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ATLANTA — For the second time in a little over a week, the Yankees seemed to have figured out the opposing pitcher’s signals and shared those clues with the batter, sparking a significant rally.
This time, though, it led to a kerfuffle between Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Braves coach Eddie Perez.
During the sixth inning of what eventually turned into a thrilling 12-9 victory for the Yankees, an exchange of words occurred between Chisholm, who was on third base, and Perez, who was in the Braves dugout. Television footage showed Perez gesturing towards his head.
Chisholm appeared to get upset at the insinuation, and was then telling teammates about Perez pointing to his head once he returned to the dugout.
After the game, Chisholm chose not to speak on the matter, but Perez explained to reporters, including those from MLB.com, that he noticed Chisholm signaling from second base and was advising him to “think.” Perez clarified that he wasn’t suggesting any intention to target Chisholm’s head.
“I’m not entirely sure [what was going on],” manager Aaron Boone said. “I know they were saying some things that will probably be looked at and should be.”
Video shows that when Chisholm was taking a lead off second base, he was using hand motions — similar to the ones the Yankees used when Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz was tipping pitches against them last week — to alert Anthony Volpe of what was coming from reliever Rafael Montero, which is legal.
Volpe eventually hit a 3-1 fastball for a sacrifice fly as part of a four-run rally that pulled the Yankees within 7-6.
Cam Schlittler’s biceps soreness, and an abundance of caution, forced the Yankees into a bullpen game on Friday night.
But the rookie right-hander threw a bullpen session on Saturday and, if he recovers well from it, should be in line to slot back into the rotation on Tuesday against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
“Very insignificant,” Schlittler said Saturday of the inflammation in his right biceps. “Just a little bit of soreness that I irregularly felt. Just wanted to bring it to their attention and obviously they want to be cautious about it. … I think they’re just helping me out by giving me a couple extra days to reset and be ready for Toronto.”
Max Fried, meanwhile, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Sunday, when he will test out the finger where he sustained a blister last week. If he gets through it without issues, he would then be in line to start Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays.
Schlittler did not think his biceps issue stemmed from overthrowing in his MLB debut last Wednesday, when his fastball averaged 97.9 mph and hit 100. He said he recovered well from that before feeling something and telling the Yankees about it Tuesday.
“I’ve been sore there plenty of times,” he said. “I think it was just a little bit more than usual.”
Boone watched Luis Gil’s second rehab outing on Saturday morning and said his “stuff was good” with a fastball in the 95 mph range. Assuming he recovers well in the coming days, Gil would make his next rehab start on Wednesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, building up to around 65 pitches.
The Yankees promoted catcher Rafael Flores to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. The 24-year-old catcher was hitting .287 with an .841 OPS and 15 home runs in 87 games at Double-A Somerset. He is a potential trade chip entering the deadline, with his stock on the rise over the past year.
“I think he’s got a chance to be a really good one,” Boone said.The Yankees called up right-hander Allan Winans on Saturday and designated Rico Garcia for assignment. Garcia, claimed off waivers from the Mets earlier this week, threw 53 pitches in 2 ²/₃ innings Friday. … Yerry De Los Santos (elbow discomfort) began a rehab assignment on Saturday with Double-A Somerset.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Yankees had signed 14 of their 19 draft picks, including each of their top six picks.