BOSTON — New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is skeptical.
While Girardi didn’t directly accuse Red Sox reliever Edward Mujica of intentionally plunking Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game at Fenway Park, the skipper wondered aloud when asked about the beaning following New York’s 8-5 win.
“You’d have to ask (Mujica),” Girardi said. “It seemed a little fishy to me.
“He threw (inside on) the first pitch. He didn’t seem to have any problems before that. He’s the only one that knows.”
Yankees starter Adam Warren struck Hanley Ramirez with a pitch in the sixth inning, eliciting an angry response from the Red Sox slugger. It sure looked like Mujica might have been retaliating in defense of his teammate when drilling Ellsbury, but the right-hander denied that being the case.
“I’ve got a game plan when I came out. I was just trying to throw him in,” Mujica said. “That pitch maybe ran inside a little more. I threw two inside to get a ground ball because he’s been hot.”
Ellsbury, who reached base a career-high six times and tied a career-high with four hits, took some not-so-subtle jabs at his former team after Sunday’s game. Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who walked out of the dugout in the eighth inning before Nelson issued warnings, was even less subtle.
“I was trying to figure out what was going on,” Sabathia said, according to the New York Post. “I think they hit Jacoby on purpose, yes. I just don’t understand what happened.”
Warren denied hitting Ramirez on purpose in the sixth. Red Sox manager John Farrell and designated hitter David Ortiz also said they thought Warren hitting Ramirez was unintentional. There clearly were some tense moments Sunday, though, which made the Yankees even more pleased with their win.
“The adrenaline of all the crap that went on, to come out on top is pretty awesome,” Yankees closer Andrew Miller, a former Red Sox reliever, said of nailing down the save — and the Yankees’ sweep — despite loading the bases in the ninth.
“I was a long ways away (in the bullpen),” he added, according to NJ.com. “I don’t know if I’m the right one to comment on it. But I’ll leave it at that.”
Let’s see if the teams leave it at that, or whether there are fireworks the next time they hook up.
Thumbnail photo via Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports Images
