NEW YORK (AP) -Three games into his tenure as New York Yankees manager, Joe Girardi was too sick to manage against Tampa Bay on Friday night because of an upper respiratory infection.
Girardi was at the ballpark, and the Yankees said he had a high fever and rested in his office before the game. He did not speak with reporters.
Bench coach Rob Thomson managed the team against the Rays. Thomson said it was the first time since 1995 that he managed a game at any level.
“He wants to be out there, no question,” Thomson said of Girardi.
In other news, Melky Cabrera and Shelley Duncan dropped their appeals of suspensions assessed after a spring training altercation with the Rays. Tampa Bay’s Jonny Gomes also dropped his appeal.
The suspensions of Cabrera and Duncan were cut from three games each to two. Cabrera started serving the penalty Friday night and Duncan will start Sunday.
Gomes’ penalty was cut from two games to one, which he served in Friday’s series opener. He originally was scheduled to start Friday before the Rays learned he was sitting out.
“Up until 4:14 (p.m.), I assumed it was still scheduled for Monday,” Tampa Bay executive vice president Andrew Friedman said of the appeal.
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