|
 Then he remembered the memo that Major League Baseball sent that
gave teams and new umpires new guidelines on what catchers can do
under the new rule to avoid collisions.
When the play was upheld following an 89-second replay review in the
bottom of the fifth inning, that eventually turned out to be the
difference for the Tampa Bay Rays in a 4-3 victory over the New York
Yankees Tuesday night.
"I was thinking in that moment that that run had scored," Archer
said. "After that inning, I remembered that they changed the rule.
So I was pretty relieved and extremely happy that Joyce made a solid
throw and we got out of that with one or two runs."
The Yankees had scored twice in the inning and Drew was on second
when center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury singled to left field. Drew was
sent home by third base coach Rob Thomson and Joyce made a strong
throw to Hanigan.
"When I saw the replay, I was a little concerned because I don't
know the exact rule about blocking home plate," Joyce said. "I know
the catcher has to be able to catch the ball and have a right to the
ball but he was kind of in the way of the plate. I didn't really
know how the ruling was going to go and how it plays out really but
I was a little worried."
Said Drew: "There's nowhere to go. The only other alternative was
just old-school way, knock him out."
Hanigan did not provide a lane and the throw arrived way before Drew
did. After the tag was applied, Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked
for a video review even though he knew he was not going to win the
challenge.
"It's not perfect and I know in the spirit of the rule, they've
accomplished what they wanted to accomplish," Girardi. "When you're
playing for spots, I've got to tell my guy to run him over."
"Joe had every reason to go out there and ask for that to be
reviewed," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Conversely if that
play is overruled, it's a travesty for me. That play is such a
routine baseball play."
Crew chief Larry Vanover said that umpires did not get the memo but
had a conference call about the rule. He also said that he did not
see anything out of the ordinary on the play.
"The old obstruction rule is the same last year as it is today,"
Vanover said. "If you're not in the act of fielding the ball, you
can't block the runner's base path. That applies everywhere on the
field. That hasn't changed from last year to this year. That's still
there. They've just taken variations of the rules and tweaked it to
try and protect the players."
Archer (9-8) eventually escaped the jam by getting shortstop Derek
Jeter to line into a double play and his night ended after right
fielder Ichiro Suzuki's infield single deflected off his leg. After
Archer allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, three
relievers finished up Tampa Bay's ninth win in its last 10 trips to
New York.
Grant Balfour allowed Suzuki to steal second in the seventh but the
inning ended when he was doubled off second on Drew's sinking liner.
That was because Suzuki was attempting to steal third and was
halfway there when right fielder Wil Myers' throw reached second
base.
[to top of second column] |
Brad Boxberger struck out two in the eighth and Jake McGee had
some close calls in the ninth. McGee retired catcher Brian McCann on
a warning track fly ball for the first out, gave up a fly ball to
designated hitter Carlos Beltran that hooked a few feet foul in the
left-field seats and then ended his 17th save in 19 opportunities
with a weak grounder by first baseman Mark Teixeira.
The upheld play at the plate and Archer's bounce back from two
terrible outings sent the Yankees to their sixth loss in nine games
and dropped them to 5 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the
American League's second wild-card spot.
"Archer's been tough on us," Girardi said. "They're fighting,
they're doing everything they can."
Before the play at the plate, the Rays took a 4-0 lead against New
York starter Hiroki Kuroda (10-9), who allowed four runs and nine
hits in a season-low 3 1/3 innings.
First baseman James Loney's ninth home run, a long shot into the
second deck in right field made it 1-0 on the first pitch of the
second. Tampa Bay added two in the third on singles by third baseman
Evan Longoria and Loney and made it 4-0 with a one-out single in the
fourth by second baseman Ben Zobrist that ended Kuroda's night.
Leading up to that decisive play at the plate, Ellsbury opened the
fourth with his 15th home run after Archer retired the first nine
hitters on 29 pitches. The Yankees made it a one-run game on a
two-run single by left fielder Chris Young that scored Suzuki and
third baseman Chase Headley.
NOTES: New York was without LF Brett Gardner (abdominal strain) and
INF/OF Martin Prado (hamstring). ... New York RHP Masahiro Tanaka
(right elbow inflammation) threw 45 pitches in his second simulated
game. The Yankees said he next would throw a bullpen session, and
then he could appear in a third simulated game or in an
instructional league game. ... Tampa Bay LHP Drew Smyly has worked
153 innings this season and is approaching his innings limit. After
the game, the Rays announced they will shut him down for the season.
... Rays LHP Matt Moore, who had Tommy John surgery in April, made
25 throws at 45 feet in his first post-surgery throwing session
Monday at Tropicana Field.
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