SLIDE OF THE YANKEEEES
Bombers make four errors as they lose third straight and limp to playoffs
Aaron Boone is ejected in first inning Friday night as sloppy Yankees lose, 4-3, in 10 innings and watch Marlins celebrate playoff berth at Stadium.
Aaron Judge has seen it too often. In 2018, he had to watch the Red Sox do it twice in the Bronx and in twice in the last three years, Judge has had to watch Astros as they celebrated going to the World Series. Thursday night, he walked off the field as the Blue Jays celebrated clinching their playoff berth.
And Friday, the Marlins launched into a onfield celebration not just of their 4-3, 10-inning win over the Yankees, but their stunning comebacks from 105 losses and a huge coronavirus outbreak to clinch a playoff spot.
“I don’t like anytime somebody else celebrates on our field, or if we’re at somebody else’s place and they celebrate on their field. I’ve seen that too much,” Judge said.
More worrisome for the Yankees is that they won’t get to celebrate anything if they don’t start getting out of their own way.
It was the Yankees’ (32-26) third straight loss and fifth in six games. With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Yankees are slumping into the playoffs. The Marlins (30-28) clinched their spot in the playoffs with the win. TheYankeeshavehadtheirplay
off ticket punched since Sunday night, but now they have to worry about the Blue Jays, who beat the Orioles on Friday, overtaking them in the standings.
The Yankees’ mistakes were costly in many ways.
The Marlins got a reprieve in the 10th when Kyle Higashioka’s error — hitting the runner with the ball when the Yankees hadMonteHarrison in a run down between third and home — allowed Harrison to remain on third. He scored what ended up being the winning run on Jesus Aguilar’s sacrifice fly.
DJ LeMahieu had a chance with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, but grounded into a double play.
Higashioka’s error was the fourth of the night and the eighth in the last three games for the Yankees. It was their 15th in the last eigh games.
The Yankees have a major league-high 47 errors, just ahead of the Red Sox and Pirates. Neither of those teams, however, have playoffs to worry about.
“We’re getting down here to the end of the 60 games, and it’s tough to be making mental mistakes,” said Judge, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. “Physical mistakes, you can live with, but mental mistakes are tough.
“I’d rather get them out of the way now, that’s for sure,” Judge continued. “We’ve got our spot in the postseason, but we’re not trying to really fight for that four or five (seed). But I guess I’d rather get them out of the way now and refocus before the postseason.”
They have two games left to tighten this up.
J.A. Happ, who had been brilliant in his last six, was still good, but created his own problems. The veteran lefty issued back-toback, two-out walks in the first before giving up a homer to former Yankees prospect Garrett Cooper.
Then, with the help of some spectacular defense from Gio Urshela, Happ shut the Marlins down from there.
Urshela was also charged with a rare error in the top of the seventh when Chad Wallach’s ball went off his glove. It was the normally slick-gloved Urshela’s first error of the season. It was compounded by Gleyber Torres’ throwing error two plays later. Neither cost a run, but added to the high-leverage pitches that Jonathan Loaisiga needed to get out of the inning unscathed.
While Urshela more than makes up for it with tremendous plays, like a run-saving grab in the fourth and tremendous backhand in the eighth, Torres does not.
“We just have to play cleaner baseball,” said Aaron Boone who was ejected for arguing a low called strike on Judge in the first inning “And obviously we’re gonna have to do that if we’re gonna reach our goal.”
They could use that at the plate as well.
The Yankees have not hit a homer in five straight games, their longest streak without a home run insix years.The home run is crucial to them. The Yankees are just 2-12 this season when they do not hit a homer.
The Yankees managed to tie the game in the eighth thanks to Marlins reliever Yimi Garcia’s throwing error, putting pinch runner Mike Tauchman in scoring position. Judge drove him in with a single. The Yankees had rallied earlier on back-to-back doubles by Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks, who drove in two with his line drive to right field.
That was a spark that was smothered when Giancarlo Stanton struck out to end the inning.