Yankees pitchers blast extra-inning rule: It's 'not real baseball'

Three New York Yankees pitchers are not impressed with the new extra-inning rule for the shortened 2020 campaign after testing it out during an intrasquad game Tuesday.

The rule, which puts a runner on second base with no outs to begin every inning past the ninth, did not sit well with Jordan Montgomery, Chad Green, and Adam Ottavino.

"It's just not real baseball," Ottavino said, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

Montgomery described the rule as "horrible."

The left-hander added, "Whoever can bunt and put the ball in the air wins the game sometimes. I don't think that’s really telling that the best team is going to win the game. I think it's not great."

Green was on the mound Tuesday when the Yankees simulated the situation.

"Obviously, I'm personally not a fan of it," Green explained. "I don't know who wants to pitch with a runner on second with nobody out in an extra-inning game. It's not something that you necessarily look forward to. ...

"I think I heard (Ottavino) say that he would like people to earn it and get on second, and I kind of echo that."

The rule, which was already in place in the minor leagues and at the World Baseball Classic, was added for the 2020 season as part of an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players' union.

The change is intended to speed up games that go past the ninth, which could help players avoid exhaustion as they tackle a 60-game season crammed into the period between July 23 and Sept. 27.