Tribe’s Bauer hints at cheating by Astro hurlers
HOUSTON — Could Astros pitchers be doctoring baseballs with foreign substances to improve their spin rates? Trevor Bauer essentially insinuated as much on Twitter Tuesday, getting into a social media war with Houston players as a result.
“If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate,” Bauer tweeted. “Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight . . . imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed . . .”
Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton have all resurrected their careers in Houston. All three starters rank in the top 10 in MLB in ERA.
Morton struck out 10 Yankees in 7.2 innings and flirted with a no-hitter on Monday. Verlander followed by striking out a career-high tying 14 over eight shoutout frames on Tuesday.
Asked about Bauer’s accusation, Aaron Boone replied: “I don't know. I don’t get into Twitter wars anymore. I don’t read that much into it. Guys do stuff to try to help the grip but I don’t think in my view anything fishy is go
TYLER BACK
Tyler Austin returned to the lineup on Tuesday after sitting out his reduced four-game suspension for his role in the Boston brawl. Austin went 0-for-4 with a strikeout . ... Triple-A Scranton manager Bobby Mitchell said it was unrealistic to expect Brandon Drury (migraines, blurred vision) to return to the Yankees by Friday, according to NJ.com.
Clint Frazier played in his first game with Triple-A Scranton as he continues his rehab from a concussion. Aaron Boone said it will be a “tough call” with Frazier in the future given the team’s already crowded outfield situation.
Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Tuesday, as his April woes carried over to May. Stanton has struck out 46 times in 117 at-bats.