TBS cameras caught Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. discussing something during Game 3 of the Boston Red Sox’s American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
And it sure wasn’t dinner plans.
That brief clip led many to believe Yankees starter Luis Severino was tipping his pitches: giving tell-tale signs to Red Sox hitters that allowed them to know what he was throwing before he began his delivery. That belief apparently spread to New York’s own clubhouse, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.
“The Red Sox had his pitches,” a person in the Yankees organization told Heyman, who added this tidbit:
“Yankees people say they heard the ‘chatter’ from Red Sox people about (Severino’s) pitch tipping, and they all seem to believe there was something to it.”
The evidence of pitch-tipping certainly is there: After stymieing the Oakland Athletics in his previous outing and pitching well at Yankee Stadium all season, Severino struggled mightily against Boston’s lineup, allowing six runs (all earned) on seven hits in three-plus innings pitched.
We don’t know which Yankees staffer told Heyman the Red Sox had Severino’s pitches, but for New York’s sake, we hope it wasn’t someone in the dugout, who could have alerted manager Aaron Boone or pitching coach Larry Rothschild to address the issue.
Instead, Severino labored into the fourth inning, digging the Yankees a huge hole en route to a 16-1 blowout loss. Their season ended one night later in a Game 4 defeat, which means New Yorkers will have all offseason to re-hash Monday’s series of unfortunate events.
