Last night the New York Yankees had a comeback win against the Baltimore Orioles with slugger Aaron Judge pounded a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. A lead the Yankee closer Zack Britton held in his second save of the season.
The game started off with J.A. Happ not having his best night; he gave up four runs in four innings of work. At the top of the fifth Manager, Aaron Boone brought out long reliever Jonathan Loaisiga to replace Happ. He walked his first two hitters in the sixth but managed to get out of trouble in a scoreless inning, which he repeated in the seventh. But in the eight he got into trouble and gave up the Yankee lead.
Under normal circumstances, he would not have left Loaisiga in for the third inning going instead with elite reliever Tommy Kahnle, but Kahnle was nowhere to be found. Was he even at the game? We don’t know because when Boone was asked after the game why he didn’t use Kahnle, he had no answer. He kept saying he wasn’t available. He was asked if he was injured, and instead of saying yes or no, he said: “We’ll have something on that (Friday),†Boone told reporters.
If Tommy was injured, Boone could have just said yes he is. Why wouldn’t Boone explain his absence? Could it be he has tested positive for coronavirus? MLB rules prevent teams from disclosing whether a player tests positive for the coronavirus — unless the player gives the team permission to release his name.
If he indeed has the virus, it will be a big blow to the Yankees and their excellent bullpen. The New York Yankees often use Kahnle near the end of close games. Kahnle pitched well in summer camp and was 3-2 last year with an ERA of 3.62 in 72 games. Being that Boone said he would have something on that (Kahnle) Friday, we such know something soon. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.