Yankees home run turns into a strikeout

NEW YORK -- Rougned Odor asked for time. He wished that he hadn’t.

The infielder placed his request while batting in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 7-1 Yankees victory over the Twins, which was granted by home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez milliseconds before Ralph Garza Jr.’s pitch. Odor slugged the ball into the Bombers' bullpen, a three-run homer that wasn’t.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” said Luke Voit, who was on deck at the time. “I hope that never happens to me. That’s bad karma; that stinks. It’s like hitting a foul home run and striking out.”

Had the long ball counted, it would have built a 9-0 lead for the Yankees. As the fans cheered, then booed, manager Aaron Boone emerged from the dugout to ask Hernandez if Odor had called for time. Their chat lasted only a few words.

“I just went out to get clarification, and Rougie asked for time,” Boone said. “Sometimes you don’t get it, so it’s a really good job by Rougie of not assuming anything and staying in there. That’s a tough one to live with as a hitter, to hit a three-run homer and it gets taken off the board. But at the same time, he called time out.”

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said: “I’ve never seen that in my life. It’s just quite the unusual play; very odd. I don’t even remember seeing people swing in that situation. And not only was there a swing, there was a ball hit over the fence. I think everyone on the field, even on the other side, knew that time was clearly called. But it was just quite the unusual play.”

Instead, Odor ended up striking out looking at an 83.2 mph changeup from Garza that just nicked the top of the strike zone. Odor had a little more to say, and Hernandez allowed some leeway to voice his frustrations.

“Those three-run homers are precious,” Boone said. “That’s a bummer, but there’s really nothing you can do.”