NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe had the kind of game he needed. The Yankees had the kind of finish nobody wanted.
Volpe drove in three runs, doubled at 104.5 mph, walked twice and looked like the player the Yankees signed up for when he became their everyday shortstop two seasons ago. The Yankees still lost 7-6 in 10 innings to the Mets on Sunday at Citi Field, dropping the Subway Series and ending one of the worst road trips of the Aaron Boone era.
And the play that ended it was the kind of moment Yankees fans will not soon forget. Volpe ran straight into utility man Max Schuemann as both went for the same chopper in the bottom of the 10th. Marcus Semien scored from third without a throw. Series over.
Volpe’s day at the plate was the version the Yankees missed
Before the collision, Volpe produced one of his most complete Yankees games of the young season. He went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a double and two walks. His first hit of the season, a 104.5 mph double off Freddy Peralta in the second, showed the exit velocity the Yankees have waited to see since spring training.
In the sixth, Volpe singled to center off Sean Manaea with the bases loaded to break a 1-1 tie. Two runs scored. Yankees 3-1. The inning eventually stretched the lead to 5-1. In the seventh, Volpe drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-3, his first RBI of the season from a walk. He walked again in the 10th against Devin Williams before Wells grounded into a double play.
Across the three-game Subway Series, Volpe reached base nine times in 13 plate appearances. He went 2-for-6 with seven walks. The Yankees got the version of their shortstop they had been hoping to see.
Volpe described his approach without flair.
“I’m just trying to stay within myself, stay within my approach and put good swings on good pitches,” Volpe said. “Obviously, it fluctuates, but I just want to stay locked into that. Every day, that’s what I can control.”
Aaron Judge was asked about Volpe’s afternoon. He framed the performance as a reminder, not a revelation.
“Incredible: That’s the guy we know,” Judge said. “That’s why he’s been our shortstop for the last couple seasons, is when we need him in a big spot, he comes up big for us. Made some good plays, had some big swings for us, took his walks when he needed to in some tough situations. He keeps getting more at-bats, more at-bats. He’s coming off a big shoulder surgery, so the first couple games are going to be a little tough. But I was definitely encouraged by what I saw today.”
The 10th-inning collision that ended everything
Tim Hill was on the mound for the Yankees in the 10th. A.J. Ewing sacrificed automatic runner Marcus Semien to third. Hill hit Luis Torrens with a pitch. With one out and runners at the corners, the Yankees pulled Max Schuemann in from left field as a fifth infielder shaded right of second base. Carson Benge stepped in.
Benge chopped a slow roller over the mound, the kind of ball that calls for someone to charge in hard and get a clean throw home.
Schuemann fielded the ball cleanly with his backhand and seemed poised to throw home. But Volpe ran into him as both players sprinting for the ball. As the shortstop collided with Schuemann, who had the ball, failed to make a throw. It allowed Semien to steal the base and seal the win for the Mets.
Volpe addressed the play directly. He acknowledged that both he and Schuemann had read the chopper the same way, with the same urgency, and that was the source of the problem.
“Maybe, but we’re both just treating it do or die,” Volpe said. “That was the game.”
Schuemann had a similar read. He had the ball but no path to the plate.
“I was just going to be aggressive. We have to be quick,” Schuemann said. “Tough play at the plate either way. I talked to Volpe about it, it’s just one of those things that we’re both going to be aggressive to that baseball no matter what. We both want to make a play.”
Boone called the spot the kind that almost requires a collision.
“It’s in no-man’s-land,” Boone said. He added that he did not believe the Yankees would have retired Semien at the plate even with a clean field.
Caballero’s return and what comes next for Volpe
Caballero is currently on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right middle finger. He is expected to miss only the minimum and is eligible to return Friday. Boone has already publicly stated that Caballero will return to the starting shortstop role when healthy.
Volpe’s window for daily at-bats is short. Sunday was the statement the 25-year-old needed. Three RBIs. Nine times on base in the series. The 104.5 mph double showed the bat speed is back. The walks showed patience.
None of it erased the collision. None of it changed the fact that the Yankees lost three straight series and eight of their last 11. But it gave the Yankees something to think about, briefly, before Caballero returns.
Volpe summed up his Sunday for Yankees beat reporters as simply as he could.
“Just trying to do my job and contribute in any way I can,” he said. “I got some good pitches to hit and put some good swings on them.”
The Yankees go home Monday to face Toronto. Volpe will be in the lineup. The clock on his audition is already running.
What do you think? Can Volpe bounce back?
