NEW YORK (AP) — New York ace Gerrit Cole learned the hard way about one of baseball’s new coronavirus safety protocols during an intrasquad game at Yankee Stadium. Cole allowed a home run to the second batter he faced, Miguel Andújar, one pitch after being forced to give up the ball he used to strike out leadoff man Mike Tauchman. Among the safety steps instituted by Major League Baseball for this virus-shortened season is that pitchers can’t reuse a ball once it has been touched by other players. Catcher Gary Sánchez threw the ball around the infield after Tauchman's strikeout, and Cole grumbled that “I liked that ball” when coaches forced him to give it up.

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