Twins manager ejected after Yankees pitcher did not listen to 'sticky stuff' warning

Baldelli said after the game that his issue was more with the process than anything German might have had on his hand.

Here is Baldelli on the matter from the Star Tribune.

 "I wasn't going to go out on the field and return to the dugout, on principle, because I thought it was wrong," he said. "The pitcher didn't comply with what he was asked to do, and that upset me and upset everyone in our dugout. I can't go back in the dugout … and look everyone in the eye and say that's fine."

Umpiring crew chief James Hoye spoke to a pool reporter after the game and explained what happened without really offering much of an explanation as to why German was allowed to remain in the game.

Again from the Star-Tribune:

Crew chief James Hoye discovered Germán's pitching hand was unusually tacky and asked him if he was using rosin, which pitchers are allowed to use to get a better grip on the baseball as they pitch. "I said, 'I need you to clean it up,'" Hoye told a pool reporter after the game. When Germán came out to start the fourth inning, Hoye checked the pitcher's hand again, "and there was still some tackiness on his pinky. And I said, 'I just told you to clean this up.' "

It is hard to disagree with Baldelli here. The umpires clearly thought there was a violation, told the pitcher to fix it and then allowed him to stay in the game when he did not. No matter what you think of the rules you should at least want to see it applied and called correctly and consistently. Baldelli obviously thought that was not the case here.

German did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and finished the game with 6.1 innings pitched, allowing three hits, only one earned run and striking out 11 Twins batters. He also did not walk a batter. Kyle Higashioka and Anthony Rizzo both hit home runs for the Yankees in the win.