Thursday’s night game at Yankee Stadium wasn’t particularly enjoyable for local fans.
By the time the first inning ended, the Minnesota Twins were up 9-0 against the New York Yankees.
They mercilessly punished starting pitcher Jhony Brito, who had the first really bad start of his career.
In blowout games, MLB teams often opt to use position players to cover some innings.
That way, they don’t overtax their bullpen ahead of an important stretch of games.
Teams abused this situation last year, so the league implemented some restrictions.
Since it was an 11-1 game by the time Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the mound, there were no issues.
The infielder had the time of his life on the mound.
He managed to complete a scoreless inning and really enjoyed himself out there.
His first pitch was a 38-mph “heater”:
🚨 EL LANZAMIENTO MÁS LENTO…
Del día… de la temporada… en la historia de #Yankees 😱
👉 Isiah Kiner-Falefa
🔥 3️⃣8️⃣ mphpic.twitter.com/4NWK8HftsI— Joframaso⚾️ (@joframaso) April 14, 2023
And on his way out, he asked the umpires to check him for foreign substances:
Isiah Kiner-Falefa begging to get checked for sticky stuff😂#Yankees | #RepBX
pic.twitter.com/SKmgLpqHwU— Better Than Vegas (@btvbets) April 14, 2023
Despite being on the losing end of a blowout, fans enjoyed that moment, too.
In the end, Anthony Rizzo hit a ninth-inning home run but Minnesota won, 11-2.
It’s the first time Kiner-Falefa acted like a pitcher in a major league game.
He has appeared as a catcher, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, and center fielder.
He only has first base and both outfield corners to go to say that he has played at least an inning at every position.
He is not much of an asset offensively (he had a .642 OPS last year as the starting shortstop and is at .211 this season) but you can’t deny the man is versatile.
NEXT: Isiah Kiner-Falefa Accomplished A Major First On Thursday
