Game 2 of the American League Division Series went on for nine innings and the Yankees remain in pursuit of a victory. But a 10th-inning error by Josh Donaldson became the turning point of the game and it helped the Guardian win 4-2 to tie the series at 1-1.
Jose Ramirez started the inning by hitting a slicing pop-up that Oswaldo Cabrera and Josh Donaldson couldn’t catch near the left-field line. Donaldson picked up the ball and tried to throw it to second base to get Ramirez, who was working hard, but the throw was off-target and went into right field. Ramirez was able to get to third without getting hurt.
Soon after that, Oscar Gonzalez hit a single, which let Ramirez score the winning run and put the Guardians ahead. Cleveland went up by two runs when Josh Naylor hit a pitch from Jameson Taillon over center fielder Harrison Bader’s head, which allowed Gonzalez to score.
Emmanuel Clase, who was the closer for Cleveland, pitched the last 2.1 innings and got the win. After Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first inning, the visitors’ bullpen did a great job of keeping the Yankees from scoring any more runs.
Naylor said that the rally was just like what the Indians usually do. Naylor said, “We’re just trying to get on base.” “If it’s an error, it’s an error. We just try to hustle, make things happen on the field, and put pressure on the defense, no matter if it’s a hard-hit single or a double.
In Game 2, Josh Donaldson broke under the stressful conditions.
He also did another error in Game 1 leaving many Yankees fans to scratch their foreheads and grumble. Josh Donaldson was called out at first base after misreading his fly ball for a home run in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Guardians on Tuesday night.
“Everyone felt that was a homer,” manager Aaron Boone admitted on ESPN New York radio’s The Michael Kay Show on Thursday.
Donaldson hit a fly ball to the right field wall, and for the third time this season, he thought it was a home run. He did this to start the fifth inning against Cleveland’s starting pitcher Cal Quantrill.
He made a mistake when the ball hit the wall and Oscar Gonzalez threw it back into the infield. When Donaldson tried to slide back into first base, he was tagged out by a mile.
Just before the ball was thrown back into the infield, Donaldson did a home run trot and gave first base coach Travis Chapman a high-five.
So Donaldson thought he had hit a home run to put the Yankees ahead 2-1. So did Chapman. When the ball went back into the outfield after a home run, the Yankee Stadium effects staff played the home run sounds.
But, according to Boone, this was not like the previous occasions Donaldson pimped non-homers.
“First of all, this is different than the others,” Boone said. “This is different than the one where he hit the double off the wall. This is a different circumstance all together. He hit the ball, got out of the box in the correct way watching the flight of the ball like you should, and then you’re going to react to how it goes off the wall.”
He also said that he doesn’t think Donaldson was wasting time or not paying attention.
Kay pushed back a little and asked Donaldson why he didn’t wait until the umpires said “home run” before running home.
“Okay,” Boone said, “but I’ve never hit a home run, watched it go over the fence, and then looked to the umpire for the signal. He did something wrong, so it went out. So did the coach for first base. So did the stadium, with its lights on and music playing.”
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