The New York Yankees lost the series to their most bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox on Sunday after an all-time blunder from second baseman Gleyber Torres.
In a pure lapse of concentration with the Red Sox hitter finding Billy McKinney in left field, he threw a slow ball to second base with Torres on waiting for it to arrive. The Yankees baseman then nonchalantly stuck out his gloves, but missed the ball completely and allowed runner Kike Hernandez to get on to second.
That allowed the Red Sox to get back into the game after being down 2-1 at the time, with Hernandez going on to score to tie the game at 2-2, with Boston going on to win in the 10th.
Speaking after the game, the talented second baseman took full accountability. He said: "That's on me. I saw the ball. The throw was perfect. I just tried to catch it really fast and maybe throw to first base. That error is on me. That mistake, I should have grabbed the ball. Nothing difficult."
It was an extremely frustrating final few innings for the Yankees, with manager Aaron Boone admitting that their defensive lapses played it's part in the loss.
He said: "Does it change it? Maybe. We have got to be more careful with the ball. Period."
While the throw by left fielder McKinney had not been perfect, who also tried to take blame for the throw, manager Boone insinuated that it had been Torres' error.
A two-time All-Star, Torres does remain one of the better second baseman in the league, but has had a number of frustrating errors over the past few seasons.
For all his talent, Torres occasionally makes head-scratching mistakes like he did on Sunday.
His manager said on him: "One of the things Gleyber does really well defensively is he plays the game with ease. So you’ve got to strike that balance, you’ve got to be careful.”
"That can’t get on you like that. Whether it’s off line a little bit or not, you’ve got to be in position to handle it. We’ll work through it."
The Yankees remain in a good spot after the loss, with a 38-29 record in the AL East, but are now 10 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who continue in their domination with a 48-20 record.
