Yankees: Umpires ejecting Orioles’ groundscrew was uniquely hilarious

No game featuring the New York Yankees can ever be easy or devoid of some unforeseen drama in 2021. This is the Westworld-esque narrative the team is stuck riding out with no ability to break the wheel.

It happened again on Wednesday night in the form of a 4-3 victory, but, again, in the most painful way possible. The Bombers were cruising with Nestor Cortes on the mound before they had to go to the bullpen.

In came Chad Green … which honestly was a fine experience until Gleyber Torres made another signature defensive miscue that you likely won’t see one of the other 29 MLB teams make. Two batters later, Green surrenders a homer and the Yankees’ 2-1 lead disappears.

You’ve gotta be kidding.

Luckily, Brett Gardner saved the day in the ninth with a clutch two-run single to give the Yanks the lead, but right before that happened, the umpires made a decision that we might’ve never seen before? We’re not sure, you tell us.

They ejected the Orioles’ groundscrew as the rain started to come down! Fully tossed!

The umpires ejecting the groundscrew during Yankees-Orioles was hilarious.

“Trying to delay this game? In the ninth? Youuuu’rrreee OUTTA here!” The umps were hell bent on ensuring there was no delay in the top of the ninth with runners on. Only way to do that? Kick all of the people out who are responsible for putting the tarp on the field.

Initially, fans thought they were calling for the groundscrew to roll out the tarp and stop this game with runners on second and third, Gardy at the plate, and one out. That would’ve been disastrous. And with the remaining schedule fairly tight over the next two and a half weeks, MLB certainly doesn’t want to be scrambling to jam pieces that don’t fit into the puzzle.

But in all seriousness, it was the right call to get the groundscrew off the field because they weren’t supposed to be waiting on the field for the call to roll out the tarp. Typically, there’s a waiting area for them before the umpires signal for their services in the event the rain is becoming a problem. Waiting on top or next to the tarp while the game is still going on? Not safe. A foul ball could seriously injure someone, and they could technically be in the way of a live ball/a defender trying to catch a foul ball.

What a moment for third base ump Tim Timmons, though. Must’ve felt liberating to kick a drove of people from the game. This has to be an MLB first, too, right? No chance any ump has ever sent 20 people packing at once.

Excited to see what Thursday evening brings. Mascot ejection? Cedric Mullins being lifted 20 feet into the air by the angels in the outfield? Gleyber Torres fielding a ground ball with the bases loaded and throwing it into the press box? Really, anything’s possible.

Yankees: Brett Gardner’s heroics save Gleyber Torres and Chad Green from banishment

The Yankees blew a late lead to the Orioles because of Gleyber Torres' defensive miscue and Chad Green's awful pitching, but Brett Gardner saved the day.