Two pressure points hit Saturday night at Tropicana Field. One will probably be forgotten. One probably will not.
When referee Vic-Carapazza, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, and coach Marcus Thames knocked out Game 2 of the seven-time doubleheader, it gave further attention to the tension surrounding the eventual 5-3 loss to the Yankees. the Rays, one incited by the Rays throw several times high and tight at Yankees bombers to continue the ill will between these two rivals of AL East.
An unusually quiet Boone declared that he got the fifth resident hook after protesting the Thames’ high-ho, which he felt was unfair.
When asked what Thames said to throw out, Boone replied, “Nothing. Nothing.” The Yankees manager said of Carapazza, “He interpreted what Marcus said.”
The gag from the Yankees’ dugout could be heard on television through the empty stands, and that anger arose from a trio of pitches thrown high and tight at Yankees players, two at DJ LeMahieu (separately at -bats) and one to Gio Urshela. The latter, led by Ray’s right-hander Andrew Kittredge to LeMahieu, immediately led the turbulence, as LeMahieu finished top of the fifth with a comebacker for a groundout.
“I think it was more just about history,” Aaron Judge explained. ‘If anyone goes again [Austin] Romine’s head a few years ago. You just do not forget things like that. Keep throwing and in, up and in, that’s hard.
‘We have a lot of big hitters out there. We know they will surrender, but miss that so far up and in that many times you will get a little bark from the dugout. It’s just the lineup we have. We have a lot of great power hitters who can ride the baseball, so a lot of teams will really try to back us off the plate. It’s what we know. It’s something they’ve been doing for years. They want to come in and put us back so they can open the outside of the plate. It’s just what we need to deal with, but I know our pitchers will protect us. ”
It was Kittredge, on September 27, 2018, at The Trop, who slammed Romine in the head. He has since joined the Tigers. The now retired CC Sabathia responded by drilling Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre and, after being exhibited, pointed to Kittredge in the Rays’ dugout and declared, “That’s for you, [expletive]! ”
Judge affirmed that Kittredge was the primary target of the Yankees’ hostility, saying, “If anyone throws one at your head, don’t forget that.”
However, these teams do not like each other. Last year, benches exploded during a game at Yankee Stadium when Sabathia and Avisail Garcia yelled at each other.
Sunday’s final presents one last chance, for now, for anger, misinterpretations, knockdowns and anything else these two rivals can produce, the lack of fans that does not lead to an absence of intensity.
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