need their star players in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back. Manager Aaron Boone stated that they might not gain the two sluggers until late in the regular season and possibly the postseason, which means the Yankees will have to find a way to win immediately without their help.

YANKEE BOO HOOS? Bronx Bombers gripe about lighting, tipped pitches after getting rocked by Blue Jays — Toronto Sun

BUFFALO — The vaunted but struggling New York Yankees came here for the first time on Monday night and didn’t like what they saw, apparently. Read More
YANKEE BOO HOOS? Bronx Bombers gripe about lighting, tipped pitches after getting rocked by Blue Jays — Toronto Sun

BUFFALO — The vaunted but struggling New York Yankees came here for the first time on Monday night and didn’t like what they saw, apparently.

From a 10-run sixth inning inflicted on them by the Blue Jays to what they hinted was a minor league experience at Sahlen Field, the 12-7 defeat in Buffalo didn’t sit well with the visitors.

YANKEE BOO HOOS? Bronx Bombers gripe about lighting, tipped pitches after getting rocked by Blue Jays

The Bronx Bombers didn’t like the temporary lighting — which certainly isn’t up to Yankee Stadium standards and those of other parks around Major League Baseball — and they openly questioned whether Jays hitters had an idea about what pitchers were coming as they batted around in an explosive sixth.

“A lot of it had to do with he had a tough time seeing the signs,” Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka said on a Zoom call, when asked following the game about his pitchers’ struggles. “It’s pretty dark there. Once it really got dark, yeah.

“I had the stickers on my fingers but it still seemed like it didn’t help much.”

In a stadium where lighting is an issue, catchers often wear bright stickers on their fingers to help the pitchers see the signs, something Jays backstop Danny Jansen has been employing most of the season.https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMTn0g6a48o?embed_config={%27relatedChannels%27:%20[],%27autonav%27:true}&autoplay=0&playsinline=1

“I know, (pitcher Jonathan) Holder when he came in was having a hard time seeing the signs, lighting wise,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Then there was the issue of the lengthy, savvy Jays at bats, which had more than one Yankee wondering what was up.

“Um, I mean, I’m not sure,” Higashioka said. “I guess I’ll have to take a look to see if they were maybe tipping, or something. We were a little erratic that inning.”

Blue Jays put up 10-run inning to put Bronx Bombers in their place Blue Jays aren’t expecting quick return from oblique injury for Teoscar Hernandez

Ottavito, the biggest victim of the Jays’ 10-run sixth, the most runs they scored in an inning since 2010, acknowledged it didn’t make sense to him.

“It’s just bizarre,” Ottavito said. “Myself and (fellow reliever Chad Green) didn’t get any swing and misses that whole inning and we’re both well above average swing and miss pitchers.

“Not getting swing and misses, it’s either and indication that my stuff wasn’t good, my location wasn’t good or that they had something on me. They either had a great approach or they knew what was coming, any of that.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/q4lJqB7Ogo8?embed_config={%27relatedChannels%27:%20[],%27autonav%27:true}&autoplay=0&playsinline=1

Originally, several Jays players griped about having to play in Buffalo, where the home of the triple-A Bisons is decidedly minor league. But the team spent some serious coin on upgrades, the players feel mostly comfortable, and the Jays have certainly forged a noticeable home-field advantage in Buffalo.

They are now 9-5 at Sahlen Field, where their 6.1 runs per game average at home leads the major leagues.

The lighting, meanwhile, was always going to be a potential issue, even though the team upgraded the existing system prior to their home opener. It’s still darker than most major league stadiums, but few will feel sorry for the Yankees, as a witty Tweet from Jays pitching prospect Adam Kloffenstein suggests.

Reports are saying the lighting was at its worst in the 6th inning https://t.co/GqpkmUpA3q— Adam Kloffenstein (@KingKloff) September 8, 2020

“Reports are saying the lighting was at its worst in the sixth inning,” Kloffenstein (@KingKloff) tweeted.

Ouch.

rlongley@postmedia.com

Category: MLB