HOUSTON — The Yankees won’t use the bottom of Saturday’s fifth inning in any field manual, to say the least.
A one-run Astros lead became a two-run lead on a play involving two Yankees errors.
The Astros had runners on first and second with one out against Marcus Stroman when Yordan Alvarez hit a ground ball well out of the bag to first base.
Anthony Rizzo fielded it cleanly and threw to Anthony Volpe at second base for the first out of what could have been an inning-ending double play, albeit a tough one.
Stroman had moved forward to cover first base, but Volpe’s throw was wild, allowing Alvarez to reach safely.
At that time, Victor Caratini was third and heading home.
Stroman caught the ricochet of Volpe’s throw and attempted to make a quick throw, but sent it flying over the head of catcher Austin Wells.
The errant throw went into the camera well, allowing Alvarez to advance to third base.
But Stroman was able to block it there to end the round.
The irony is that Volpe and Stroman, who both received errors on the play, won Gold Gloves at their respective positions.
The game itself was not a defensive gem, as each team made a mistake earlier in the game that led to points for each team.
Through the end of the fifth inning, four runs had been scored, but all of them were unearned.
New York Post
