HOUSTON -- The Astros, down by four runs in the ninth inning Thursday night, were starting to build some momentum. A leadoff single by Victor Caratini and a double off the wall by Taylor Trammell meant they had the tying run on deck with no outs against Yankees reliever David Bednar.

Enter Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who came onto the field and asked the umpires to check Trammell’s bat. Plate umpire Adrian Johnson, the crew chief, took the bat from an Astros bat boy on the field and huddled with his crew. The umpires went to the headset for a crew chief review to verify the bat was legal due to the discoloration of the barrel, with Trammell saying he was told the bat was “shaved down too much.”

The bat was confiscated by the umpires and handed to an authenticator stationed next to the

See Full Page