Aaron Boone discusses decision to use Domingo German in relief after he was scratched from start
Monday was a strange one in Yankee land.
Prior to the series opening matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx, right-hander Domingo German was scratched from his start due to what the team called armpit discomfort.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained pregame: “He feels good today, but we didn’t feel like we could risk sending him out there. If we had to pull the plug in the first inning it puts us in a tough decision.”
As a result, Jhony Brito was recalled from Triple-A to make the spot start in German's place.
The young right-hander struggled in his return to the big league level and put the Yanks in an early hole. Three batters into the game Brandon Lowe cracked a two-run homer to deep right field, making it 2-0 Rays after one.
Brito went on to allow three more solo homers over the next three innings before his night came to an end. He allowed a total of five runs on four home runs and six hits, putting the Yanks in a 5-1 hole in his four innings of work.
The seemingly unavailable German was seen warming up in the bullpen during the top of the fourth, and then things got stranger when he surprisingly entered in the fifth.
Boone said the right-hander was used simply because he was given the okay after being checked out by doctors.
“Yesterday he had the discomfort under his armpit that didn’t allow him to do his throwing program,” the skipper said. “As the evening went on some of the things he worked through, strength and stuff, it got better.
“He felt better today and then once we got him all cleared he was okay," Boone added. "We wanted to have him available out of the bullpen in that case being a little short with length."
German certainly provided the Yanks with the length they were looking for as he went on to toss five stellar innings of shutout ball. He allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out five in his first relief appearance of the season.
Boone went on to explain that German was available, but unable to make the start because he ended up being cleared too late.
"That just wasn't in play," he said. "He was cleared by doctors in the five o’clock hour. Domingo still wanted to go out and throw off the mound to make sure he was good, so he did that around six and threw off a mound to see if he was good to go. So that wasn't in play at that point."
While the decision certainly was a bit of a strange one, it wasn’t the biggest problem for the Yanks in this one.
The offense sputtered again, scratching across just one run and three hits against Tyler Glasnow and the Rays bullpen. They struck out 12 times on the night, giving them a total of 30 over their past two games, which is tied for a franchise record.
New York finished the month with a record of 10-15, their worst July in franchise history, but despite that they still sit just 3.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race a day ahead of the trade deadline.
