New York — It was Seinfeld Night at Yankee Stadium, with George Costanza bobbleheads for the sellout crowd of 47,036. But the Yankees channeled their inner Costanza on Thursday, sleepwalking through a sloppy 6-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox that ended their five-game winning streak.
Just like George napping under his desk at work, the Yankees appeared to doze off defensively, committing four errors that led to three unearned runs and handed Boston their sixth victory in seven meetings this season.
“I feel like we definitely gave them spots to win,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who made one of the costly errors. “I felt like tonight was one of those nights that we beat ourselves.”
Three errors in one inning doom Yankees early
The defensive collapse started instantly in the second frame when the Yankees made three mistakes while Boston failed to record a hit.
Yankees starter Luis Gil couldn’t handle a comebacker from leadoff hitter Masataka Yoshida, putting him on base safely. Ceddanne Rafaela followed with another grounder to Gil, who pivoted and fired to second for the force. Chisholm’s relay to first flew wide, sending Rafaela to second base.
Following Rafaela’s stolen base to third, Gil issued a free pass to David Hamilton. Hamilton’s steal attempt of second resulted in Ben Rice’s errant throw into center field, scoring Rafaela with the opening run.
“I think Rice could have eaten it, but we were throwing through,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought Hamilton got a really good jump. As good as Jazz’s arm is, if he gets a lot on that throw, I think we’ve got a chance to turn that.”
Rice quickly made amends with a solo blast in the bottom half, his 20th homer this year and New York’s 15th long ball across three contests.
Red Sox capitalize despite own struggles
Boston managed to exploit Yankees blunders all evening despite batting 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position and stranding 14 baserunners.
New York grabbed a 2-1 edge in the fourth when Paul Goldschmidt drove home Chisholm, who had swiped second base. Chisholm contributed an RBI knock in the fifth to push the advantage to 3-2.
The Yankees lead proved temporary. Reliever Camilo Doval, obtained from San Francisco at the deadline, allowed the equalizer in the sixth inning. Roman Anthony’s run-scoring single tied things at 3-3 after Doval’s balk moved David Hamilton to second.
“I was being aggressive, attacking the zone,” Doval said after the Yankees’ loss. “They got a couple of hits. It’s part of the game.”
Weaver struggles on birthday as Red Sox take control
Luke Weaver entered the seventh with the contest knotted on his 32nd birthday. The Yankees righty, outstanding for most of the campaign, quickly surrendered a single to Trevor Story before Nathaniel Lowe’s go-ahead RBI double silenced the home fans.
New York had a prime chance to answer in their seventh when Rice opened with a triple against former Met Steven Matz. However, Chisholm went down swinging and Goldschmidt fouled out to first, leaving Rice stranded at third and the Yankees losing a vital lifeline.
“You can’t fix what happened tonight, but anytime you make errors, it’s going to be hard to overcome,” Goldschmidt said. “There’s a lot of good teams in this league. Anytime you give them extra outs, you just make it hard on yourself.”
Goldschmidt’s error delivers knockout punch in ninth
The Yankees’ defensive woes reached their peak in the ninth inning when Paul Goldschmidt committed the team’s fourth error of the night. David Hamilton hit a routine ground ball to first base that should have been an automatic out to start the inning. Instead, Goldschmidt bobbled the grounder, allowing Hamilton to reach base safely and putting the leadoff runner aboard for Boston.
The veteran Yankees first baseman’s fielding miscue proved costly as it set up the Red Sox for their final scoring opportunity. Hamilton’s presence on base changed the entire dynamic of the inning, giving Boston a baserunner to work with rather than starting with a clean slate.
The error came at the worst possible time for New York, who were clinging to a 4-3 deficit and hoping to limit further damage. Goldschmidt’s mistake opened the floodgates for what became the decisive blow for the Yankees in the contest.
Two batters after the error, 21-year-old Roman Anthony crushed his first career homer at Yankee Stadium, a two-run blast that secured the 6-3 triumph over the Yankees. The rookie’s shot into the second deck in right field came courtesy of the extra opportunity created by Goldschmidt’s defensive lapse, turning what could have been a manageable deficit into an insurmountable hole.
The setback dropped New York to 69-58 and trimmed their advantage over Boston for the top American League wild card position to merely half a game. The Red Sox climbed to 69-59 while extending their season-long control over their AL East foes.
Gil battles through traffic but can’t overcome mistakes
Despite the Yankees’ defensive breakdowns around him, Gil managed to contain the damage across five frames. The right-hander permitted two runs, just one earned, while issuing five walks and recording three strikeouts on 93 pitches.
Gil navigated congestion throughout, with Boston placing a runner in scoring territory during each of the opening five innings. The Yankees starter escaped a bases-full, no-out predicament in the fifth, yielding only a sacrifice fly to Lowe.
“The most important thing is that I feel healthy and strong,” Gil said. “With traffic on the bases, I gave my team an opportunity to win this game. That was the main focus right there, keep the game tight.”
Yankees face uphill battle in crucial series
The loss marked New York’s sixth defeat in seven encounters with Boston this season. They now sit 4.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East division standings. The Yankees hold a 1.5-game cushion over the Seattle Mariners for the third wild card berth.
“Just not a real clean game for us,” Boone said following the 3-hour, 25-minute affair. “Obviously, a lot of free bases there. Just not a great night for us.”
New York committed its third four-error performance this season, leading Major League Baseball according to researcher Katie Sharp. The Yankees also handed out nine free passes, their second-highest single-game total this year.
“We’ve played a lot of close games with them,” Goldschmidt said. “They’ve been able to make one more play, one more pitch, one more hit than us. Hopefully, we can change that tomorrow.”
The series resumes Friday evening at Yankee Stadium as both clubs seek advancement in the competitive AL playoff chase. For the Yankees, it represents an opportunity to demonstrate they won’t keep sleepwalking through games like George Costanza slumbered through his workdays.
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