In another heartbreaking game to end Sunday’s grueling finale against the Mets, the Yankees provided the brief to put together a brutal road trip.
With runners on the corners and one out in the tying game, Tim Hill on the mound and the Yankees using a five-man infield, Carson Benge hit a chopper on the mound between Anthony Volpe and Max Schuemann.
The two collided, both going for the ball, which cost any chance to chase a runner home as the Mets emerged with a 7-6 victory at Citi Field.
It’s impossible to know if Schuemann or Volpe would have gotten a runner at the plate if either of them had put it in cleanly and without a hitch, but they never did, finishing 2-7 against the Brewers, Orioles and Mets.
“Maybe, but we’re both do it or die,” Volpe said. “That was a game.”
“I was just going to be aggressive. We have to be quick,” Schuemann said. “Playing hard at the plate no matter what. I talked to Volpe about it, it’s one of those things that we’re going to be aggressive in that baseball no matter what. We both want to make a play.”
“It’s no man’s place,” said manager Aaron Boone, who didn’t think the Yankees would have sent Marcus Semien home even if the chopper had been installed properly.
The Yankees have won nine of 12 series this season and tied one before this trip, when they dropped three straight.
Four of their seven losses have come by one run, giving them 10 on the season.
And two of those include leading off games in which David Bednar gave up a home run on a curveball – last Sunday in Milwaukee, when Brice Turang struck him out, and this Sunday when Tyrone Taylor crushed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the Yankees exited the game without a win.
Now they’re finally back home with four games against the Blue Jays – the Yankees’ foes last season, whom they swept in the ALDS – and three against the Rays, who swept the Yankees last month and lead the AL East.
“Lovers [of] close the games, but it’s about to finish the job,” said Aaron Judge.” “A couple of games here where we have to shut it down or some games in overtime where we’ve got a couple downs and we don’t get the job done. The guys are playing hard though, that’s the big thing. The guys are playing hard and making the plays they need to, but it’s just coming slowly. We’ve got to have a short memory and keep going and be ready.” [homestand] because we have a big team rival coming up. “
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A day after leaving 11 men on base, the Yankees struck out 10 more while going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
They still looked to be in good shape to take the series with leads of 5-1 in the top of the sixth and 6-3 in the top of the seventh.
But it all came crashing down late, starting in the bottom of the ninth, when Bednar completed a difficult home run.
He allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, then struck out twice before giving up a curveball over the plate to Taylor.
“You can just get guys out early,” Bednar said. “Overall, that’s unacceptable, but especially in that area, it’s very troubling.”
Then came the sad end.
After the Yankees pulled Schuemann into left field with a runner on third, Hill struck out Luis Torrens to bring Benge up.
Schuemann moved around as the third baseman to right, was shaded just to the right of second base, and Benge cut it between himself and Volpe.
Schuemann singled with his backhand but Volpe ran into him while trying to make a play, blocking the throw, providing a fitting end to a forgettable outing.
“It’s very troubling,” Schuemann said. “We’re a really good team. I think it’s going to turn around.”
