Grounds crew struggles in rain-shortened game as Yankees beat Rangers, 2-1

In the middle of the fifth inning, the wind whipped around the field and the grounds crew struggled to get the tarp on the infield. The rain began falling harder as thunder rocked the air and lightning lit up the sky, making it even more difficult for the grounds crew. Security staff and clubhouse employees came out to the field to lend a hand, but the tarp wouldn’t cooperate.

BY Mark Feinsand

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 10:53 PM

Updated: Thursday, July 24, 2014, 1:27 AM

 

 

Elsa/Getty ImagesRain cuts the game short, giving the Yankees a 2-1 win after a series of downpours.

The Yankees needed only five innings to beat the Rangers Wednesday night. The grounds crew must have felt like it worked much longer – and harder – than the players.

A storm rocked the Bronx during the fifth inning, bringing the game to a grinding halt with the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead.

Brett Gardner — whose solo home run in the third ultimately served as the game-winner in the 2-1, rain-shortened win — stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth as light rain turned into a torrential downpour.

Umpires quickly stopped the game as the Rangers bolted for their dugout and fans scurried for shelter, leaving the grounds crew as the only people at the Stadium heading into the storm.

The crew probably wished it had been anywhere else.

As the wind whipped around the field, the grounds crew struggled to get the tarp on the infield. The driving rain began falling harder as thunder rocked the air and lightning lit up the sky, making it even more difficult to lay down the tarp.

“The grounds crew just physically couldn’t get the tarp on,” Joe Girardi said. “It becomes too heavy. It’s heavy by itself, but once you pile the rain on, it’s nearly impossible.”

Security staff and clubhouse employees came out to the field to lend a hand. At one point, a crew member fell and was trapped under the heavy sheet until one of his colleagues helped him out.

Yankees VP of stadium operations Doug Behar suffered a laceration on his face during the tarp incident, but he was back on the field later to monitor the situation.

After 13 minutes of futility, the crew finally got the tarp down on the field, although a portion of the circle that surrounds the batter’s box and home plate was still visible.

The rain had subsided by 10 p.m. as the grounds crew prepared the field for play, but after the umpires met with Girardi and Texas skipper Ron Washington on the field, the managers objected to its condition.

Brad Penner/USA Today SportsBrett Gardner hits a solo shot in the third inning, putting the Bombers ahead.

“We felt the field was not safe,” Girardi said. “Ron Washington said he thought a hamstring would be blown and I said ‘I question if this is safe for our players. Is there anything you could do to firm it up?’ ”

Both teams stood by their dugouts waiting for a resolution as the umpires spoke with league officials in Manhattan.

Instead, rain started falling again around 10:25, bringing the tarp out once again. Ten minutes later, the game was called after a one-hour, 49-minute delay.

“The grounds crew did everything they could,” Girardi said. “They physically did everything they could and Mother Nature took over.”

Washington said he “definitely complained” about the prospect of the game being called at that point, but crew chief Dale Scott defended the decision.

Elsa/Getty ImagesThe Yankees grounds crew rolls out the tarp in the middle of the fifth inning and… struggle.

“It would really be bad if we started playing and somebody blew out a knee or a hamstring or whatever because of that,” Scott said. “So that was our decision.”

Washington argued that the field situation should not have decided the outcome.

“Because of them not being able to get the tarp out on the field, this game shouldn’t come to us losing it,” Washington said.

“Maybe it should’ve been suspended.”

Girardi didn’t disagree.

Elsa/Getty ImagesThe Yankees grounds crew covers the field with the tarp once again.

“You don’t necessarily like to see it end like this,” Girardi said. “It’s good for us, but you don’t ever want to feel like you don’t get a chance to finish a game. Maybe it’s something they look at this winter.”

This was the second rain-shortened game for the Yankees in the past 10 days, as they came up on the short end of a 3-1 score in Baltimore on the final day before the All-Star break.

“We lost in Baltimore because of Mother Nature and we won tonight because of Mother Nature,” Girardi said. “That just happens in our game.”

The Yankees got more than a win; they also had the chance to rest their entire bullpen after Girardi used every arm during Tuesday night’s 14-inning marathon.

“Complete game,” said a smiling David Phelps (5-4), who gets credited for going the distance after throwing five innings of one-run ball. “That’s what we needed tonight.”