Davis hit .232 with four homers and five RBIs in 135 plate appearances with the A’s, who signed him to a $2.5 million contract in mid-March and designated him for assignment on Tuesday. Davis defeated San Francisco in arbitration and was awarded a $6.9 million salary as part of a nonguaranteed contract, then was released by the Giants and given $1,112,903 in termination pay.

A 31-year-old right-handed hitter, Davis has a .273 average with 119 homers and 386 RBIs in eight seasons with Houston (2017-18), the New York Mets (2019-22), Giants (2022-23) and A’s.

Rizzo broke his right forearm on June 16 and is expected to be sidelined until August. Stanton, the Yankees’ primary designated hitter, strained his left hamstring on Saturday.

New York called up Ben Rice from the minors to fill in at first in Rizzo’s absence.

Groshans, 24, hit .232 with one home run and 15 RBIs in 50 games this year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset. He was claimed by the Yankees off waivers from Miami on Feb. 13.

“I’m assuming that he’ll probably go to Double-A for us to play shortstop every day,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said before his team hosted the Twins. “I think as early as next week, Jack Wilson will be back with the Triple-A team. And obviously, Nick Allen’s there. So there’s some depth in the middle right now. It’s just nice to have another player that can play the middle.”

Stanton went on the injured list for the eighth time in six seasons on Sunday, a day after straining his left hamstring.

A 34-year-old former MVP, Stanton left Saturday night’s 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves and was scheduled to undergo imaging Sunday. Stanton doubled off the center-field wall in the fourth inning and winced when he rounded third base on Gleyber Torres’ double. Trent Grisham pinch hit for Stanton leading off the sixth.

“We know it’s at least going to be those 10 days. So we’ll see the severity of it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “I will say G was in pretty good spirits last night, so hopefully that’s a result of it hopefully not being too severe.”

Stanton missed 266 of 708 games in the past five seasons (38%). He appeared to be walking gingerly as he exited the locker room on Saturday night.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had said on Nov. 13 at the annual GM meetings: “He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game.”

When a visibly slimmer Stanton reported to spring training, he said succinctly: “He knows my reaction to that.”

Boone said Aaron Judge likely will see more designated days while Stanton is sidelined and Grisham will be be the primary outfield replacement after get outfield time. Grisham was hitting .113 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 77 plate appearances, making 21 outfield starts.

“This should give him that uptick of playing time,” Boone said.

Stanton played in 69 of the Yankees’ first 79 games — none in the field — and is hitting .246 with 18 homers and 45 RBIs. The active leader in home runs with 420, he is in the midst of his healthiest season with the Yankees since he played in 158 games in 2018, his first after he was acquired from Miami.

“He’s been that force that you want in the middle. He’s been a threat every day,” Boone said.

Stanton was sidelined during the previous five seasons due to a strained right biceps and strained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee (2019), strained left hamstring (2020), strained left quadriceps (2021), right ankle inflammation and left Achilles tendinitis (2022) and a strained left hamstring (2023).

“He’s been such a force for this offense,” said Judge, who leads the major leagues with 28 homers. “Hitting the homers, coming up clutch with guys on base — that’s a big part of his game.”

Infielder Oswald Peraza was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Boone said Jasson Domínguez would have been Stanton’s roster replacement had he not strained his left oblique on June 15 with the RailRiders, an injury expected to sideline the outfielder until mid-August.

New York, which began Sunday a big league-best 52-27, had been relatively healthy early in the season. Infielder DJ LeMahieu didn’t make his season debut until May 28 after breaking his right foot on a foul ball during spring training on March 16 and AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole didn’t make his first start until June 19 because of right elbow nerve inflammation and edema.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the announcement Monday on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast.

Cole, a 33-year-old right-hander, made three minor league injury rehabilitation assignments in his return from nerve inflammation and edema in his right elbow.

He threw 45 pitches in his first start on June 4 and 57 in his second on June 9, both at Double-A Somerset. He threw 70 pitches Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, striking out 10 over 4 1/3 innings while giving up two hits and allowing an unearned run.

Cole struck out 19 and walked none over 12 1/3 innings in three minor league rehab outings.

He made his only spring training start on March 1, then was told to rest. He began throwing bullpen sessions on May 4.

Cole was a unanimous winner of last year’s AL Cy Young Award after going 15-4 with 222 strikeouts while leading the AL in ERA (2.63) and innings (209).

A six-time All-Star, Cole is in the fifth season of a $324 million, nine-year contract that pays $36 million annually. He has the right to opt out after the season and become a free agent, but if he opts out the Yankees can void the opt-out by adding a guaranteed $36 million salary for 2029.

Rizzo was charging down the line when first baseman Dominic Smith turned to throw to Bernardino, who was coming over to cover. The throw was a bit wide and Bernardino collided with Rizzo, who tumbled to the ground in foul territory after crossing the bag safely. He immediately grabbed his hand/wrist area as he was rolling on the ground.

The club announced that it was a right lower arm injury.

“The initial imaging … which is a low-grade X-Ray, was negative,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the 9-3 loss to the Red Sox.

“But he’s in some pain in that lower arm in a number of places,” Boone said. “He’ll get a lot of tests (Monday) and see what we’re dealing with. When he didn’t get up right away, I could tell he was in some pain on the ground. Obviously, some concern there.

“Just certain movements, he was in some pain, little movements,” Boone said. “Wanted to get him out of there.”

He was replaced by pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera.

Teammate Aaron Judge feels like Rizzo can deal with pain, but didn’t know what the injury was.

“You don’t see that from Riz,” he said. “I think leads all of major league baseball in hit by pitches, so he knows what it is dealing with pain. He’s tough. I think he’ll be fine. I don’t know what’s going on, but he’ll be good.”

The Red Sox held off the Yankees after reliever Zack Kelly replaced Bernardino and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam by striking out Gleyber Torres and Jose Trevino before DJ LeMahieu lined to center to end the seventh with Boston holding a 4-3 lead.

The Red Sox put it away with three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth. In the process, they set a club record with nine stolen bases. David Hamilton had four, including the ninth in the eighth inning.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Juan Soto was back in the New York Yankees’ lineup and went 1 for 3 with a walk as the designated hitter in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night after missing a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers because of left forearm inflammation.

Soto was in the No. 2 slot and slumping Anthony Rizzo was left out of the lineup for a second straight game. Soto singled and scored on Alex Verdugo’s single in a two-run first inning.

“I did all my treatment early today and I went to the cages making sure everything went fine and it did,” Soto said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of improvement. Definitely, it’s not going to go away that quick.”

Soto is batting .318 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a 1.024 OPS. The 25-year-old outfielder, acquired in December from San Diego, can become a free agent after the World Series.

A scan Friday did not reveal any problems with his elbow, the Yankees said.

“We’ve just kind of been basing it on how he was coming in each day, where the improvements are, how he’s feeling, so hopefully this will kind of get him in and get him back in the outfield hopefully in this series,” manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone said the team’s overnight arrival after a Sunday night game in the Bronx against the Dodgers factored in the decision not to start Soto in the outfield.

“I want to make sure he gets out and playing again, full throwing, and just kind of a way of easing him in,” Boone said.

Aaron Judge, who started the Yankees’ first 67 games, was given a night off in the opener of a four-game set against the Royals. The Yankees captain is batting .305 with a major league-leading 24 homers, 59 RBIs and a big league-leading 1.139 OPS.

“Obviously, he’s playing out of this world,” Boone said, “but having played every day, getting to this time of year, you’re a little bit beat up, too. So I think it’s important to give him — especially getting in at 3 in the morning — this was kind of one I had marked down.”

Rizzo, in a 1-for-29 slide this month, is hitting .224 with seven homers and 25 RBIs. Boone said the two days off were to provide a mental break in addition to time to work on hitting mechanics.

“Something I was kind of leaning toward going into yesterday,” Boone said of the consecutive nights off. “We’re going to circle up each night.”

Boone said AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole will make a third minor league injury rehabilitation start on Friday.

No, not those Yankees.

It isn’t about the well-documented teams from later in the decade that won four World Series titles in five years. It’s about the forgettable team that began the decade by going 67-95 to produce the franchise’s losingest season of the last century.

The 1990 Yankees’ lack of on-field success added to their highly unusual off-field drama, creating the mayhem detailed in Peacock’s three-part docuseries “Bronx Zoo ’90: Crime, Chaos and Baseball.”

“I don’t think there’s ever been another team like the 1990 New York Yankees,” director D.J. Caruso told NBC Local.

Few teams have had their owner hire a gambler to dig up dirt on its well-compensated star player, as George Steinbrenner did at the height of his feud with Dave Winfield.

Or had a pitcher throw a no-hitter and still lose the game, as Andy Hawkins did.

Or had an active NFL player playing in the outfield, as then-rookie Deion Sanders did.

Or had their biggest offseason acquisition go missing at the start of spring training, as Pascual Perez did.

Or had illegal exotic animals prowling around the team’s clubhouse, as Mel Hall’s cougars did.

The fact that he was “just walking them into the locker room says all you need to know about what the 1990 Yankees were about,” Caruso said.

Yankee Stadium at the time, literally and figuratively, was a zoo.

The docuseries, which premieres on Peacock on May 16, is based on articles about the 1990 Yankees written by New York Post baseball columnist Joel Sherman, who at the time was a beat reporter covering the Don Mattingly-led team.

Caruso began reading Sherman’s articles in 2020 when professional sports were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It just became to me, thematically, a look under the hood or look behind the curtain of this dynasty that emerged in the ’90s,” Caruso said. “How could a team that was so bad on the field and off the field in three years turn this thing around and become the greatest franchise in the history of all sports?”

The Yankees’ drastic turnaround from laughingstock to dynasty began around the time Steinbrenner received a lifetime ban from the team’s daily operations for paying gambler Howard Spira $40,000 for information on Winfield. It continued as the team distanced itself from players like Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who is now the head coach at the University of Colorado, and Hall, who while playing for the Yankees was involved in a high-profile romance with 15-year-old Chastity Easterly.

Easterly and Hall, who is serving a 45-year jail sentence for the rape a 12-year-old girl, were both interviewed for the docuseries.

“It was really eye-opening for me to kind of go there and interview Mel in jail,” Caruso said. “It wasn’t what I expected. I expected someone to kind of maybe have a little bit more remorse, but he didn’t really seem to have that. It was interesting. He sort of was still portraying himself as the victim in his own story.”

The 1990 season included some of the darkest days in Yankee history, but it also laid the groundwork for the formation of the team’s core that rebuilt the Yankee pride, tradition and success later in the decade.

“Like all good stories, whenever you go through these periods of darkness, it’s how you come out of it on the other end,” Caruso said. “So, you’re going to see that this franchise rose from this dark period and came out with great light. But within the darkness, there are so many great interpersonal stories. Some are tragic, some are mind boggling.”

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With one out, Judge took a full count fastball from Tyler Holton that he thought was slightly outside. Blakney rang him up, Judge glanced back and was ejected.

After starting to walk back to the dugout, Judge returned to argue the call and manager Aaron Boone continued the argument.

It was the fourth ejection of the season for the Yankees and the first for a player since Anthony Rizzo was tossed on Sept. 7 by Alan Porter for arguing from the dugout.

Judge hit a single and an RBI double in his first two at-bats. He is hitting .209 this season and stopped an 0-for-14 skid with a single to start New York’s winning rally in the ninth inning of Friday’s win.

After Judge was ejected, many in the crowd begin chanting profanely at Blakney.

When it comes to New York City baseball, the Subway Series rivalry is a tale as old as time pinning the Yankees and Mets against each other in hopes of winning over the city, but what makes this Major League Baseball (MLB) matchup so engaging?

NBC New York spoke with several comedians from the Big Apple to get a sense of the inner fan base competition, and it seems that the Mets have more comics cheering from the stands.

Sal Gentile works on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” as a producer and supervising writer for the segment, “A Closer Look.” Gentile believes the cathartic nature of comedy is a remedy for “suffering Mets fans,” whereas the Yankees boast 27 World Series championships, not leaving much comedic material.

“The Mets are the favorite team of famous comedians. I think one of the many reasons is that comedy comes from the indignities of daily life, and there’s so much suffering in being a Mets fan, and the way to cope with that is comedy,” Gentile told NBC New York during an interview in 30 Rockefeller Center.

Famous Mets fans include Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Hank Azaria, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher and Kevin James. Over at Yankee Stadium, celebrities like Jay-Z, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Lopez and Brad Pitt have been spotted in the seats.

Citi Field in Queens may steal the hearts of food lovers and, according to these comics, the overall game experience offers more authentic New York cuisine and entertainment options, like the T-shirt canon and home run fireworks.

Originally from Long Island, Mike Feeney is now a Queens comedian who performs at the reimagined Rodney’s, formerly known as Dangerfield’s, the oldest comedy club in the country. Feeney describes both stadiums as contrasts, one serving as a mecca for baseball, while the other gives that classic ballpark touch.

“Objectively, speaking as a Yankees fan, Citi Field is a better place to enjoy a baseball game. It’s smaller, beautiful and gives local food options. It has more things to do, whereas Yankee Stadium is sterile and corporate,” Feeney told News 4 at Rodney’s comedy club, “Who cares about the score — if it’s 12 to 1 in the second inning — you’re eating a Shake Shack burger at Citi Field. Enjoy!”

The Mets have introduced a new addition to the game experience, The Queens Crew, a dance team meant to increase fan engagement from the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to the dugout at the stadium. Other MLB teams, like the Braves and Astros, have launched similar hype groups.

The 19-member crew is garnering both support and raising eyebrows from serious Mets fans, who either are all in or question if necessary, but ultimately, are willing to “give it a try.” Comic and owner of Rodney’s, Mark Yosef, thinks that the mascot “Mr. Met” is enough fun at the games.

“I think Mr. Met is the best mascot in baseball, and he’s just human and represents the Mets. His head is a baseball, looks like a balding guy, kind of a sad sack. Kind of represents the Mets really well,” Yosef laughed as he described his love for the very first mascot in MLB history, which began in April 1964.

Through the good, bad and the ugly, New Yorkers hold tried-and-true to their teams, whether it be the Amazins or Bronx Bombers. When it comes to the Subway Series, Gentile says the Yankees fans don’t have to care as much, but for the Mets, it may be all the team has in a season.

“New York loves baseball. It’s fun to see the whole city come together and focus on the same thing at once. I love the Subway Series — it’s painful for me, but I love it,” said Gentile.

Williams will perform alongside the NY Phil and its next music and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel, at Lincoln Center. The event will take place Wednesday at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center at 7 p.m.

Williams was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Instrumental Album. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2016 and is currently on the school’s Board of Trustees.

According to Williams’ website, he also was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the State University of New York through SUNY Potsdam and the Drake School of Music in 2019. He has released two albums, which led to a couple of Billboard #1 singles on the Contemporary Jazz charts.

Williams played for the Bronx Bombers from 1991-2007, winning five All-Star selections and has since had his famed number 51 retired by the team. The team has also honored him with a plaque in Monument Park.

In the top of the first inning, after A’s leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz reached based on a hit-by-pitch while checking his swing, Boone said something to home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.

During the next at-bat, with right fielder Tyler Nevin at the plate, hot mics picked up Wendelstedt telling Boone that he did what he was supposed to do by checking with first base umpire John Tumpane on the swing while focusing his attention on whether Ruiz was hit by the pitch.

“You got anything else to say, you’re gone,” Wendelstedt said to Boone.

About 10 seconds later, Wendelstedt heard something come from the direction of the Yankees dugout and ejected Boone.

“I don’t care who said it,” Wendelstedt said to Boone. “You’re gone.”

Warning: Video contains NSFW language.

An angry Boone raced out of the dugout to make the case that he didn’t say anything to Wendelstedt.

“It was above our dugout,” Boone said. “Bulls—. I did not say anything.”

Boone continued his argument, with third base umpire Marvin Hudson joining the conversation.

“I didn’t say anything,” Boone said.

“You’re probably right, Aaron,” Wendelstedt admitted.

“I’m not probably right,” Boone said. “I’m f—— right.”

Upon review, YES Network’s cameras picked up a fan sitting in the front row above the Yankees dugout saying something, which caused Wendelstedt to react and eject Boone.

Boone’s day ended two batters into Monday’s matinee in the Bronx, and he likely has that fan to blame for it.

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Sterling, who turns 86 on July 4, was presented a jersey with No. 5,631 — representing his total of regular and postseason games as the team’s radio play-by-play voice.

Clips of his most memorable calls were played. Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter gave video tributes, Tino Martinez presented sterling silver Yankees cufflinks and broadcast partners Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman an engraved silver microphone. Haley Swindal Steinbrenner, granddaughter of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, gave the jersey to Sterling, who was flanked by his family.

Frank Sinatra’s recording of “My Way” was played as Sterling walked back stiffly to the Yankees dugout. Bleacher Creatures chanted his name during their Roll Call in the first inning of the game against Tampa Bay.

“What I really want to do is to thank you and I’ll tell you why,” Sterling told fans, who stood through the tribute and chanted his name. “Person after person, group after group, have come to me with kindness, respect and love, and how lucky can you be for people to celebrate what you do for a living? You know, I had to bring these people up and I had make money to do it. So you, the fans have been phenomenal to me over the past 36 years.”

Sterling announced his retirement Monday.

“I’m really tired, so I’m looking forward to not being on the air,” Sterling said during a news conference before the ceremony.

“I did it all wrong,” Sterling said. “I should have quit on March 1st or March 15th, but I decided I’d do one exhibition game, which is useless, and you well know, and when we went on that long trip, we went to, Houston and Arizona, and, boy, I knew that was it. I didn’t want to work every day and I told you how long I’ve been working. If you work 64 years, and on your next birthday you’re going to be 86. I think it’s time.”

Sterling could wind up being honored in Monument Park, where plaques commemorate broadcaster Mel Allen and public address announcer Bob Sheppard.

“If they say to you we’re going to put a plaque up in Monument Park, you would say, `Oh, no, don’t do that,” Sterling said. “If it happens, it happens.”

The New York Mets are bringing a new type of entertainment to Citi Field that will have fans dancing from the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to the dugout.

Meet The Queens Crew, a 19-member co-ed hype team for the “Amazins” aimed to keep visitors feeling uplifted — even if what’s going on the field isn’t necessarily a home run.

Long Island mother Gina Mormando is the head coach and choreographer of the squad and comes with decades of experience in sports entertainment and dance, including working within the National Football League, National Hockey League and National Lacrosse League.

“The styles that I was working with previously are completely polar opposite of what I’m doing with this. However, in the dance world, I’ve done everything from breakdancing to ballet, so I used to hone in on one style, and now, it’s all making sense to me because they’re [The Queens Crew] is so different with styles,” Mormando told NBC New York during an interview before practice.

Mormando sees this new opportunity as a “dream come true” and embraces the diversity in dance styles and in the members of the team, all of whom are from the New York City metro area.

She practices new freestyle elements and choreographed routines with the crew once a week before home games.

At the home games in Queens, 10 of the dance members will join together and perform before the game as fans enter the stadium, on top of the dugout and along the stadium aisles in between breaks during the game.

“At the end of the day, just like the NFL and the NBA, we’re all trying to build space between live action. This seemed like an obvious opportunity, and we wanted to bring something that was really going to bridge generations,” said Trisha Donlin, the vice president of brand marketing for the Mets and one of the pioneers of the new concept, to News 4.

The Mets join other MLB teams, such as the Braves and Astros, in launching their very own dance team.

Auditions to join The Queens Crew were held in January, which brought in hundreds of local contestants. According to an expired job posting found on Backstage, the dance team is meant to reflect “the diverse culture, edgy style, and vibrant spirit of Queens” with compensation of up to $255 per day.

Sterling has called 5,420 regular season games and 211 postseason games, including 5,060 consecutive games from Sept. 1989 to July 2019, according to the team.

Sunday, April 7 was Sterling’s last game behind the mic.

“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement. “I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”

A press release announcing Sterling’s retirement did not give a reason behind his decision.

The Yankees said Sterling’s contributions to the franchise and the sport “will echo long into the future.”

“There is no shortage of adjectives to describe John and what he means to this organization and our millions of fans around the world,” the team said in a statement. “But what makes John a goliath of the sports broadcasting world was how sacred he held his role as voice of the Yankees. Showing up to perform virtually every single day since 1989, he was a pillar for Yankees fans who relied on the comfort and familiarity of his voice to be the soundtrack of their spring, summer and fall.”

Sterling will be honored by the team in a pregame ceremony on Saturday and will also make an appearance in the WFAN radio booth during the game.

“Yankees radio will never quite sound the same without the signature voice, wit and humor of John Sterling. To generations of Bronx Bombers fans, he was a beloved companion that when you heard John, you knew it was time for baseball,” the station said.

Yankees fans will miss hearing his signature victory call, “Ballgame over! The Yankees win … theeeeeee Yankees win!,” the team said.

Sterling grew up on the Upper East Side.

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A magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook New York City on Friday as the Yankees went through batting practice before their home opener.

Three days later, the Yankees will play after another natural phenomenon. At least this one will be expected.

A solar eclipse is forecast to take place Monday afternoon, with parts of upstate New York being in its path of totality.

The Yankees host the Marlins at 6:05 p.m. in a game that was pushed back four hours because of the potential for delays. The first 15,000 fans to arrive will receive a Yankees solar eclipse T-shirt.

Manager Aaron Boone was unsure Sunday whether the Yankees would alter their pregame routine for the eclipse.

“Not yet, but certainly we’ll be advised if we need to alter things but nothing as of now,” Boone said.

The Yankees typically take batting practice about two and a half hours before the first pitch for home games.

The last total solar eclipse was Aug. 21, 2017, when Boone was broadcasting the Little League World Series for ESPN in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“I remember there at the Little League World Series and I had the glasses,” Boone said. “It was definitely interesting.”

The New York Yankees had been scheduled to play the Miami Marlins at 2:05 p.m. ET, which is five minutes before New York’s first total solar eclipse since 1925 is expected to begin. The Yankees announced Thursday that the start time for the promoted game has now been pushed back to 6:05 p.m. — well after the moon has passed between the sun and the earth.

The Yankees reconsidered the challenge of playing through the eclipse, including potential in-game delays.

“After discussions with Major League Baseball, the scheduled start time of the Yankees-Marlins game on Monday, April 8 at Yankee Stadium has been changed from 2:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.,” the Yankees posted on X.

The team added that ticketholders will be permitted to enter the stadium at 3 p.m. ET.

A shadow is set to be cast over the area for approximately two hours and 26 minutes, with the majority of the sun expected to be hidden at 3:25 p.m. ET.

The Yankees had promoted the celestial experience with the game’s unique start time and a “Yankees Solar Eclipse Day T-shirt” giveaway presented to the first 15,000 fans in attendance, which fans will still receive.

But first pitch will now be well after the moon has passed the sun — with the two not expected to cross paths again for another total solar eclipse until Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.

Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reported earlier in the day that the game’s time change was made for precaution and safety reasons.

NASA has warned it is not safe to look directly at the sun during an eclipse without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Perhaps the league realized it might not be wise to have players and fans risk severe eye injury by tracking the flight of a fly ball.

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After postponing their home opener last week, the Mets were rained out again this week — twice.

Over the past two days, LaGuardia Airport (CitiField’s neighbor) measured over 2.5 inches of rain, with a daily record of 1.75 inches falling on Wednesday alone.

Now the Mets are facing a double header against the Tigers Thursday afternoon.

First pitch for game one goes out at 12:10 p.m. We’re expecting some chilly and cloudy weather. But it should be dry.

Temperatures hold mainly in the upper 40s with a modest northwest breeze at times. Expect few, if any, breaks in the cloud cover.

Gray skies persist into the start of game two at 3:40 p.m. A passing shower is possible, especially toward the end of the game and when heading home. Any rain that does fall is unlikely to cause any major interruptions to the game, proving more of a nuisance than anything.

That said, if you’re heading to Queens Thursday, an extra layer or two would serve you well — even better if one of those layers includes a hood.  

How about those Yankees?

After a soggy start (and middle) this week, conditions are expected to be drier for the Yankees’ home opener against the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon.

Skies will be mostly cloudy, with a few peeks of sunshine. But that should do little to keep you warm from the cool temperatures and the gusty winds.

The temperature on the thermometer might read in the low 50s, but it’ll feel like the mid and lower 40s.

Wear that Yankee sweatshirt you don’t get to wear at the summer games and hold onto your baseball caps, because it’s going to be a blustery one.

An astronaut by the name of Neil Armstrong would become the first man to walk on the moon.

Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Janis Joplin would perform at a 3-day festival in a small town called Woodstock.

And the New York Mets would go on to win their first World Series championship long before CitiField was ever a thought. Fast-forward 17 years and the “Miracle Mets” would do it again, securing their second World Series win in 1986.

Russ Gompers, who grew up going to Mets games, was in the stands that day.

“In my mind, I had something to do with that World Series win,” Gompers told NBC New York.

It was the middle of Game 6 and his favorite team was losing to the Red Sox with two outs when he looked up at the sky and said, “Come on, Dad. One more time.”

His father had died of a heart attack a few weeks before that game. “I knew he would want me to go.”

Now, the baseball glove that belonged to his father sits on the wall above his desk inside his office where you’ll find a small embroidery shop in Whitestone, Queens that’s winding up to celebrate its 33rd year.

STITCHES is the official sewing machine for New York’s big leagues. Shop owner Gompers and his dedicated team of professionals are the hands behind the stitching you see on the field.

“The Mets, the Yankess, and the Islanders bring me their uniforms and then we sew on the numbers and the names and now the patches they all wear on the sleeves,” he said.

Hence their motto: Stitched by the pros… for the pros.

“Pete Alonso, Mike Piazza, Johnny Franco, Robert Mitra, Francisco Lindow,” Russ said. “Aaron Judge’s jersey, Gerrit Cole. It’s all got to come through here at some point before it gets on anybody.”

Countless colleges, high schools, and little league teams also use their services. Russ’ team was fulfilling an order for a Sweet 16 when we stopped by the buzzing shop.

Services include silk screening, embroidery, lettering and more. They do uniforms, jackets, shirts, hats — really any kind of apparel one can wear.

“I love what I do because it’s just who I am. I’m a sports guy. I love all sports. I can say that I’m a Mets and a Yankees fan because I do their work.”

In the second inning, a fouled ball ricocheted off the handle of his bat and struck Gonzalez directly in the face, the play-by-play commentator described.

Gonzalez fell to the ground for several moments. He managed to stand up under his own power before being carted off the field.

Gonzalez was treated for a right eye contusion at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium before being taken to ABC Medical Center.

He will remain in the hospital overnight for observation and rest, according to the Yankees injury report. A Double-A trainer will stay behind while the rest of the team departs for Houston.

It is unclear how long Gonzalez will be sidelined. He was not a candidate for the Opening Day roster after the Yankees reassigned him to the minor league camp earlier in the day.

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The 41-year-old Canó, who is playing in Mexico for the first time in his career, went 4-3, with two runs scored. Canó hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and hit a line drive to centerfield in the seventh for his second RBI.

Canó played 17 seasons in the majors, nine of them with the Yankees where he won the World Series in 2009. He signed with the Diablos Rojos a couple of weeks ago.

Japhet Amador and Aristides Aquino had RBI grounders in the sixth inning to score Canó and José Rondón, respectively.

Conner Menez, who played four seasons in the majors, was the winning pitcher allowing one hit and no runs in one inning.

Tanner Tully, who spent the majority of the 2023 season in Triple-A, took the loss with one earned run in four innings, while reliever Jonathan Loáisiga allowed two runs and three hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Pinch hitter Carlos Narváez had a two-run double and Cole Gabrielson added an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Yankees, who traveled to Mexico without any members of their projected starting rotation and with Giancarlo Stanton among the few regular players in their lineup.

Stanton went 3-0 with a strikeout.

The Yankees played in Mexico for the first time since 1968 when they played four exhibition games, two against the Diablos Rojos and two against the Tigres.

Trevor Bauer made his first start for Diablos Rojos, who earlier in the week signed him for five games.

Bauer allowed four hits and no runs in three innings, with three strikeouts and two walks.

The 33-year-old right-hander is trying to return to the major leagues after serving a suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her, an accusation the pitcher denied.

STANTON RETURNS TO MEXICO

When the opportunity to play in Mexico City for the first time in his career came, Stanton did not hesitate.

Stanton said that Omar Minaya, the senior advisor of baseball operations of the Yankees, talked with him about it and he agreed to come.

“I think it’s important for Mexico City, it’s fun for baseball. It’s a great meshing, the two leagues together and countries,” said Stanton.

The decision was easier because he already visited the city two years ago as a tourist and wanted to do it again.

“I saw the pyramids, I went to some great restaurants and got the Mexican flavor that I love,” said Stanton, who grew up in Los Angeles. “I heard great things (from Mexico) and I wanted to experience for myself. And now ultimately, look where I’m playing.”

VERDUGO MISSED THE TRIP

Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo said two weeks ago that he was looking forward to play in Mexico, but he did not get the chance to do it for family reasons, according to Yankees manager, Aaron Boone.

“Verdugo was really excited, but his girlfriend is pregnant, and their child is due in a few weeks, and she had to go into the hospital,” Boone said. “I know he is upset that he could not be here, but he needed to be there in case the baby comes.”

The 27-year-old Verdugo, who played for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic, was acquired from the Boston Red Sox last December.

The Yankees played in Mexico in 1968 when they split the two-game exhibition series in the extinct Parque Delta.

Management from the Diablos Rojos said they hoped to get a chance to do it again after that, but it wasn’t until Omar Minaya was hired as senior adviser for baseball operations with the Yankees that the games became a reality.

“Alfredo (Harp Helú, the Diablos owner) is close friends with Omar Minaya and that propelled everything,” said Othón Díaz, the team’s president. “We let them know how much it would mean for us to have them here again and they agreed.”

According to the Major League Baseball office in Mexico, the Yankees are the most popular team in Mexico, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox.

Díaz said hosting a MLB regular-season series between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants helped their chances because the Yankees’ front office was aware that Mexico City and the Diablos Rojos have a stadium that could host them.

The $160 million Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium opened in March 2019 and seats 20,000.

“The cornerstone was to have the stadium,” Diaz said. “You can see everything that has happened since we opened it: A young squad from the San Diego Padres came for the opening day of it and then everything slowed with the coronavirus pandemic, but last year we had a great series with Padres and Giants and now this.”

Even though the ballpark is small compared to MLB standards, the carnival-like atmosphere stands out. Last year, Padres players wore Mexican wrestling masks in the dugout and broke a Buzz Lightyear piñata after the games against the Giants.

“To have the opportunity to go there, to Mexico, and pitch there, I have a lot of family members there who will have the opportunity to see me pitch,” said Yankees pitcher Victor Gonzalez, who is Mexican. “So to wear the Yankee pinstripes and be at home and pitch in front of my family, I think it’s going to be incredible for me.”

Alex Verdugo, another Mexican player on the Yankees’ roster, is happy to go on the trip south of the border.

“I know how the games are down there; it’s going to be very special,” said Verdugo, who played for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. “I feel blessed and special, this series will remain in my heart forever.”

Tickets for the games sold out a month ago in less than an hour, and prices in the resale market range from $130 in the bleachers to $2,000 behind home plate.

“To me the price is reasonable; it’s not every day that you can watch your two favorite teams playing against each other,” said Armando Arce, a 45-year-businessman who purchased a $250 ticket for Sunday’s game.

“I wanted to be a big league baseball player no matter what,” the former catcher tells CNBC Make It. “I didn’t have a Plan B. Plan A was that I was going to be a big league player.” 

While his career in New York was filled with plenty of success — Posada won four straight Silver Slugger Awards from 2000-2003 — it wasn’t pure talent that got him to the top. 

“I wasn’t the best player on my little league team,” he says. “I wasn’t the best player at my college. I wasn’t the best player in the minor leagues. But I knew I wanted it more than anybody else, and I worked harder than anybody else to get there.” 

Posada spoke with CNBC Make It while promoting his appearance in Miller Lite’s Great Taste, Less Filling campaign. Below, he talks about the advice that helped him get to the big leagues, learning from a Yankee legend and how he dealt with pressure. 

The best advice Jorge Posada ever received

Though he’s shared locker rooms with multiple Hall of Fame players, Posada says the best career advice he ever received came from his father. 

“My dad always said, ‘Don’t lose your job because somebody is working harder than you,'” he tells Make It. “That, for me, helped me so much throughout my career.” 

His dad’s advice helped Posada stay disciplined in his training as he worked toward his dream of making it to the major leagues. 

“Wanting it so badly made me realize that I needed to work harder than most people. I needed to be more disciplined and stay away from things that would keep me away from the game,” he says. “It helped me stay away from bars and stay away from kids who weren’t focused.”

Learning by example

Posada learned early on that “somebody was always watching” how he carried himself on the field and in practice, whether it was a member of the Yankees’ brass, a scout for another team or a kid in the stands. 

Indeed, he became a better player himself by observing how a Yankees legend carried himself when nobody else was looking. 

“My first Spring Training I was with Don Mattingly down in Fort Lauderdale. I would get to the field pretty early and he was already there hitting or taking fly balls or ground balls in the back field,” Posada says. 

The next day, the then-minor-leaguer showed up even earlier in an attempt to get there at the same time as the team’s captain. 

“He was there, already sweating. The sun wasn’t even out,” Posada says. “I could never beat him. He taught me so much. I saw the best player doing all this hard work and putting in all this time and I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m doing enough.'”

The mindset that someone is always watching had another side effect beyond helping Posada continue to improve. 

“It’s a lot of fun when you give it your all and you get home and feel pleased with what you tried to accomplish on the field,” he says.

The benefits of a positive mindset

When it comes to dealing with pressure-filled situations, Posada says the best approach begins with a positive mindset. 

“Being unprepared is probably the worst thing that can go through your mind,” he says. 

For Posada, approaching an at-bat with the game on the line involved putting the thought of failure out of his mind altogether. 

“Practice makes perfect. [Remember] you put yourself in a situation to succeed,” he says. “Try to think of everything positive, you don’t think about the failure part. Tell yourself, ‘I’ve been here before. I’ve done this. I’m prepared.”

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The Hall of Fame manager made his distinctive trudge to the mound during the New York Yankees‘ spring training game to make a pitching change, recreating images of the good old days when he guided the team to four World Series championships.

The 83-year-old Torre, who was manager of the Yankees from 1996 to 2007, was back with the team in spring training as a guest instructor. During the top of the fifth inning of Monday’s game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent his former skipper out to make a nostalgic pitching change.

Torre emerged from the dugout in full uniform, the No. 6 that’s retired in his honor on his back.

He walked to the mound, signaled to the bullpen and shook hands with starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, who had thrown 5 2/3 hitless innings.

Torre, who received an ovation from the crowd, took the ball from Rodon and shared a few words with the pitcher as the Yankee infielders gathered around the mound. Ian Hamilton replaced Rodon, who also received an ovation from the crowd, in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

The last time Torre made the trip from the dugout to the mound for a Yankees pitching change was in 2007, when he replaced Jose Veras with Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

That was Torre’s final game as Yankees manager, ending a 12-year reign that included World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Torre went 1,173-767 with the Yankees in the regular season, becoming the second-winningest manager in franchise history behind Joe McCarthy (1,460-867).

Torre then spent three seasons as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, finishing his 29-year managerial career with 2,326 regular-season wins, which is fifth-most all time.      

Torre, who played in the major leagues from 1960 to 1977 and was an MVP winner and nine-time All-Star, went on to spend a decade as MLB‘s chief baseball officer before becoming a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred in 2020.

But he will always be best remembered for his time in pinstripes, which he wore once again on Monday while taking a trip down memory lane.

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Cole discussed his injury before Saturday’s game with Toronto. He likely will need a spring training-like period after he resumes throwing to be ready to rejoin the team.

The Yankees disclosed Monday that the AL Cy Young award winner was experiencing issues bouncing back following spring training starts, and the 33-year-old right-hander traveled to Los Angeles to be examined by Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an elbow expert.

Cole returned to Tampa on Friday.

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Nestor Cortes will start the March 28 opener at Houston in place of Cole.

Cole is entering the fifth season of a $324 million, nine-year contract that pays $36 million annually. He has the right to opt out after the season and become a free agent, but if he opts out the Yankees can void the opt out by adding a guaranteed $36 million salary for 2029.

The Bronx Bombers announced Friday that “Seinfeld Night” will be held July 5, 2024, when the Yankees host the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

“Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle… Costanza?!?” the Yanks posted on X. “Join us at Yankee Stadium on Friday, July 5 for Seinfeld Night! 1st 18,000 guests will receive a George Costanza Bobblehead.”

Costanza, who was played by actor Jason Alexander on all nine seasons of the iconic 1990s sitcom “Seinfeld,” worked for the Yankees as an assistant to the travel secretary, and then travel secretary, from seasons 5 through 8 of the show.

The character was known to have interactions with a parody of famed Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was voiced by “Seinfeld” co-creator and showrunner Larry David on the show.

Stars of the Yankees at the time including Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Paul O’Neill also made cameos on the show.

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New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will miss one to two months with a right elbow injury, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on Wednesday. Heyman also reported that Cole will fly to Los Angeles to meet with sports surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Cole underwent an MRI on his throwing elbow on Monday after saying he had difficulty bouncing back from his first spring training start of the year, which came on March 1. He then underwent more testing on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old was the unanimous winner of the 2023 AL Cy Young Award after posting a 15-4 record across 33 starts with 222 strikeouts and an AL-leading 2.63 ERA. He has started at least 30 games each season since 2017 with the exception of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Cole is entering the fifth season of a nine-year, $324 million deal he signed with the Yankees. His $36 million salary is fourth-highest among all MLB players.

The Yankees open the 2024 season on March 28 against the Houston Astros.

Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Tuesday that Strawberry had the heart attack Monday, a day before the eight-time All-Star’s 62nd birthday.

Strawberry posted a photo of himself at the hospital on Instagram and wrote: “I am so happy and honored to report that all is well.”

“So thankful for the medical team and staff at St. Joseph West in Lake St. Louis for responding so quickly and bringing me through a stent-procedure that has brought my heart to total restoration!!!” Strawberry added.

Strawberry, who lives in O’Fallon, Missouri, is resting comfortably, Horwitz said.

The Mets will retire Strawberry’s No. 18 on June 1, after retiring Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 on April 14. The pair led the team to the 1986 World Series title.

“We are looking forward to Straw’s speedy recovery and welcoming him for his number retirement ceremony on June 1,” Mets owner Steven Cohen and wife Alex said in a statement.

Strawberry was a seven-time All-Star during his time with the Mets from 1983-90, winning NL Rookie of the Year in 1983.

He hit .259 with 335 homers, 1,000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons that also included time with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1991-93), San Francisco Giants (1994) and Yankees (1995-99). He was a part of three World Series championship teams with the Yankees.

Strawberry’s career was derailed by drug and alcohol issues, and also by colon cancer treatment that caused him to miss the 1998 World Series.

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The 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner has been durable in career, making at least 30 starts in each of the last six full regular seasons.

“He described it as his recovery, leading into his next start, has been more akin to what he feels in the season when he’s making 100 pitches,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday. “He usually doesn’t have the recovery issues he’s having. It’s been more of a challenge, more taxing. So we’re going to get an MRI to see what we’re dealing with here.”

The 33-year-old right-hander has been throwing fewer pitches in his spring training starts this year than other rotation members.

“I think there’s a level of discomfort, but I wouldn’t describe it as he’s in pain,” Boone said. “His stuff and his command has been really good in his outings. He’s just having a hard time recovering like he’s used to.’’

Cole is entering the fifth season of a $324 million, nine-year contract that pays $36 million annually. He has the right to opt out after the season and become a free agent, but if he opts out the Yankees can void the opt out by adding a guaranteed $36 million salary for 2029.

Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge is not expected to play again until Wednesday due to spring training fatigue.

“A little mid-spring kind of beat up just with all the work they do in the cage and backfield and stuff,” Boone said.

Judge has not taken on-field batting practice the last couple days and was replaced after three innings and two at-bats, in which he struck out both times, in Sunday’s game against Atlanta.

“We want to make sure especially with your veteran guys, they’re not overdoing at this time of year, but at the same time, obviously you’ve got to ramp them up,” Boone said. “He actually does a really good job of governing and protecting himself.″

The New York Yankees are set to play two exhibition games against the Diablos Rojos del México (Red Devils of Mexico) at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City on March 24 and 25.

Two Yankees spring training games for the Grapefruit League in Florida will coincide with the exhibition games, but given the occasion (the Yankees have not played in Mexico since 1968), some big leaguers are expected to make the trip south of the border.

Here is everything you need to know about the Diablos Rojos del México:

What league do the Diablos Rojos del México play in?

The Diablos Rojos del México play in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol (LMB), but it is typically called the Mexican League in English.

The LMB has 20 teams and has been around since 1925.

Who plays for the Diablos Rojos del México?

The Diablos Rojos del México are made up of players from an eclectic group of people that includes players from the United States and Latin America who have either made it to MLB in the past, only played in the minors or hope to make it to MLB one day.

Players for the Diablos who have been on MLB rosters include Michael Mariot, Ricardo Pinto and Wilmer Font.

In addition to players with experience in minor league baseball or other international leagues, the Diablos also sign prospects who are not yet old enough or ready to join the minor leagues in the United States.

How good are the Diablos Rojos del México?

Like the Yankees, the Diablos Rojos del México have the record for most championships in their league, with 16 (there last being in 2014)

The record for the 2023 Diablos Rojos del México was 55-32, which was the best regular season record for the Mexican League.

Have the Diablos Rojos del México played an MLB team before?

Yes, in fact it was the Diablos who played the Yankees in their first visit in 1968.

The two teams split the the exhibition series with a game apiece.

Who owns the Diablos Rojos del México?

The Diablos are owned by Mexican billionaire Alfredo Harp Helú, who is worth $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.

And yes, their home stadium is named after him.

The right-handed pitcher has agreed to a two-year, $37 million deal with the Yankees, according to multiple reports on Thursday night.

The reported multi-year contract also includes a vesting option for a third year.

Stroman, who turns 33 in May, hit free agency after declining a $21 million option for 2024 with the Chicago Cubs.

This will be the second homecoming for Stroman, who’s a native of Long Island, New York. He previously spent one-plus seasons with the Mets from 2019-21 (he opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season) before joining the Cubs on a three-year, $71 million deal.

Stroman looked like a Cy Young contender for the first few months of last season, but he struggled mightily down the stretch as he dealt with injuries. His 2.96 ERA in the first half of the season increased to 8.63 over the second half.

Stroman finished the 2023 campaign with a 3.95 ERA, 119 strikeouts and 52 walks over 136.2 innings, marking his fourth straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA.

The two-time All-Star and one-time Gold Glover now joins a Yankees rotation that’s led by reigning unanimous AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.

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New York claimed the 25-year-old shortstop off waivers from the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

Downs, the 32nd overall pick by Cincinnati in the 2017 amateur draft, is named after former Yankees captain Derek Jeter.

Downs made his big league debut with the Boston Red Sox in 2022 and hit .154 (6 for 39) with one homer and four RBIs. He was claimed by the Nationals off waivers last Dec. 22 and was 2 for 5 this year with one RBI and stole two bases. He hit .236 with three homers, 18 RBIs and 11 steals this year for Triple-A Rochester of the International League.

Before his big league debut on June 22, 2022, Downs received a pregame congratulatory tweet from Jeter, who met his namesake a few years earlier.

“Congratulations and good luck… unless you are playing the Yankees,” Jeter wrote.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was named the unanimous winner of the award on Wednesday. It marks the first Cy Young for Cole and the first time a Yankees player has won the award since Roger Clemens in 2001.

Cole, who received all 30 first-place votes, beat out fellow finalists Sonny Gray of the Minnesota Twins and Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s voting.

Gray finished second to Cole’s 210 points with 104, while Gausman came in third with 82 points. Cole’s triumph marks the 11th time that there’s been a unanimous AL Cy Young winner.

The 33-year-old Cole placed second in AL Cy Young voting twice: once with the Houston Astros in 2019 and once with the Yankees in 2021.

Cole led the American League in ERA (2.63), innings pitched (209.0), opponents’ batting average (.206) and WAR (7.5) while tying for first in starts (33) and shutouts (two). He finished tied for second in wins (15) and third in strikeouts (222). 

Cole was a bright spot for the Yankees throughout the 2023 season. He didn’t pick up his first loss of the year until June 9 and wound up getting the starting nod for the AL in the All-Star Game. His dominant pitching continued into the second half, where he capped off his season with a two-hit shutout against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 27.

Cole is the sixth Yankees pitcher to earn the AL Cy Young Award, joining Clemens, Ron Guidry (1978), Sparky Lyle (1977), Whitey Ford (1961) and Bob Turley (1958).

Over in the NL, San Diego Padres southpaw Blake Snell earned 2023 Cy Young honors.

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“We had a winning season. … That’s not an accomplishment, that’s a requirement,” Steinbrenner said Tuesday during an online news conference.

Boone replaced Joe Girardi before the 2018 season. New York faded from contention by mid-August and finished 82-80, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

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“He’s extremely intelligent. He’s hardworking. The players respect him,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s able to take all the information we throw his way.”

Boone is entering the final season of his contract. Steinbrenner said he typically does not consider early extensions.

New York fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson at the All-Star break and his replacement, Sean Casey, left after the season.

Steinbrenner said the team is relying heavily on a pair of former general managers who were hired last offseason, Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean. Steinbrenner said he had 40 pages of notes following the team’s end-of-season meetings, which he said at times were heated.

New York has hired Zelus Analytics for a yearlong review of its practices.

The Yankees made the announcement more than four hours before the scheduled first pitch at 1:05 p.m.
The Yankees announced the game will played on Monday. Rain also is forecast for Sunday.

Zach Davies (2-5) had been scheduled to start for the Diamondbacks and Carlos Rodón (3-6) for the Yankees.

A promotion was scheduled to take place at Saturday’s game where the first 18,000 fans in attendance were going to receive an Aaron Judge bobblehead. The Yankees said the bobbleheads will be distributed on Saturday, April 20 in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Arizona (81-73) began Saturday in position for the second NL wild card, one game ahead of the Chicago Cubs (80-74), who were holding the third and final wild card spot. Miami (79-75) was one game behind the Cubs, and Cincinnati (79-76) another half-game back.

New York (78-76) was seven games behind Houston (85-69) for the final AL wild card, also trailing Seattle (84-69).

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For anyone who’s been surprised by Derek Jeter‘s latest life chapter, let it be known the New York Yankees’ no-nonsense shortstop had a soft ‘n’ gooey center all along.

“A lot of people may have thought I was emotionally stunted when I was playing,” the 14-time MLB All-Star quipped to E! News’ Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview. “That’s not the case, I just hid it well. But I think having kids brings out the softer side of everyone, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Once Derek called it a career in 2014 after 20 seasons and five World Series rings, he wasted little time setting up a true home base with his wife of now seven years, Hannah Jeter. Fast-forward to this summer, when they piled four children into their Jeep Grand Wagoneer for a road trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame festivities in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the couple can measure—in memories and mileage—how far they’ve come as a team.

Professional Athletes Who Win at Fatherhood

“Just to clarify, it was her bright idea to bring all four of them,” Derek cracked, pointing to the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model sitting next to him. “It was ambitious.”

But Hannah simply refused to leave their youngest, then-2-month-old Kaius Green, behind.

And yes, the four-and-a-half hour drive from New York City was “definitely chaos,” Hannah shared, with daughters Bella Rain, who’s since turned 6, and Story Grey, 4, in boosters and River Rose, 21 months, and her baby brother in respective car seats.

“We need a lot of room,” Hannah described the scene. “We need a big trunk. We need a good sound system, as Derek would say, to drown out the noise. You need a lot of snacks.”

Hence the couple having an up-close-and-personal relationship with Jeep, especially now that they require that third row of seats. Having starred in the automaker’s “Eyes Wide Open” campaign last year, they’re returning Sept. 12 as the faces of “Up All Night”—which is inspired by how much time they spend behind the wheel as parents and, Derek said, “really is authentic to who we have become.”

They were at a Jeep event, the 49-year-old explained, and they had to excuse themselves so they could get home and be on the ball for their morning routine, which starts with taking their older girls to school.

“That’s what we try every day,” Derek added, sharing that he and Hannah do all the dropping off and picking up—and usually together.

But though his old morning routine of grabbing coffee and just driving around by himself is in the rearview mirror, the Fox Sports analyst has grown to love being surrounded.

While having a big family was the plan, it was admittedly “strange to even just see a boy, as opposed to the girls that I’m used to,” Derek said of becoming a father to a son in May. But it’s also decidedly “awesome.”

“I was never a guy that said, ‘Hey, I have to have a boy, I have to have a boy,'” said the athlete, whose bejeweled face at Bella’s 6th birthday party in August showed he’s still a quintessential girl dad. “Because, you know, I’m in love with my girls. But I’m so happy to now have a son.”

Four-month-old Kaius is still pretty stationary at the moment, Derek added, “which is not a bad thing when you have to chase three others around.” But he expects an uptick in the rolling over and sitting up action within the next few months, so there will be more updates from that arena in the future.

Meanwhile, Kaius’ big sisters are loving the living doll in their midst. “We’re trying to kind of keep them separated,” Hannah said, “because he’s still little and you don’t want him to get the germs and all those funky viruses from school. But they’re all over him. They’re always kissing him” and seeing them interact is “pretty fun.”

Athlete Romances You Should Be Rooting For

Now that school has started, the biggest change to their daily routine is earlier bed times—and, subsequently, earlier dance parties.

“They’re performances,” Derek said of their almost nightly tradition, of which he most definitely takes part. “It’s very theatrical.”

And although even his and Hannah’s nights out tend to conclude in a we-need-to-get-home-so-we-can-get-up-early fashion, those dates are important to the duo’s overall connection as husband and wife.

“We started having kids right after we got married,” Hannah said, “so, [we] just continue to make time for each other, take trips. There’s a lot going on, day-to-day, in our household—a lot of noise, a lot of kids—and that can be really overwhelming. So it’s nice once in awhile, date night—just the simple things.”

But since they only get so many moments alone, good times of all shapes and sizes are where the heart is.

“You just have to continue to have fun,” Derek offered. “You have fun with each other, have fun with family, have fun with friends.”

And at the end of the day, whether it’s just the two of them or the backseat is full, he and Hannah are enjoying the ride.

Boone said the club believes Rizzo’s symptoms trace back all the way to May 28, when the 33-year-old was involved in a collision with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base while fielding a pickoff throw.

Rizzo exited the game following the collision and missed the next three contests due to a stiff neck. Boone said Rizzo passed MLB’s concussion protocol before returning to the field on June 2.

But Rizzo recently mentioned feeling “foggy” to the club’s medical staff, according to Boone. After being run through neurological testing, the results showed Rizzo was “moving a lot slower than the normal person’s reaction time would be,” the first baseman said.

“That’s definitely alarming, especially for what I do for a living,” Rizzo added.

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Rizzo, who’s considered week to week, hasn’t been the same player since returning from the collision. He opened the season hitting .304/.376/.505 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs through May 28. But he’s slashing just .172/.271/.225 with one homer and nine RBIs since.

The three-time All-Star called the diagnosis a “silver lining” as he’s struggled to find his way out of a prolonged slump.

“I’ve struggled plenty in this game, but I’ve also done it for a long time to know that you usually come out [of a slump] and there’s signs of coming out,” Rizzo said. “I remember talking to someone [who asked], ‘Do you feel like you’re coming out of this soon?’ I answered honestly and I’m like, ‘No, I don’t.’ Because I just couldn’t feel what you’re trying to feel as a hitter. I guess now we can link two and two together.

“[The diagnosis] came back with a silver lining that I’m not crazy for walking back to the dugout consistently thinking, ‘Man, how did I miss that pitch? I usually don’t miss that.’ Or when I swung at a pitch thinking it was in one location and then going and looking at the video and it’s in a different location. As a baseball player, that’s frustrating.”

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German will be placed on the restricted list while he is away from the team.

“It is critical that Domingo completely focuses on addressing his health and well-being,” the Yankees said in a statement. “We will respect his privacy as he begins this process.”

Speaking to reporters, general manager Brian Cashman called German’s situation “very serious,” saying he doesn’t expect to see the right-hander pitch again in the 2023 season. Cashman said German has dealt with alcohol issues in the past and that an “incident” occurred on Tuesday, declining to go into further detail.

“Certainly it’s a very serious issue that affects way too many people, unfortunately, and hopefully the steps that are being taken today will really benefit him for the remaining part of his life because it’s a very serious problem that you need to address head on and these treatment places are significant steps hopefully to helping him get the tools to solve it,” Cashman said, via AP.

“I’m just worried right now for the person and the immediate family,” Cashman added. “Domingo German has certainly been a part of the Yankee family and he’s dealing with a very serious issue and I certainly think we’re all going to keep him in our prayers as he takes very important but necessary steps in trying to deal with this problem.”

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German, who turns 31 on Friday, sports a 4.56 ERA over 19 starts and one relief appearance this season. He’s a little more than a month removed from recording the 24th perfect game in MLB history in a June 28 outing against the Oakland A’s at Oakland Coliseum.

German was suspended 10 games by MLB earlier this season after being ejected from a game for using an illegal sticky substance. He was also suspended 81 games in 2020 over an alleged domestic violence incident.

German has been with the Yankees organization since 2015, making 112 total MLB appearances since his debut in 2017.

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No, not a fan in the crowd.

After pitching the eighth inning at Angel Stadium, reliever Tommy Kahnle came back to New York’s dugout and threw his glove at a cooling fan, knocking it to the ground. The 33-year-old right-hander then stomped twice on the object.

The outburst came after Kahnle surrendered one run on one hit and two walks in New York’s 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

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It’s not surprising that frustrations are boiling over. After being swept by the Angels, the Yankees have dropped nine of their last 11 games to fall to last place in the AL East at 50-47. And most of that stretch has come against teams New York has a better record than in the Angels, Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies.

“We stink right now,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters, via AP, after Wednesday’s loss. “We’re not very good right now. We understand that and certainly this is a low point for us,” he said. “So acknowledging that we’re not in a good place as a team right now and we’re not playing anywhere near the ball we need to be able to play to put ourselves in a good position at the end of the season.”

One silver lining for the Yankees is that 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge is close to returning from a toe injury that’s kept him sidelined since June 3, according to Boone.

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On Monday, New York Yankees star Gerrit Cole and Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen were officially named as the starting pitchers for Tuesday’s exhibition.

American League manager Dusty Baker of the Houston Astros and National League manager Rob Thomson of the Philadelphia Phillies made the decisions.

Cole, in his fourth season with the Yankees, is 9-2 with a 2.85 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 19 starts. He’s tied for sixth in the AL in strikeouts and tied for third with 13 quality starts. Cole will be making his sixth All-Star appearance, but Tuesday will be his first career start in the Midsummer Classic.

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who was the AL’s starter in 2021, is unlikely to pitch this year as he deals with a blister on his middle finger. The Japanese sensation is 7-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts on the mound this season, in addition to his MLB-leading 32 home runs at the dish.

Gallen, a 27-year-old right-hander, is in the midst of a breakout season as he makes his first All-Star appearance. He’s tied for the MLB lead with 11 wins, in addition to his 3.04 ERA, 125 strikeouts and just 23 walks over 19 starts. Gallen has been a key part of the D-backs’ turnaround season, as they’re currently tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead after going 74-88 last season.

The 2023 All-Star Game will be held at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

The throw came from Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson. The rookie shortstop was attempting to complete a double play in the fifth inning when he sailed a toss past first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. The ball flew into the camera well to the right side of the Yankees’ dugout and hit Pete Stendel, a YES Network cameraman.

“Every time that a ball goes over the first baseman or even a foul ball from the hitter, you don’t want to see it going towards a fan. It just happened to be in the wrong spot, and I hope he’s doing all right,” Henderson said after the game. “My prayers go out to him. I’m just thankful for the guys that rushed over there to help him.”

The game was delayed for 17 minutes as the Yankees’ training staff and other medical personnel attended to Stendel. 

Stendel waved and gave a peace sign to the crowd as he was carted off the field. 

YES Network said Wednesday night that Stendel was conscious and undergoing tests at the hospital. The network followed up on Thursday and said Stendel is resting at home.

“It was good to see him obviously coherent and obviously raise his hand,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It was very scary. … Just hope he’s OK.”

Following the delay, Orioles starter Dean Kremer was given a handful of warmup pitches and play resumed. Baltimore went on to win 6-3, and Henderson addressed if the errant throw affected him the rest of the game.

“I’m doing pretty fine,” he said. “Yeah, it sucks that happened to him, but it’s just trying to play the game hard. Sometimes that happens.”

Two days before he authored the 24th perfect game in MLB history, a death in the family rocked Germán.

While speaking with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovitz on the field moments after celebrating with his Yankees teammates, Germán explained through a translator how that affected him on the mound.

“Unfortunately, two days ago, an uncle passed away and I cried a lot yesterday in the clubhouse so I had him with me throughout the whole game,” Germán told Marakovitz. “I was thinking about him and it happened. This game is a tribute to him.”

Death can inspire incredible feats and Germán knows his uncle would have been proud of him.

“He would have been so happy,” Germán said. “He was always someone that really brought a joy to our family. It happened for him to [be able to] watch this from up there.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone knows exactly what his starting pitcher dealt with all week and was in awe of what Germán was able to accomplish while processing the emotions he was dealing with.

“It’s been a tough week for Domingo, with what he’s gone through, losing an uncle. For him to go out there and do that, I’m sure it adds to the emotion for him. To see his teammates, how excited they are for him, knowing what he’s kind of going through the last couple of days. I’m so proud of him. He’s been through so much. This has not been an easy week or time for him. For him to go out there and paint that masterpiece was really just a lot of fun to be able to watch.”

A perfect game from Germán wasn’t something anyone, even people associated with the Yankees, could have expected from him on this night.

The 30-year-old righty entered the night on one of the worst skids of his MLB career, having allowed a combined 15 earned runs over his last two starts. He began the game with a gaudy 5.10 ERA this season.

Whether it was a former top prospect reaching his vast potential, a slumping pitcher taking advantage of the worst team in baseball, or something supernatural, Germán was untouchable Wednesday.

“So exciting,” Germán said. “When you think about something very unique in baseball. Not many people have an opportunity to pitch a perfect game. To accomplish something like this in my career is something I’m going to remember forever. Be part of history. So exciting.”

Having thrown 93 pitches through eight innings, Germán needed just six pitches to get through the bottom of the ninth, retiring Aledmys Diaz, Shea Langeliers and Esteury Riuz to complete the job. A hard-hit ground ball to third baseman Josh Donaldson — a former Athletic — sealed the deal.

“That last inning was very different,” Germán said. “Very different. I felt an amount of pressure that I’ve never felt before. I’m trying to visualize what I want to execute there. At the same time, I don’t want to miss. So much pressure yet so rewarding.”

One of the worst A’s seasons in franchise history reached a new low Wednesday, but for Germán, there will be no sweeter moment in his career.

Two days ago, he cried tears of pain. On this day, and all through the night, he will cry tears of joy.

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It was the first perfect game since Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández threw one against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. There were three that season — but none since until Germán finished the first no-hitter in the big leagues this year.

Coming off a pair of terrible starts, Germán (5-5) struck out nine of 27 batters against the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors.

The 30-year-old right-hander had never before thrown a complete game in the big leagues. He was winless in six previous outings against Oakland.

He joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999) as Yankees pitchers to throw perfect games. Larsen’s gem came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Germán threw 72 of 99 pitches for strikes, mixing 51 curveballs and 30 fastballs that averaged 92.5 mph with 17 changeups and one sinker.

The Buffalo Bills safety will throw the ceremonial first pitch on July 3 while being honored by the New York Yankees as the team begins its annual HOPE Week initiative that spotlights individuals and their stories to inspire others.

Hamlin, 25, recently resumed his football career after recovering from cardiac arrest suffered during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January. He will be joined at Yankee Stadium by former Fordham softball player Sarah Taffet, who in 2021 was resuscitated during a game with CPR and an automated external defibrillator by a Fordham athletic trainer and medical personnel.

Prior to the game against the Baltimore Orioles, Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and other members of the organization will take part in CPR training in the outfield to learn the techniques that helped save Hamlin’s life.  

Hamlin, who collapsed after making a tackle, was resuscitated on the field after members of the Bills’ medical and athletic training staff administered CPR. Hamlin then spent 10 days recovering and being monitored in hospitals in Cincinnati and Buffalo.

Hamlin, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was fully cleared to return to football in April. He took part in team drills earlier this month for the first time since his near-death experience.

Hamlin has since been honored by the NFL, made an appearance at the Super Bowl and met with President Joe Biden at the White House while advocating for education and equipment access to respond to cardiac arrest.       

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The 31-year-old outfielder revealed on Saturday that he has a torn ligament in his toe. Judge suffered the injury, which was at first believed to be a sprain, on June 3 after crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch at Dodger Stadium. He was placed on the injured list on June 6.

“I’m not giving you any timeline. There’s no need,” Judge told reporters on Saturday. “I’ve just got to get better and then I’ll be out there.”

At this time, Judge has yet to resume hitting or playing catch. He added that he still feels pain when he walks and is unable to run.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone wouldn’t guarantee that Judge would return this season when asked about it on Saturday.

“That’s an absolute,” Boone said. “I can’t say that about anyone. But yeah, I feel like he’s going to be back.”

Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million deal to stay with the Yankees in December — the third-largest deal in baseball history. The team has struggled with Judge sidelined this season, going 11-16 when he’s been out of the lineup. He also missed 10 games in late April and early May due to a hip injury.

Entering play on Saturday, the Yankees hold a half-game lead over the Blue Jays and Angels for the final AL wild card spot.

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The Yankees’ support of New York’s Legacy of Pride will be highlighted during an on-field ceremony before the start of the Yankees-Mariners game Wednesday night.

Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Uprising in 2019, the Yankees-Stonewall Scholarship Initiative will be taking the stage and awarding five student leaders across the five boroughs with $10,000 each.

Students receiving this honor have demonstrated academic excellence, a dedication to equality, and significant support for the LGBTQ+ community. The intention of the scholarship is to provide resources for the winners goals both within their career, and educationally.

A portion from every ticket sold for the event will benefit NYC Pride initiatives and buyers will receive a free Pride-themed Yankees hat, a free regular-sized hot dog, and their first drink free.

The 7-foot-5 star French center threw the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners game on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, but it didn’t quite go as planned.

Wembanyama — sporting a pinstriped Yankees jersey with Joe DiMaggio’s No. 5 on the back — stepped up to the plate while applauding fans and went through his wind up motion, but the right-handed toss went wide left of the catcher and into the dirt.

Here’s another angle of the pitch:

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Wembanyama is in New York with the upcoming draft being held at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

Perhaps even more amusing was seeing Wembanyama riding the subway for the first time en route to Yankee Stadium. He had to crouch slightly just to fit.

And in case you were curious, here’s what the size of a baseball looks like in Wembanyama’s grasp, as he shared on his Instagram:

The 2023 draft is slated for Thursday, June 22. This time, though, he’ll have a classic basketball in his hands.

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When New York Yankees outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera stepped onto the field during Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets, he was wearing his grandmother’s tooth on a chain around his neck, according to Meredith Marakovits of YES Network.   

“He walked by me in the clubhouse today and I said, ‘What’s that on your necklace? Is that a tooth?'” Marakovits said during Tuesday’s game. “And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s a tooth. My mom told me to wear it.’ It’s his grandma Anna’s tooth. He said, ‘Whatever my mom tells me to do, I’m gonna do.’ So, he’s a good son, but I’ve never seen that before.”

Nor have other baseball fans, or dentists, or anyone else for that matter. The revelation about the 24-year-old’s necklace – with the tooth dangling from a gold chain – led to many questions and jokes on social media and in the broadcast booth.

“Is grandma Anna still with us without a tooth?” Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay said.

“It looks like grandma had a filling in that tooth, too,” Yankees analyst Paul O’Neill said. “It’s all beat up…I’ve seen a shark tooth on some people’s necklaces but never a human tooth.”

“It would be funny if he was wearing a whole denture,” Kay joked.

“Floss your teeth, kids,” analyst David Cone added.

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The longtime New York Yankees radio broadcaster was in his usual spot behind the mic Saturday night when Boston Red Sox designated hitter Justin Turner fouled a pitch back. The ball flew back, bounced into the WFAN booth and drilled Sterling in the head.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! It really hit me,” Sterling told the listeners. “I didn’t know it was coming back that far.”

Luckily, Sterling didn’t have to commentate much longer. Turner proceeded to ground out, giving the Yankees a 3-1 win and allowing Sterling a chance to deliver his signature line.

Check out the scene below:

“You know, that foul ball actually hit me,” Sterling said. “Kind of glanced off my forehead, so I took one for the team.”

The 84-year-old went on to say that he was OK. He returned to the booth Sunday night with a bandage above his left eye.

Despite the on-field rivalry, Sterling’s broadcast partner, Suzyn Waldman, shared on Sunday that Turner signed the infamous foul ball and left a message for Sterling.

“To John, no matter where you sit at a ballgame, you’re never safe,” it said.

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“Postponed: Air Quality.”

The Yankees rescheduled Wednesday night’s game due to concerns about poor air quality caused by smoky conditions stemming from Canadian wildfires. The matchup between the Yankees and Chicago White Sox is now scheduled to be played Thursday at 4:05 p.m. as part of a single-admission doubleheader.  

The New York area has been blanketed by a yellowish haze producing hazardous air quality due to wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia. The city’s air quality reached a hazardous level Wednesday, with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation extending its citywide air quality health advisory through midnight.

Air quality in the Bronx exceeded 400 in the afternoon on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, according to AirNow. A recording over 300 is considered hazardous.

The Yankees didn’t announce the game had been postponed until 4:30 p.m. ET.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked for Major League Baseball’s reasoning on waiting to make a decision

“I just know they were getting together to meet again,” Boone said. “It was business as usual for me coming in. I got in around 12-12:30 and didn’t really think too much of it. I actually walked outside about 2 o’clock and, like everyone else, was like, ‘Whoa!’ So, I think if my reaction was similar to Major League Baseball and the world’s reaction, I think circumstances changed and it became apparent.”

Conditions worsened overnight after the two teams played Tuesday’s game through an air quality that at the start of the game was over 150, which is considered an unhealthy level.

Several players on Wednesday afternoon warmed up on the field prior to the announcement that the game was being postponed.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ scheduled home game against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday was also postponed.

The WNBA’s New York Liberty postponed a home game set to be played Wednesday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn against the Minnesota Lynx. A National Women’s Soccer League match between the NJ/NY Gotham FC and Orlando Pride at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey was also postponed.

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A National Women’s Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday amid hazy conditions that have raised alarms from health authorities.

The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers was reset for 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, originally an off day for both teams.

“These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” MLB said in a statement.

The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying: “the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.” In Philadelphia, the NWS issued a Code Red.

The Yankees and White Sox played through a lesser haze on Tuesday night.

The NWSL postponed Orlando’s match at Gotham in Harrison, New Jersey, from Wednesday night to Aug. 9.

“The match could not be safely conducted based on the projected air quality index,” the NWSL said.

At nearby Belmont Park, The New York Racing Association said training went on as planned ahead of Saturday’s Triple Crown horse race.

“NYRA utilizes external weather services and advanced on-site equipment to monitor weather conditions and air quality in and around Belmont Park,” spokesman Patrick McKenna said Wednesday. “Training was conducted normally today, and NYRA will continue to assess the overall environment to ensure the safety of training and racing throughout the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.”

A two-game series in Seattle between the Mariners and the Giants was moved to San Francisco in September 2020 because of because of poor air quality caused by West Coast wildfires.

New York’s NFL teams, the Giants and Jets, both had Wednesday off from offseason workouts. The Giants had been planning to practice inside Thursday, and the Jets say they are also likely to work out indoors Thursday.

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Before Judge hit a game-tying home run in the ninth and Volpe delivered a walk-off sac fly in the 10th, a squirrel sparked a viral moment in the outfield seats at Yankee Stadium.

Some fans seated in the first row were left shocked as a squirrel ran along the top of the outfield fence. After darting past several people, the squirrel seemed to slip off the fence before landing on the warning track.

The fan reactions, which appeared to range from awestruck to terrified to amused, went viral. MLB’s video of the hilarious scene had over nine million views on Twitter as of Wednesday evening.

A squirrel running along a fence isn’t exactly an uncommon sight. But, in defense of the fans, it’s probably not something they excepted to see directly in front of them at the ballpark.

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The Celtics may have found the recipe for a miraculous series comeback against the Heat — and it doesn’t involve basketball.

During Boston’s 116-99 Game 4 win in Miami on Tuesday, two MLB icons were spotted sitting courtside — Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

With the Celtics’ win keeping the series alive as it heads back to Boston for Game 5 on Thursday, Twitter quickly pointed out the importance of the aforementioned stars’ presence. Both Rodriguez and Jeter were part of the 2004 New York Yankees squad that lost a 3-0 lead to the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. 

The Yankees became — and still are — the only MLB team to lose a seven-game series after possessing such an advantage in the league’s history, but no team in the NBA has pulled off the feat.

Could this all happen for Boston against Miami? Well, fans of the Celtics and NBA surely had their say:

Tip-off for Game 5 on Thursday in Boston is at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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