YANKEE NOTES
BALTIMORE – According to umpire Jerry Davis, Gabe White was violating a rule Tuesday and Wednesday night when he entered the game with a silver chain around his neck. Both times the crew chief informed the Yankee reliever he had to remove it.
Wednesday night White said, “It’s total [bleep].”
Prior to last night’s Yankees-Orioles game at Camden Yards, Davis explained his stance.
“The rule is that no field personnel can wear distracting jewelry,” Davis said.
Following White’s poor outing – he gave up two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning – Tanyon Sturtze entered the game with a similar chain, but Davis didn’t make him remove it.
“I didn’t see that. If I had seen that I would have made him take it off, too,” Davis said.
Joe Torre wasn’t sure why Davis made White remove the chain and planned on talking to the umpire before last night’s game.
“I always thought it had to come through a complaint through the other team,” Torre said. “For the umpire to do it on his own is strange, especially on the second day.”
White, who pitched the ninth inning of last night’s 18-5 victory, didn’t have the chain on.
With or without the chain, White struggled since he gave up two runs and three hits in one inning last night.
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Kenny Lofton told Torre he felt something in his left hamstring running out a ground ball in the sixth inning and came out of the game.
“He felt a little tightness,” Torre said of the leg Lofton injured Sunday in Texas. “But I am not sure what that means for [tonight].”
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Jason Giambi’s sprained right ankle still had puffiness in it yesterday according to Torre and tests when the team gets to Florida aren’t out of the question.
“It’s not out of there,” Torre said of the swelling. “He feels he can run, but you don’t want him to try. It’s not ready yet.”
Giambi is hoping to take BP today and said Wednesday that he will be ready to come off the DL June 6.
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The Yankees’ nine hits and eight runs in the fifth inning were season-highs . . . Alex Rodriguez (two-run HR) has reached base in 35 straight games and has an eight-game hitting streak. Hideki Matsui also has an eight-game hitting streak.
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Javier Vazquez (4-4; 3.67 ERA) opens a three-game series against the Devil Rays tonight in St. Petersburg. RHP Doug Waechter (2-4; 3.93) goes for the hosts. Kevin Brown (5-1; 3.60) draws LHP Mark Hendrickson (2-4; 5.15) tomorrow night and Jon Lieber (4-1; 3.53) faces RHP Victor Zambrano (4-4; 5.63) on Sunday.