Yankees’ Urshela gets walk after three balls
Gio Urshela of the New York Yankees was the beneficiary of a mix-up over the count Friday night, drawing a walk after only three balls.
Urshela came to the plate in the sixth inning against Detroit. After he fouled off several 2-2 pitches, the next offering from Kyle Funkhouser was way outside and went to the backstop. Urshela tossed his bat aside and headed to first. Nobody from the Tigers appeared to argue.
The Yankees did not end up scoring in the inning. Vic Carapazza was the plate umpire.
“It was a missed count,” crew chief Jerry Meals said after the game. “He went to first on three balls.”
Meals, who was umpiring second base, said the play could have been reviewed if umpires had any idea there was a problem, but nobody brought it up at the time. SIXTEEN TEAMS REACH VACINNATION THRESHOLD>> A majority of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams have been able to relax coronavirus protocols after two additional clubs qualified and raised the total to 16 franchises reaching 85% vaccinations for players and other on-field personnel. The pace of vaccinations has slowed markedly, however,
The commissioner’s office and the players’ association said that three additional teams had reached the 85% level of having received final doses and would be able to relax protocols within the next two weeks once they are fully vaccinated. The teams were not identified.
ALSO >> The New York Yankees reinstated Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list. Stanton had been out because of a strained left quadriceps . ... Cleveland Indians outfielder Jordan Luplow was placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle . ... St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas faces another lengthy layoff following an injury to his right forearm, though the team is hopeful that he’ll still be able to return and pitch this season.