NORTH PORT, FLORIDA – MARCH 08: Yimi Garcia #93 of the Dominican Republic delivers a pitch to the Atlanta Braves within the eighth inning throughout an exhibition recreation at CoolToday Park on March 08, 2023 in North Port, Florida. (Photograph by Julio Aguilar/Getty Pictures)
Was Dominican Republic pitcher Yimi Garcia tipping off his fastball within the WBC elimination loss to Puerto Rico?
Editors Be aware: A earlier model of this publish acknowledged that Bryan Abreu could have been tipping pitches. That has been corrected to Yimi Garcia.
Locked in a high-stakes win-or-go-home battle on the World Baseball Classic, Puerto Rico put a shock into the Dominican Republic. Few anticipated the dominant D.R. crew to be going through elimination however the Puerto Rican facet constructed a three-run lead after which began to carry on.
A number of of the runs allowed by the Dominican Republic, although, got here off of Blue Jays pitcher Yimi Garcia. And there may be a purpose as to why.
Garcia may’ve been tipping his pitches, significantly his fastball, which Martin Maldonado and Kiké Hernandez each hit laborious into the outfield (although Maldonado’s was an out).
Right here is the video of the alleged tipping of pitches.
The quick leg kick and sped-up movement are used on his two-seamers, which he threw after the slider that Francisco Lindor hit a little bit league residence run on. Nonetheless, though there’s a clear tip-off Garcia gave all through his outing, there’s at all times an opportunity that the Puerto Rican crew didn’t see it. There have been no obvious indications of dialogue between the crew.
With that stated, Maldonado did gesture towards the on-deck circle after he lined out, which may’ve been him letting Hernandez know what to search for.
Here’s a video of Maldonado’s alerts.
The sport ended with Puerto Rico successful 5-2. These runs and the momentum that was created by these occasions have been undoubtedly an enormous issue within the ultimate results of the ballgame and, consequently, the Dominican crew’s elimination from the WBC.
Dominican Republic’s Yimi Garcia could have been tipping pitches in WBC loss