Yankees make noise amid Stadium silence
Maybe the Yankees should play without a sound system more often.
They scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning of Thursday’s 13-5 win over the Orioles in virtual silence because of a technical issue with the audio system at Yankee Stadium.
The glitch, which delayed the start of the game by about five minutes, also stopped the Yankees from playing the national anthem.
“It was weird,” Joe Girardi said. “When you don’t have that noise in the ballpark, it’s kind of eery.”
The issue was resolved with one out in the bottom of the first, after Todd Frazier’s three-run home run gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead against Wade Miley.
Through that at-bat, there were no player introductions, walk-up music or advertisements on the outfield scoreboard. The rally ended as soon as the sound was restored.
“After we got the six runs, I wanted to tell them, ‘Don’t play anything,’ ” Aaron Judge said. “It was a little funky to begin with, but once you step on the field, it’s still baseball.”
Gary Sanchez hit his 31st homer of the season and the Yankees official Twitter account mocked Tampa Bay’s Logan Morrison by posting “Gary Sanchez isn’t a home run hitter” with a clip of Yankees players laughing and putting their thumbs down.
The Rays’ Twitter account answered with: “Imagine having the ability to reach 2.7 million people and using it to be this petty.”
Morrison criticized MLB for including Sanchez in the Home Run Derby this season.
Greg Bird didn’t start, but he pinch hit in the seventh. It was his first at-bat since he was scratched with back tightness prior to Monday’s game. He flied out to right field and said he felt fine.
Brett Gardner was held out of the lineup against Miley, a lefty and Jacoby Ellsbury was back in the leadoff spot for the first time in nearly a month. Ellsbury hadn’t been at the top of the lineup against a lefty since July 17, when the Twins’ Adalberto Mejia was on the mound.
Adam Warren knows time is running out for him to get back in time for the postseason and he is encouraged by the improvement he’s felt in his lower back in the last few days.