Yankees cracked Mariners’ code, signaled pitches from second base to stage historic rally

Billy Heyen

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Yankees cracked Mariners’ code, signaled pitches from second base to stage historic rally image

The New York Yankees cracked the code.

And in the process, they became the first team since 1977 to be no-hit through seven innings and stage a rally to win from five runs down, per Sarah Langs.

The secret came in the ninth inning. By that point, the Yankees had rallied to trail the Mariners, 5-3. They'd knocked dominant starting pitcher Bryan Woo out of the game. They just needed to plate a pair of runs.

Seattle brought in star closer Andres Munoz. But it turns out, the Yankees had something on him.

They knew when he would throw his slider.

And video evidence shows, with a runner either on first base or second base, they were signaling into their hitter with a big wave whenever a slider was coming.

Afterward, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh told reporters it was clear that the Yankees had some kind of tip on the pitch.

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This is a generally accepted form of gamesmanship. The idea is that if you can't hide what pitch you're throwing from the opposition between the lines, they deserve to know what it is.

Munoz probably was giving it away either in how he held or moved the ball when he came set, or how he positioned his hand within his glove once he was set.

Either way, it helped the Yankees. They scored two runs off the star closer, then walked-it-off on an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly in the 10th.

It certainly helps when you know what pitch is coming.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle