NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees say they are set to file their protest of Tuesday night’s loss to Boston before the deadline passes.

General manager Brian Cashman confirmed Wednesday that the Yankees were ready to submit their official protest to the commissioner’s office, he just wasn’t sure if the paperwork had been sent in yet.

New York claimed there was no indication of an injury to Red Sox starter Josh Beckett before he came out in the fifth inning. Still, reliever Manny Delcarmen was given all the time he needed to warm up on a damp and chilly night.

The Yankees, who were leading 5-0 at the time, protested to umpire crew chief Larry Vanover after the inning. The team had 24 hours from the final out of Tuesday night’s game to file the protest with the commissioner’s office. Boston wrapped up a 7-6 victory at Yankee Stadium early Wednesday, about 13 minutes after midnight.

A spokesman for Major League Baseball said the commissioner’s office hadn’t received the Yankees’ protest by 5 p.m. Once it is filed, MLB will respond within five business days.

Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, normally rules on protests.

“I think we have to officially write it up and then it gets sent in,” New York manager Joe Girardi said before the opener of a two-game series against AL East-leading Tampa Bay.

Boston put Beckett on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a lower back strain. The right-hander had skipped his previous turn in the rotation because of back spasms.

Cashman explained, however, that the issue for the Yankees is not whether Beckett was hurt. Their protest centers on the way he was removed from the game and whether Delcarmen should have been given only the standard eight pitches to warm up.

When a pitcher leaves a game with an injury, baseball rules allow for his replacement to take as much time as needed to get loose.

Following Robinson Cano’s two-run double in the fifth, Boston pitching coach John Farrell visited the mound. After a quick consultation with Beckett he gestured to the bullpen, and plate umpire Angel Campos signaled Delcarmen into the game.

Then, a trainer and Red Sox manager Terry Francona went to the mound as Delcarmen got ready to enter.

“To me, he shouldn’t get all his pitches there,” Girardi said after the game. “In my eyes it was not done in the right way. Anytime a guy is in trouble, you signal to the bullpen and say, ‘Oh, he’s hurt.’ That’s a huge advantage.”

Copy the Story Link