An eventful road trip ended in frustration for José Caballero, who was ejected from Wednesday’s win in Tampa for arguing.
The Yankees speedster was stunned when second base umpire Roberto Ortiz called him out on a 10th-inning stolen base attempt and that an official review upheld the ruling.
Caballero beat the throw to second base, and while a video replay showed his shin briefly came off the bag, it was unclear if Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe was still applying a tag.
Ortiz was standing behind Lowe as the bang-bang play unfolded.
“I wasn’t happy about the call,” Caballero said afterward. “I was like, ‘There’s no way you could see that I came off the bag in motion. How can you see that in real time?’ I was just frustrated, because it’s just like a tenth of a second that I came off the bag.”
Caballero continued, “You can see it on camera. There’s no way you can see it in the play. That’s all I said. Obviously, I said it multiple times and he didn’t like it.”
Earlier in the inning, Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks threw over to first base three times while Caballero was there, but the right-hander was not called for a balk after the umpires deemed he had not returned to the pitching rubber before his third throw.
Caballero’s ejection was unfortunate for the Yankees, as it required Giancarlo Stanton to replace Caballero in right field. Stanton had entered the game earlier in the inning as a pinch-hitter and delivered a go-ahead two-run home run in the Yankees’ 6-4 win in 10 innings.
“Can’t happen,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Cabby and I have already talked about it, and not to say a player can’t ever get kicked out of a game, but in that situation where we’re up runs and we got our defense out on the field, you’ve got to turn away and let me handle that.”
Primarily the Yankees’ designated hitter, Stanton resumed playing the outfield this month because Aaron Judge is restricted to DH duty as he recovers from a flexor strain in his right elbow.
Stanton, 35, did not play the field during the Yankees’ three-game series in St. Louis last weekend, with Boone saying the slugger needed a little extra time to bounce back physically, but he started in right on Tuesday.
Caballero, meanwhile, has been a difference-maker for the Yankees since they acquired him from the Rays before last month’s trade deadline.
The 28-year-old utility man entered Thursday with an MLB-leading 40 stolen bases, including six in 12 games with the Yankees. He began the day hitting .348 with a 1.075 OPS with the Yankees.
Caballero’s speed was a major factor in the Yankees’ go-ahead ninth-inning rally in Sunday’s sweep-clinching win over the St. Louis Cardinals, and he hit two home runs in Tuesday’s win in Tampa.
“I’m not happy that I got thrown out and that I had to come out of the game in extra innings,” Caballero said. “I want to be in the game. I want to help the team win. Obviously, next time I’m going to try my best to not do what I did.”
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