Girardi accepts blame for missed challenge shot
After a crushing loss, Yankees manager Joe Girardi spent the night pondering his decision not to challenge a critical hit-by-pitch call during a game-changing sixth inning. His verdict? “I screwed up.” Girardi took the blame Saturday after his call not to challenge possibly shifted the complexion of New York’s 9-8, 13-inning defeat in Game 2 of an AL Division Series against Cleveland.
“I take responsibility for everything,” Girardi said during a day off. “And I feel horrible about it.”
New York trails 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Game 3 is tonight at Yankee Stadium.
With New York ahead 8-3 Friday, Cleveland’s Lonnie Chisenhall was awarded first by plate umpire Dan Iassogna on an inside pitch by reliever Chad Green.
Catcher Gary Sanchez immediately asked Girardi to challenge, and slow-motion replays showed that the ball hit the knob of Chisenhall’s bat. The question was whether it first grazed Chisenhall’s hand.
Plate umpires often rely on sound more than sight on such plays, making calls based on what they hear — as in, did a pitch nick the body, the bat or both? To get the ruling reversed, an umpire in the replay room would’ve needed definitive proof the ball completely missed Chisenhall’s hand. Sanchez caught the 0-2 pitch, which would have been an inning-ending third strike if ruled a foul tip.
Girardi relies on coaching assistant Brett Weber to scour replays before challenging. Weber didn’t see anything conclusive in the 30-second window allotted by Major League Baseball to request a review, and so Girardi disregarded Sanchez’s plea and didn’t challenge. But if he could do it over? “Yeah, I wish I would have challenged it,” he said.
A look at what’s happening all around the majors today:
BACK SO SOON? The news regarding Edwin Encarnacion’s ankle wasn’t as gruesome as the video appeared on Friday. Encarnacion appeared to badly turn his ankle in the first inning of Game 2. He walked off the field with the help of trainers and left the game. But Indians manager Terry Francona told reporters in New York on Saturday that Encarnacion’s
ankle was doing much better, and that he hadn’t yet been ruled out of tonight’s Game 3, at least as a pinch-hitter.
BROOMS IN BOSTON? Jose Altuve and the Astros are at Fenway Park, trying to finish off a sweep of the Red Sox in the AL Division Series. Houston won the first two games by identical 8-2 scores, powered by the top of its lineup. George Springer, Albuquerque Academy alumnus Alex Bregman, Altuve and Carlos Correa — the first four hitters — are a combined 12 of 32 (.375) with six home runs and 10 RBIs.
FLY, BALL, FLY: The Year of the Home Run (a record 6,105 in regular season) continues in postseason. The late-inning shots by Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper in Washington on Saturday boosted the total to 31 homers in the first nine playoff games.