|
 So when they noticed that part of the field at Yankee Stadium had
not dried off sufficiently after more than an hour, they wanted to
see whether the game could resume and did not want to risk any more
injuries.
After a delay of one hour and 49 minutes, the game was called with
one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Yankees had a 2-1
win.
Brett Gardner hit a solo home run in the third inning off Yu Darvish
and David Phelps pitched a five-inning complete game for his fourth
straight victory.
The Yankees had announced that play was going to resume at 10:05,
but when Girardi and Washington began inspecting the field, they
stopped near first base and alerted the umpires that they felt the
field was not safe.
"We made a joke that you put the two teams together on the DL, you
could form a pretty good team," Girardi said. "And neither one of us
can really afford anyone else to go on the DL because of conditions
(on the field)."
Washington said, "It wasn't playable to us, so we tried to get the
grounds crew to find out what we could do to make it playable. The
only confusion is we didn't finish the game. The field wasn't
playable."
Twenty-two minutes after the announced restart time, the tarp was
put back on the field. A few minutes later, crew chief Dale Scott
and third base umpire Quinn Wolcott consulted with Major League
Baseball's offices in New York and then called the game.
"Both managers had a concern about (injuries)," Scott said. "Then
again, as we were dealing with that trying to make a decision on if
we could get that fixed ... the rain started coming again and we had
to tarp it again.
"So the field was just not playable. They did a heckuva job trying
to get it back and I praise them for that, but it just wasn't going
to happen. There was just too much water and too much of a downpour
before they could get that tarp on to overcome it."
The Yankees played their second rain-shortened game of the season,
but this time they had their 11th win in 17 games. This win came 10
days after a 3-1 loss in Baltimore that was called in the top of the
fifth after a delay of two hours and 22 minutes.
"That's kind of the same thing we had in Baltimore," Phelps said.
"They got the tarp on. Mother Nature is on our side."
The game was delayed with one out in the fifth and New York catcher
Francisco Cervelli on second following his second double of the
game. Right before Gardner stepped in for his third at-bat, a heavy
downpour accompanied the thunder and lightning that had started a
few minutes earlier.
After play stopped at 8:46, the grounds crew struggled to get the
tarp on the field. It took 13 minutes to cover the field and members
of the grounds crew needed assistance from some clubhouse
attendants, security guards and bat boys.
[to top of second column] |
"I've seen it happen," Girardi said. "I was at Wrigley where they
could only get half of it on and they never got it on. Sometimes
storms are more than what they thought. What we were told was it
would be rain and we might be able to play through it. All of sudden
it just downpoured. The grounds crew just physically couldn't get
the tarp on. It becomes too heavy. It's heavy by itself, but then
once you pile rain on, it's impossible."
Before the delay, the Yankees scored twice in the third against
Texas right-hander Darvish (9-6). They tied it when Darvish slightly
moved his shoulder after a 1-0 pitch to Gardner and was charged with
a balk. They took the lead when Gardner drove a 3-1 fastball into
the right-field seats for his 10th home run.
Phelps (5-4) allowed one run and five hits. He stranded left fielder
Leonys Martin on third after a one-out triple by retiring catcher
Chris Gimenez and striking out second baseman Rougned Odor, whose
double-play grounder in the third gave Texas a 1-0 lead.
"It's a big moment, especially (because) we were up 2-1 on Darvish,
who doesn't give up two runs that often," Phelps said. "It's one of
those times that you can't really (allow a walk)."
Darvish allowed two runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He told
Washington that he could have returned if the delay had lasted less
than two hours.
NOTES: The Yankees placed INF Kelly Johnson on the 15-day disabled
list with a Grade I left groin strain. Since that is less severe,
the Yankees do not expect Johnson to miss much time beyond the
minimum 15 days. ... RHP Chris Leroux was added to New York's roster
after its entire bullpen was used Tuesday. ... New York LHP CC
Sabathia underwent surgery on his left knee Wednesday, but the
Yankees did not have any updates. ... OF Alex Rios returned to the
Texas lineup after missing three games with a sprained right ankle.
He also denied a CBS report citing "an unnamed friend" that trade
rumors have negatively impacted his production.
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