Boston — Mental errors defined the New York Yankees’ miserable weekend at Fenway Park. Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Boston featured another crushing baserunning mistake that perfectly captured their struggles.
The critical blunder occurred in the third inning. Ben Rice reached on a single and advanced to second when Cody Bellinger beat out an infield hit. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. due up and a prime scoring chance for the Yankees developing, Rice attempted to steal third base.
Brayan Bello never committed to home plate. The Red Sox right-hander calmly wheeled and fired to shortstop Trevor Story. The relay to third base beat Rice easily. Another promising Yankees rally died instantly.
The Yankees have relied on smart baserunning all season. Rice sparked a successful double steal last week in Kansas City. Sunday’s attempt lacked similar precision.
“I just kind of sensed that he was falling into a rhythm,” the Yankees’ rookie said after the game. “I thought I had a shot to get two guys in scoring position there. But, unfortunately, he got the timing perfect there.”
“[Rice] is pretty adept at picking his spots there with two outs,” Boone said. “We’ve got the trail runner [Bellinger] coming, but you’ve got to be more certain than that. That’s a play you can’t get caught like that on a pickoff play there. That one obviously stung us a little bit when we had a little rally going.”
The pickoff represented another fundamental breakdown in a series full of them.
Mental lapses plague Yankees throughout weekend
Saturday brought another costly mistake when Jasson Domínguez got caught between bases. He lost track of the count during Trent Grisham’s plate appearance and paid the price.
Friday’s extra-inning loss featured Anthony Volpe getting thrown out stealing third. The automatic runner tried to swipe the bag with nobody out.
These aren’t random incidents anymore. The Yankees’ baserunning has become a serious problem when games matter most. Their offensive struggles make every mistake more damaging.
Offensive collapse hits historic proportions
Corey Sipkin/ NYP
Sunday’s loss completed a sweep that matched the Yankees’ worst showing at Fenway in over a century. Four total runs across three games tied their lowest output since 1916.
New York went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position Sunday. They finished 4-for-22 in those situations for the series.
Boston dominated every aspect of the competition. Brayan Bello blanked the Yankees across seven innings while Max Fried received zero offensive support despite another strong start.
Young players learning expensive lessons
Rice’s growing pains come with the territory of developing players. However, the Yankees’ shrinking AL East lead leaves little margin for repeated mental errors.
The team returns to Yankee Stadium this week to face Los Angeles. Fundamental improvements must happen quickly or their playoff hopes could suffer serious damage.
Boone’s squad needs to rediscover the discipline that carried them to first place. Smart baserunning built their early success. Reckless decisions threaten to tear it down.
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