ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Boone said he couldn’t tell if the fly ball Clint Frazier hit that collided with a Tropicana Field speaker and was caught by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria was headed for the left-field seats or not.
Frazier, however, was convinced the speaker got in the way of a homer that would have provided the Yankees with a lead in the ninth inning of what turned into a 7-6 loss in 12 innings to the Rays on Sunday.
“It was definitely a homer,’’ Frazier said. “[MLB.com] Statcast had it at 335 feet and the wall is 315. It’s unfortunate. It’s hard to swallow. I have been preparing all week to pinch hit and I finally hit a speaker. I don’t think anybody expected it.’’
According to Tropicana Field’s ground rules, a ball that hits a speaker remains in play but Boone has an issue with where the speaker is positioned.
“I don’t know how you have a speaker in fair territory. That’s puzzling,’’ Boone said. “It’s in the ground rules so you just roll with it.’’
Miguel Andujar’s three-run homer in the second inning was his 11th of the season. That ties him with Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Nick Johnson (2002) for the third-most by a Yankees rookie before the All-Star break.
Aaron Judge hit 30 last year before the break and Gleyber Torres has 14 this year.
Looking to take advantage of Thursday being dark on the Yankees’ schedule, Boone said Luis Cessa will start Wednesday against the Phillies. The plan was to shift CC Sabathia from Wednesday to Friday against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. However, after using six relievers Sunday, the Yankees could start Sabathia Wednesday and put Cessa in the bullpen.
“We value giving CC an extra day, actually two days [of rest] and starting the first game against Boston, we thought it was valuable,’’ Boone said.
Cessa was on the disabled list from April 18 until Thursday with a strained left oblique problem and worked two innings out of the bullpen in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Rays.
“We have a lot of confidence in Cessa, that is the kind of role going into the season that we envisioned him in — the fifth, sixth starter and bullpen guy,’’ Boone said of the right-hander who has appeared in four games (all in relief) this season. “We feel he is built up enough and on line to be the best option that day.’’
If the Yankees shuffle their bullpen, Giovanny Gallegos and Tommy Kahnle, both at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, are on the 40-man roster.
Neil Walker started at first base for the slumping Greg Bird and Boone said it was simply a day off, that there was nothing ailing Bird.
“He has played a fair amount [of games] in a row,’’ Boone said of Bird, who entered Sunday’s action mired in a 7-for-51 (.137) slide. “I feel he is close.’’
Bird entered Sunday’s game in the ninth and flied out in the 11th.
Going into Sunday’s game, the Yankees led MLB in road attendance with a 34,524 average. They were the only team averaging more than 30,000 away from home.
