It's been a rough two days in Toronto for Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra.
The New York backup backstop has burned his team with catcher's interference calls that cost the Yankees the first two games of their pivotal four-game set against the Blue Jays.
After his catcher's interference loaded the bases in the sixth inning of a tie game on Monday — which led to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s go-ahead two-run single in the Yankees' loss — Escarra was caught sticking his glove out a little too far again on Tuesday.
In a 4-4 game in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Addison Barger checked swung and was called out on strikes for what seemed to be the second out of the inning, but a replay review caught Escarra's catcher interference and gave the Blue Jays a bases-loaded situation once again. What followed was a single and a grand slam that blew the game open as Toronto eventually defeated the Yankees, 12-5.
"It’s on me. I intend to get as close as possible, but not let that happen. I was too close today," Escarra said after the game. "Didn’t help my team win today or yesterday. It’s something I can control."
Escarra later said, "It gave them bases loaded, and the big hit came. I could have prevented it. It was in my control."
Escarra now has three catcher's interference calls on him this season, which is tied with Houston's Victor Caratini for the most in baseball.
"We’re incredibly diligent on trying to eliminate that as much as possible," manager Aaron Boone said of the catcher interference after the game. "It is something that we lean into every hitter, who we’re vulnerable with, who we are not, and we do that accordingly with our catchers. It’s something we continue to lean into and eliminate as much as we can and leverage the strikezone as much as we can."
Boone added that he believes catcher's interference shouldn't be called on a check swing, although he admitted that the Yankees benefited from a similar call last season. And Luke Weaver, the Yankees' high-leverage reliever who was on the mound when Tuesday's catcher's interference was called, echoed his skipper's sentiment.
"That was a confusing one. That’s one I didn’t see in real time…it’s pretty devastating, honestly," Weaver, who allowed the grand slam to George Springer, said. "That’s a really unfortunate part of our game, and I don’t personally think it belongs in our game. I understand there are moments where it’s very egregious and they hit the glove on a full swing. I feel like you earned something there, and it was taken away from you. That’s out of my control at that point. Just a really silly thing to happen."
Escarra does agree with Boone, but still, put the onus on himself for being too close to the batter and continues to put Tuesday's loss on himself.
"He wasn’t going to swing. But at the end of the day, I shouldn’t have been too close like that," he said. "Going forward, I really got to make it a priority not to get too deep in there."
The Yankes (48-37) are now just one game ahead of the Rays and Blue Jays in the AL East standings. The loss also dropped the Yankees' AL East record to a measly 10-14, which is the worst in the division.
Every day catcher Austin Wells isexpected to return to the starting lineup Wednesday after getting tested for his circulatory issues in his catching hand. Hopefully, that reset will allow Escarra the time to adjust his pitch-framing and prevent any more extra baserunners from his catcher's interference.
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