How Yankees’ Austin Romine goes extra yard to prepare for his chances

Yankees No. 2 catcher Austin Romine was behind the plate for the 3-0, 13-inning win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday, June 6, 2018 (6/6/18).

TORONTO — Sonny Gray’s personal catcher spends about two-thirds of Yankees games sitting on the bench.

Austin Romine treats them all as if he’s behind the plate.

“I call games in my head every time I’m watching a game,” Romine said Wednesday before catching all 13 innings of the Yankees’ 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the first eight from Gray and then five from the bullpen. “It’s just something I do. I’m looking at count situations and who’s up and who’s coming up. I think along with the game.”

Romine’s work behind the plate combined with his improved bat has some fans and even a few scouts thinking the Yankees are better off starting him ahead of 2017 All-Star Gary Sanchez, a tremendous talent who is hitting close to .200 and remains a work in process at blocking balls.

“I’ve heard that, but that’s not what’s going on right now,” Romine said. “Now my job is to back up Gary. I spent a lot of years early worrying about all that and thinking I should be here, I should be there. Well, I’m here and I have to take care of business.”

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Romine’s career-best 11 game hitting streak ended while the Yankees were sweeping a two-game set with the Jays and his team-best average dropped from .373 to .344, but his game-calling again was stellar.

“Romine did an unbelievable job,” Gray said. “I didn’t shake him one time. We were going in and out throwing pitches that I normally (don’t throw) … but I just got convicted in what he was putting down and threw it.”

Gray has been on his game in two June starts as much as he was in his Oakland Athletics heyday after a lot of early season struggling, and Romine catching him is a big part of the turnaround.

“He puts in a lot of work,” Gray said. “He just knows his stuff. He knows the hitters.”

Against the Jays, Romine kept calling for sinkers and curveballs when Gray was thinking fastball.

“There was a 3-2 curveball I threw one time to Teoscar (Hernandez) that I went with and I threw it with conviction and executed,” Gray said. “And there were quite a few there with runners on base where I threw some sinkers in to (Kevin) Pillar, a sinker in to (Devon) Travis.”

During Gray’s one troublespot, Romine’s pitch selection keyed the Blue Jays coming up empty in the fifth despite having runners on the corners with nobody out and the bases loaded with one out.

Two ground balls got Gray out of the inning, the last a 4-6-3 twin killing.

“That was a huge double play there, but it started with throwing a pitch with conviction (to Hernandez) … a pitch maybe that was something that I wouldn’t have done,” Gray said. “But the pitch selection was great. I was all on board.”

Romine, who is a lot like Aaron Judge when it comes to deflecting credit, played down his role in Gray’s success.

“You’ve got to be able to read what’s working better than the other one per se,” Romine said. “Or if all of them are working, it’s just kind of flipping a coin. But I think we were primarily sticking with the (sinking) two-seamer and the curveball and we were able to sprinkle some sliders in there to keep it going.

“I’m a big fan of whatever’s working. Keep going with it until they make you change.”

Sounds simple, but there’s a lot of prep work that goes into figuring out how to read pitchers and work hitters.

“I’ll watch guys during the game whether I’m playing or not and I’m watching guys at home on video to see what’s working, what’s not working,” Romine said. “It’s my job. I’ve got to be ready to go in at any time. I don’t want to disrupt anything.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.