The Yankees left nine runners on base in their frustrating 3-2 loss to the rival Mets on Saturady afternoon at Yankee Stadium, and the number could’ve been lower with a sharper plate approach midway through the game.
With the Mets ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Yankees quickly developed a rally against starter Griffin Canning. It began with a leadoff walk from J.C. Escarra, and four pitches later, DJ LeMahieu singled to center to set up No. 9 hitter Jorbit Vivas with two on and no outs.
While the sold-out crowd expected Vivas to bunt and advance the runners, the Yankees stunningly allowed the rookie infielder to swing away. The plan backfired, as Canning struck out Vivas and then escaped the jam by getting Ben Rice to line out to left and Aaron Judge to ground out to third.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked why he didn’t call for Vivas to bunt with the top of the order waiting and hoping to inflict some damage. The skipper said he pondered the move, but the Mets’ infield alignment utlimately made him reluctant.
“They’re just playing it aggressively,” Boone explained. “Not a lot of speed on the bases for us, and I’ve got top of the order coming up. But yeah, definitely some consideration there… I’m in the middle of the game too, and I know they’re going to play it aggresively.”
The Yankees managed to knot the score at 2-2 in the sixth on a leadoff homer from Cody Bellinger, and after back-to-back one-out singles from Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe, the stage was set for Escarra to drive in the go-ahead run against Mets reliever Huascar Brazoban.
Escarra couldn’t take advantage with the go-ahead run at third. He chopped a grounder to first baseman Pete Alonso, who then threw the ball home to catcher Luis Torrens to get Dominguez trying to score.
That wasn’t the end of the Yankees’ bad luck in the inning. After the fielder’s choice out, LeMahieu nearly had two in scoring position on a double steal from Volpe and Escarra. But both players were sent back to their original bases due to interference by the home plate umpire, who made contact with Torrens behind the dish.
“I don’t know if [the interference] was consequential or not. We had two outs and still didn’t drive him in there,” Boone said. “Obviously don’t want that to happen. I feel like we had the bases stolen regardless… It doesn’t happen very often. I can remember it being called before. So I have seen it, but it’s pretty rare.”
The Yankees had one more shot with the bases loaded in the eighth, but LeMahieu lined out sharply to right, keeping the score tied. The missed chance came back to haunt them, as the Mets produced a rally of their own in the ninth and scored the game-winning run. The Yankees finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
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