Caballero’s pitch – Jose Caballero was warned for intentionally delaying play with the pitch clock in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday, and Toronto’s frustration spilled over again when John Schneider was ejected while arguing another call lat
TORONTO — The Yankees’ 8-3 win on Sunday came with a new kind of friction layered into the Blue Jays’ rivalry with New York, one measured not in pitches or innings, but in seconds.
Jose Caballero put that on full display in the sixth inning. Once the timer hit eight seconds against Spencer Miles, Caballero stretched the rule’s limits by taking his time to set his head to the pitcher. Umpire Steven Jaschinski warned him for “intentionally delaying.”
The issue wasn’t the placement in the box — it was the timing. Caballero stepped in against Spencer Miles and positioned his body for the pitch. then twice skirted the line before Jaschinski took action. After the warning, Jaschinski made it clear that if it happened again, Caballero would be charged a strike.
For Toronto, the part that lingered wasn’t only the call — it was the disruption. The game paused for more than two minutes while multiple people converged around home plate. leaving Miles idle and unable to throw a pitch as Caballero. Jaschinski. Yankees manager Aaron Boone. and eventually crew chief John Tumpane stood over the plate.
By the time the Blue Jays had their own moment of protest in the eighth inning. Schneider wasn’t just talking about the balk call he came out to challenge. He was ejected for the second time this season after arguing an eighth-inning balk call on Jeff Hoffman with Jaschinski. a native of Burlington. Ont.
“Upset about the balk initially and upset about some other things,” Schneider said. “It’s not why we lost, but Hoff has a good inside move. He’s done it quite a bit this year. It’s kind of what I was relaying to them and didn’t think it was a balk. Thought they could have maybe put as much focus and attention on that play as they did the 10-minute conversation with Jose Caballero. who seems to have a problem with the pitch clock. That’s when I got a little bit upset.”.
Schneider said he didn’t get further explanation about the pitch-clock incident beyond the in-stadium announcement Jaschinski made after warning Caballero. What stayed with him, though, was the latitude he believes Caballero received.
“There are a lot of major-league players in this league. There seems to be one guy that has an issue with it,” Schneider said. “It sucks that Spencer Miles has to sit out there for as long as he did. Seems like it could have been handled a lot quicker and more efficiently than it was. That’s not why we lost, but it’s major-league baseball and everyone knows the rules.”.
In the Yankees clubhouse, Caballero offered a simpler version of what happened: he said he was doing the same pre-pitch setup he always does and that “it’s not my fault the pitchers rush a little bit.”
Miles, for his part, said the delay was tough — and he made a point of staying mentally locked in anyway since he couldn’t throw warm-up pitches during or after the pause. He also said the incident didn’t catch anyone by surprise.
“I think everyone in here knows what’s going on. I think it’s pretty common him doing that, and I think the umpire finally caught on,” Miles said. “He did it again there. Like he looked at me and looked back down. So it’s out of habit. But I think everyone in here kind of knows that deal. So just be ready to pitch it when he’s looking at you.”.
That’s the part Toronto couldn’t shake: the sense that every time the teams get close to a rhythm, the clock — and the arguments around it — become another battleground.
John Schneider wasn’t the only one trying to manage the ripple effects of a high-usage season. A busy bullpen has become part of the Blue Jays’ everyday workload. Five of the 22 most frequently used big-league relievers are on Toronto’s roster. Mason Fluharty leads with 38 appearances in the majors and Braydon Fisher has 36 outings, tied for second.
Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers are next, tied for sixth at 34 outings, while Jeff Hoffman is tied for 12th at 33 games among the group. The Blue Jays have the most relievers in that top tier, with three apiece also from the Yankees and Athletics.
Schneider acknowledged that the wear from those assignments can show up. He referenced two weekend reminders: Varland giving up Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run homer in the ninth on Saturday and Fisher coughing up a two-run shot to Ben Rice in the ninth on Sunday.
“Yeah, probably,” Schneider said. “The life of a reliever is really, really hard, and when they’re available, they’re available, and when not, they are not. But over the course of time, it takes its toll on you a little bit, and we’re asking a ton out of those guys.”
Fisher didn’t want that to become an excuse. He said heavy workloads can impact performance “sometimes,” but added “I don’t think that was the case” against Rice. Fisher described the pitch he’d been aiming for — a slider down and on the inner edge that, in his view, was nearly ideal.
“That would have been like the most perfect strike pitch,” Fisher said. “but to strike him out, maybe get it a little lower, a little more in. Preferably a little bit lower, but I’m not trying to be perfect; nobody’s perfect. Maybe looking back. we throw him a different pitch. or maybe I do just throw one 40 feet before I throw it more in the zone.”.
Fisher said he throttles down both his catch play and his warmups in the bullpen during heavy stretches, and he described his overall role as one Schneider can lean on in multiple ways — opening in front of a starter, setting up in the late innings, and closing, with one save to his credit.
Fluharty described similar routines. After walking lefty Jazz Chisholm Jr. on four pitches to open the eighth after recording two outs in the seventh. Fluharty said he focuses on recovery resources like “treadmill pool” work and being “on top of arm-care with the trainers. ” sometimes even taking off “when I can.”.
He said early in the season, while he was still building workload, it was tougher — until after the first three weeks when stuff and velocity began to trend down. After that, he said his arm adjusted.
“After like the first three weeks. I think. stuff and velo started to trend down a little bit until my body and my arm realized. like. this is where we’ve got to be. ” Fluharty said. “Now I feel like my arm and my body are in a spot to where this is my workload and now it’s all balanced out. Everything feels good, so now I’m at a point where I’m used to it.”.
Even with the grind, Fisher insisted the goal is still the same.
“We all love being out there,” Fisher said. “Obviously. we’ve had some struggles with the IL this year and we’re getting our guys back here soon. so the workload will go down a little bit. and we’ll all be happy and sad about that. It’s good for the team as a whole and for each other individually. But we like earning our money.”.
That grind connects directly to the Blue Jays’ next piece of bullpen planning, because they’re also watching Yimi Garcia’s progress from elbow surgery.
Garcia’s second rehab outing with triple-A Buffalo — an inning of one-run ball in Saturday’s 8-7 win over Syracuse — went better than his first. Schneider said Garcia’s fastball averaged 95.5 m.p.h. and topped out at 97.1. Three days earlier, his top number had been 92.9.
“Reports were good, velo was better and him after the game reported feeling good,” Schneider said. “although when it comes to his next steps. the Blue Jays are ‘not quite sure.’ We’re going to get in touch with him as we get going to Boston to see how he feels. and if he needs another one. we’ll see. But the reports were good and he felt better after that one.”.
One big question is how quickly Garcia can handle frequency. Schneider said the Blue Jays need him to be available to pitch every other day. So far in rehab, Garcia has pitched once on two days of rest, with the other outings coming with at least three.
That timing matters for another reason: when Garcia is reinstated, the Blue Jays will need to create a bullpen spot that doesn’t rely on arms that are easily optionable.
The day also brought updates on the lineup. On Sunday, the Blue Jays used a lineup without Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after he missed a second straight day due to lower tightness in his back. Andres Gimenez was also a late scratch with left wrist soreness.
Still, the news improved by the end of the game. Guerrero tested himself during the game and was on deck to pinch-hit for Yohendrick Pinango in the ninth, if the lineup reached that spot.
“Vlad felt better as the game went on,” Schneider said. “Gimenez was still a little bit sore, but I think the off-day will be good for him and Vlad. … After the off-day, they should both be good.”
Guerrero’s back tightened up before he played Friday. while Gimenez jammed his wrist diving into first base Saturday to beat out an infield single. Gimenez explained that “hit the bag really hard because of the late slide. It wasn’t in my head (to slide) until I saw (Cam Schlittler) getting closer to me. Then I decided to slide, so it was late.”.
Blue Jays Yankees Jose Caballero pitch clock Steven Jaschinski John Schneider Spencer Miles Jeff Hoffman Aaron Boone Yimi Garcia Mason Fluharty Braydon Fisher Tyler Rogers Louis Varland Vladimir Guerrero Jr Andres Gimenez