How the Yankees prepared for quirks of Tropicana Field on eve of ALDS

Several Yankees hovered around home plate as Austin Wells rolled a few balls down both foul lines. Brett Weber, the team's senior director of advance scouting, studied how and in which direction the balls rolled, along with how they interacted with the lip of the turf.

Afterward, Weber stood at shortstop and infield coach Dan Fiorito at second with bats, taking turns cracking mostly one-or two-hoppers at Wells, mimicking a relay play to help the catcher judge how springy the artificial turf plays.

The Yankees then rolled a machine out behind the plate to fire high fly balls and pop-ups, giving the club a chance to begin figuring out how best to pick out a white baseball against a white fabric backdrop.