OAKLAND — With the Yankees clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night, reliever Lou Trivino hopped up from his seat in the visitor's bullpen, ripping off his sweatshirt to start getting loose.
New York's lead was cut to just one run earlier in the frame as left-hander Wandy Peralta ran into trouble, trying to nail down the save. That led to Trivino warming up in a hurry, insurance in case Peralta was unable to settle in and finish off the inning.
All of a sudden, after pumping a warmup pitch, Trivino felt a tap on his shoulder.
No, it wasn't a member of the coaching staff giving the right-hander an update on when he was coming into the game or a scouting report on one of Oakland's hitters. It was a batboy, still catching his breath from a mad dash in foul territory down the right-field line.
"You're in the wrong jersey," he told Trivino, motioning down to his right hand where he was holding a folded uniform.
Sure enough, as many had noticed during Trivino's first few warmup pitches in the bullpen, the right-hander was wearing a No. 50 jersey. That number belongs to starter Jameson Taillon, who pitched in Thursday's blowout win over the A's.
Trivino quickly stepped to the side and took his teammate's jersey off, slipping on his No. 56 uni before tucking in, grabbing his glove and getting back on the bullpen mound.
"I was warming up. I wasn't even paying attention. It happens," Trivino said at his locker after the game. "Wasn't the first time and probably won't be the last."
Trivino never ended up coming into the game. Peralta was able to strike out the final two batters he faced, securing the save in a 3-2 win. Still, the entire team was aware of the jersey switcheroo.
"That was odd. I haven't seen anything like that," starter Gerrit Cole said after the win. "I can't believe he got all the way down there with it. That was pretty funny. I don't know what happens if you go in with the wrong jersey."
Trivino's locker in the clubhouse is right next to Taillon's, so the reliever concluded that he must've either reached into the wrong locker and grabbed the wrong jersey before first pitch or the wrong uniform was hanging inside of his locker and he didn't notice when he was getting dressed.
Considering it was a chilly night in Oakland, the reliever had the mistaken jersey hidden underneath a hoodie until he began warming up in the ninth inning.
"It was freezing out there," he said with a smile.
In a high-leverage situation, with the game on the line, it's understandable that it took a few minutes for Trivino to be notified about the error. Plus, Trivino was preparing for what would've been his first outing at the Oakland Coliseum as a visitor. He spent the first five seasons of his MLB career pitching in green and gold, coming out of the Athletics' bullpen down the left-field line 129 times before he was dealt to the Yankees ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.
The veteran reliever has pitched well in his new threads, allowing just one earned run in nine innings of work (11 total appearances).
Had Trivino come into the game with the wrong jersey, especially in that situation, it wouldn't have been a joking matter. Since the crisis was averted, however, the reliever was able to be silly about what transpired.
"Now, I'm a meme," he said.
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