Tag, you’re it! Replay rescue in ninth
Replay was responsible for keeping the Yankees from a season-worst third straight loss.
Though it appeared the A’s took a ninth-inning lead on a sacrifice fly, the Yankees were rewarded with an overturned call of Gary Sanchez’s tag of Matt Olson and escaped a bases-loaded jam, which eventually allowed them to pull out a 7-6, 11-inning win Saturday in The Bronx.
When Brett Gardner unleashed the one-hop throw from left field, he believed the Yankees would need another ninth-inning miracle.
“I thought he was safe,” Gardner said. “I knew I made a pretty good throw, but I just thought it was a little late from my angle. Once it went to replay, I was excited about that.”
Aroldis Chapman entered a tie game in the ninth inning and put himself on the ropes again, immediately loading the bases with three straight walks.
After Chapman struck out Mark Canha, Jonathan Lucroy hit a fly ball to left field.
Olson began sprinting home from third. Gardner un- leashed a strike home. Sanchez swiped a tag back at Olson, sliding to the plate.
“I’m usually wrong, but I thought I saw him — ‘I think he hit his back’ — so it was nice when they turned to me and said ‘We’re challenging.’ Usually when that’s the case [replay coordinator Brett Weber] is right on,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously, [it was] huge. What a great throw by [Gardner]. He got everything into that, perfect one hop, and just enough.”
Replay made it no easier to tell the truth — for some.
“I was down there in the video room, and saw the replay,” Aaron Judge said. “I knew we got him.”
When the replay was shown on the massive scoreboard in center field, the crowd erupted, as if their eyes clinched the call. Seconds later, their enthusiasm was validated with the go-ahead run replaced by an inningending double play.
“It wasn’t even close once you saw the replay,” Gardner said. “The camera, once they slow it down, it doesn’t lie. It’s obviously a bang-bang play.”