QUEENS, N.Y. — Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire hadn’t looked at the replay because there was nothing he could do about it. Instead, he was standing behind a desk inside the visiting manager’s office at Citi Field, sounding like he did the day before.
The Tigers fought, they had a chance, they couldn’t get the big hit.
But nearby, JaCoby Jones was looking at the replay of the final pitch of Sunday’s series finale against the Mets, a 96.8 mph fastball from closer Edwin Diaz that was close enough for Strike 3. Jones eventually offered this assessment of home plate umpire Jerry Meals’ call: “It was off the plate.