NEW YORK — With Andrew Knizner helping to warm up Genesis Cabrera before the inning, Willson Contreras, his gear trapped on, did not trot over to the plate and immediately replace his colleague. Instead, he detoured to the mound, where he pulled Cabrera close between his warmup pitches.
“I said, ‘This is your game. You’re the best out here,'” Contreras explained. “That was one mindset that I want to put in a reliever, in every pitcher who takes the mound. I want them to feel it’s their game. It’s their opportunity to shine. And nobody can take anything away from them.