Derek Jeter Night would be a hard act for anyone to follow. For Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees, it proved impossible.
Just moments before Tanaka took the mound for the second game of the Yankees’ doubleheader against the Houston Astros on Sunday night, Yankee Stadium had been an electrified sea of fans, many in white No. 2 jerseys, set against a soundtrack of thunderous chants of “Derek Jeter!”
But just minutes later, the chants turned to grumbles, then to boos, and then finally, another chant: “Throw it back!” That is the Yankee Stadium chant after an opposing batter hits a home run.