The New York Yankees let one get away from them on Sunday in ugly fashion, with two defensive miscues leading to three Baltimore Oriole runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel had coughed up a 3-2 lead in the ninth, and it looked like they were going to get swept by the Yankees to end the first half of the season. Baltimore did load the bases in the ninth, but that happened with two outs, so it was far from a guaranteed rally.
Baltimore’s Ryan Mountcastle then hit a routine ground ball straight to Yankee shortstop Anthony Volpe. All Volpe had to do was field the ball cleanly and shovel it to second to end the game, but things went wrong.
“Ground ball to Volpe and the Yankees will sweep the Orioles and head into the All Star break in First Pla….”
Oh no…. @StoolBaseball pic.twitter.com/BG2qdfECcO
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 14, 2024
That made it a 5-4 game, but the worst was yet to come. One batter later, Cedric Mullins hit a walk-off double on a fly ball that was horribly misplayed by left fielder Alex Verdugo.
CEDRIC MULLINS WALKS IT OFF WHAT A GAME pic.twitter.com/tbLQScZYNR
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 14, 2024
Verdugo probably gets there and makes the catch if he reads the ball better off the bat. Instead, he started in and failed to recover. That does not go down as an error, but it is a crucial misplay that helped cost the Yankees the game.
The Yankees and Orioles have developed a fairly heated rivalry this season, as both are contending for the AL East. In fact, Verdugo has been in the middle of that rivalry, so this will probably feel great from Baltimore’s perspective.
The Orioles had lost five straight games entering play Sunday. Their comeback win ensures they will remain in first place in the AL East through the All-Star break.
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