For the first six weeks of the Sunday Shenanigans series, no week was harder than this one. The Astros’ first visit to Yankee Stadium since the news of their cheating scandal broke was bound to cause some crazy actions from fans, and we will get to that later. Angel Hernandez was umpiring a series, and multiple rough calls in an inning against Kansas City’s Brady Singer got three ejected.
In classic Hernandez fashion, this came a day after a mind-boggling call where he deemed a dropped flyball to be an out, causing all kinds of confusion.
New York’s Gleyber Torres was able to score a run from first base on an infield single with no errors, thanks to the shift and Ryan Pressly‘s lack of awareness.
Also, Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil totally got into a fight on Friday, but there was no video and the two made clever references to a rat and raccoon argument to deny any actions. These were all good entries for the Sunday Shenanigans series, but they will instead have to settle for being honorable mentions. The winner also comes from the Houston versus Yankees series, but on a different day.
Very Predictable Backlash
The 2017 Yankees were one of the teams affected by the Astros’ cheating scandal, and the Yankees have a fanbase that is not afraid to yell and scream all game long. Things were shaping up to be wild for May 4th’s first game between the two since the Astros ended the Yankees season in 2019. As the fans jeered Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa, the three most prominent remaining players from that Astros team, the game was underway.
Bregman hit a first-inning home run against Domingo German, but Giancarlo Stanton brought home two for the Yankees in the bottom of the inning. By the time the sixth inning rolled around, the score was tied at three, and Astros starter Zack Greinke was replaced by Brandon Bielak.
A walk by Torres and a single for Aaron Hicks followed a forceout by Kyle Higashioka. At this point, Bielak exited the game for Bryan Abreu, who walked Rougned Odor set up a bases-loaded situation for DJ LeMahieu with two outs. LeMahieu then proceeded to do something that shook the game to its core.
That Caused Three Runs?
LeMahieu was an MVP runner-up in 2020, but he has been a different man at the plate this year. This was shown in this at bat, as he weakly grounded to Bregman at third. Luckily for him, the ball was hit soft enough that Bregman would need to barehand the ball to have a chance for an out. Bregman was able to do that, but throwing to first was a different story. The ball got past Yuli Gurriel, allowing not only Torres to score but also Higashioka.
The ball went up the right-field line enough for Odor to make a run for it all the way from first. Gurriel’s throw beat him, but catcher Martin Maldonado dropped the ball. As he turned to his left to catch the ball, a speeding Odor collided knee-on with Maldonado’s head. The third run scored, but both players were down on the ground.
An Ugly Scene
Maldonado was lying next to home plate for a long time after the impact from Odor’s knee, which was probably caused by the Yankees’ second basemen deciding not to slide. Meanwhile, Odor’s knee appeared to have been twisted, as he fell awkwardly. After trainers from both teams inspected their players, both came out of the game. Jason Castro became the new catcher for the Astros while Tyler Wade replaced Odor, who needed to be helped since he could not put any weight on his left leg. Not only had the score drastically changed, but the lineup cards saw changes as well.
The Aftermath
As Stanton singled home LeMahieu, the Yankees took a 7-3 lead that would end up being the final score. As the crowd continued to boo the Astros relentlessly, the post-game scene turned to the two departed players. Unsurprisingly, the next day there was a move to the injured list. Odor was diagnosed with a left knee sprain, as the Yankees recalled another Abreu, Albert Abreu.
Maldonado was more fortunate, as he avoided an IL stint. Two days later, he was back in the lineup and catching, and even hit a home run off of Justin Wilson. The worst thing he did in that game was getting embarrassed by Torres on the aforementioned heads-up baserunning play.
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