DETROIT -- Part of Austin Romine's daily preparation involves studying each player on the opposing roster, just in case they should enter the game. When Andrew Romine came off the Tigers' bench in the eighth inning Friday, the Yankees catcher was finally able to call on a lifetime of research.
The Romine brothers appeared in the same Major League game during Friday's 4-0 Tigers victory at Comerica Park, with Austin behind the plate for the Yankees and Andrew entering to pinch-run for the Tigers' Nick Castellanos. Peering between the metal bars of his mask, Austin said that he was focusing more on the situation than the novelty of the moment.
"I'm thinking he's quick and he might steal, either first or second pitch," Austin said. "The brother thing goes out the window during the game. We're both trying to do jobs. I take that he's my brother out of the equation. He's No. 17."
There were other numbers in the equation. Though tempted to steal on his younger brother, Andrew did not budge, which had more to do with Yankees right-hander Luis Cessa's ability to hold runners.
"It was cool," Andrew said. "I had a stop sign. I wanted to go, but he was like a 1.2 [seconds to the plate]."
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Andrew did not have the green light to steal.
"It had nothing to do with his brother," Ausmus said. "It had more to do with how fast the pitcher was to the plate, although his brother has a good arm."
Austin was tempted to snap a throw down to first base, but resisted, and said that he was surprised his brother did not attempt to steal.
"I was, but you know, up 4-0, I know Cessa has a quick time to the plate," Romine said. "When the math adds up, if I'm throwing a 1.9, he's throwing a 1.2, he'd have to be pretty quick to get to second base. So there's having fun and stealing and playing the game the right way.
"He plays the game the right way, the Tigers play the game the right way, we play the game the right way. It's fun, but at the end of the day, it's business. We're playing against each other and I'm trying to win, so if he's stealing, I'm throwing him out."
The sons of former big league outfielder Kevin Romine, Andrew, 30, and Austin, 27, grew up together in Lake Forest, Calif., though they did not spend much time on the same diamonds due to their age difference.
They have appeared together in Minor League and Spring Training games, but Friday marked their first appearance together in a big league box score. Austin said that he's certain his father was watching, and many of his family members were in Detroit to witness it, including his mother, sisters, brother-in-law, children and a niece.
"It was a big family thing and I think it was nice for them to see it and experience it," Romine said. "Not many people get to experience that. We train in the offseason, we both work hard, we're both battling every year for something. It's just fun to see the whole thing come together on a big league stage and get in the same game together."