19 innings force changes to roster
After the entire bullpen was exhausted during Friday night’s marathon, 19-inning loss, which ended at 2:13 a.m. Saturday, the Yankees called up lefthander Matt Tracy and optioned lefty Chasen Shreve to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Shreve threw 56 pitches in 3.1 innings Friday, allowing three hits while striking out four.
To make room for Tracy on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred RHP Ivan Nova (elbow) to the 60-day disabled list. Nova is recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected to be ready until midseason.
Tracy, 26, made his big-league debut in the eighth inning Saturday, allowing three unearned runs in two innings on two hits and two walks while getting one strikeout.
Splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A last season, Tracy went 9-8 with a 3.76 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 150.2 innings over 28 games, 26 of which were starts.
Justin Wilson and Chris Martin were the two relievers who had to pitch again after Friday’s grueling game. Making his third appearance, Wilson was charged with his first earned run in his two-thirds of an inning. Martin also gave up his first runs, allowing up a pair in his fourth game of the season.
meN of STeel
Chase Headley and Brett Gardner played all 19 innings of Friday night’s loss, and both players were back at third base and left field, respectively, for the start of Saturday’s game.
The third baseman was charged with a throwing error in the eighth on a play that was overturned after replay showed Alex Rodriguez’s foot came off the bag at first. After what would’ve been a one-two-three inning, the Red Sox scored three runs.
“I’m sure everybody is tired,” Headley said. “Whether it made us make errors or not, I don’t know. If it did, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to figure out a way to play cleaner.”
pITCHINg IN
Normally Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly would leave the ballpark around the fifth inning of a night game if he was set to pitch the next day in a day game, but he didn’t leave Friday night until the top of the 10th.
Kelly, who gave up one run on one hit and two walks in seven innings Saturday, watched the game on television until the 15th before finally falling asleep around 1 a.m. Immediately upon waking up, he opened an app on his phone to see the result.
“I saw we won in 19 innings and said, ‘Holy crud,’ ” said Kelly, who threw 93 pitches in his first start.
He felt a responsibility to make quick outs and pitch deep into the game. “It’s something that starters take pride in, trying to save the bullpen, especially after a game like that,” Kelly said.