The New York Yankees have just served one of their season’s standouts after notching a 6-5 extra-innings win against the Seattle Mariners. Perhaps pitch tipping from Andrés Muñoz helped. Interestingly, he’s one of the most reliable arms for the Mariners this season. It was nearly ironic that in the end, he was the one who contributed to Seattle’s brutal loss that ended in a sweep by the Yankees.

Not once but at all times whenever the Yankees had a runner on second base, he waved his hand as if Muñoz was about to throw a slider. Even Cal Raleigh agreed. “He was tipping it every time at second base … Obviously, they weren’t making it very discreet.”

Yet, when Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about it the next day, his reaction was unbelievably surprising.

Speaking with SNY, when Boone was questioned about who among the Yankees spotted that Andrés Muñoz was tipping his sliders last night, he said, “Muñoz was? I don’t know.” Both baserunners, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, waved their hands from second base when Muñoz was about to throw a slider. While everyone took notice, it’s certainly surprising that Boone played the clueless card.

The interviewer, who was just as blown away, asked again, “You’re saying that that didn’t happen?” Boone stood by his stance: “I don’t know anything about that.”

The contrast between Boone’s stance and Raleigh’s claim is too hard to ignore. Muñoz himself didn’t make a media appearance after the loss. But when Mariners manager Dan Wilson was asked about it, he also disagreed on Muñoz tipping pitches. He might be downplaying it.

But then again, if Mariners or Wilson had known it all during the game, why did they not talk to Muñoz? That’s concerning! And now, after yet another loss, the Mariners stand at 48-45.  However, more than the record, there is something else far more concerning.

Muñoz’s pitch tipping to the Yankees raises big questions

In the ninth inning, Andres Muñoz took 31 pitches and allowed two runs that led to two extra innings. Until then, the Yankees were rolling high with their comeback from a 5-run deficit. Eventually, by the tenth inning, the Yankees secured a 6-5 win.

According to Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty from The Athletic, when Muñoz threw his slider, except for the player on second base, the one on first base would’ve also signaled. However, since Cal Raleigh realized soon about Muñoz’s pitch tipping, it wasn’t possible.

In the bigger picture, it’s concerning that Muñoz was already having some issues before this game. Across his first 24 appearances, he had recorded a stunning 0.00 ERA. And over the last 12 outings, Munoz posted a 4.76 ERA.

Ultimately, it’s intriguing that a player who would normally strike out players at a good rate has now suddenly dried up. He just has five strikeouts to his name over the last 6 games, and he has struck out none from the Bronx Bombers.

Do you smell anything fishy here, or is it just plain old baseball?