Yankees Give Great Last Play, Fans Give Lousy Ending

Note the blue beer can next to the leg

of Guardians outfielder Oscar Mercado

I was in New York yesterday, with the intention of going to the Yankee game. But I hadn't been sleeping well, and was concerned that I might fall asleep and start snoring during the game -- which would be bad enough, except it actually happened to me at the new Yankee Stadium once.

So I decided to head back. Usually, when I have a chance to go to a game, and I don't, something big happens. The biggest example came in 1996: There was a Tuesday when I had the time and the money to go to a game, and decided to wait for the weekend instead. Something to do with the evening rush hour Subway schedule messing things up. Well, that Tuesday night was Dwight Gooden's no-hitter, and the Saturday game was a loss.

Well, something big did happen in yesterday's game. It was the reverse of the old joke about the danger of drinking varnish: A great end, but a lousy finish.

For the 1st time this season, a Yankee starting pitcher was allowed to continue into the 7th inning. No, that's not the "something big" I was talking about, although it's pretty big these days. Nestor Cortes allowed a 2-run home run to Josh Naylor in the 5th inning, following a walk. Cliché Alert: Those can kill you, although this came with 1 out, so it was not of the leadoff variety. But Cortes allowed no other runs, no other hits, and only 1 other walk. But for 1 pitch, he was brilliant.

But, apparently, 91 pitches was his limit, and Aaron Boone took him out. At the time, the score was 2-2, as the Yankees had tied it up in the bottom of the 5th on an odd sequence. With 1 out, Aaron Hicks drew a walk (See?), Joey Gallo singled, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled home Hicks, and the Kyle Higashioka flew out to center for the 2nd out. But Gallo tried to score, and there was a play at the plate. He was safe, so the run counted. But IKF tried to take 2nd on that play, and was thrown out. So the rally was over.

Clay Holmes finished the top of the 7th for the Yankees. With 1 out in the bottom of the 7th, Josh Donaldson -- who seems to be turning into another "home run or nothing" guy for the Yankees -- hit a home run, his 2nd as a Yankee. It was 3-2 New York. By this point, I was back in New Jersey, watching the game at Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick, I had the feeling that the game was over.

But did Boone leave Holmes in? No, he brought in Chad Green, who allowed single, popup, hard lineout to left, home run by Austin Hedges, single, flyout. It was 4-3 Cleveland. The Yankees wasted a leadoff single by DJ LeMahieu in the bottom of the 8th.

Miguel Castro pitched a perfect top of the 9th. Time for a walkoff rally. Emmanuel Clase (that's pronounced "Clah-ZAY") is a good closer, and the Ind-- I mean, Guardians -- probably thought they had this game in the bag.

They didn't. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Donaldson, showing he's not a one-dimensional player, drew one. Tim LoCastro was sent in to pinch-run for him. Hicks struck out, and Gallo hit a liner to 1st.

By this point, the Uber I'd called in New Brunswick had dropped me back home in East Brunswick, allowing me to see the bottom of the 9th. At this point, I had the feeling that the game was over.

But IKF hit a drive into Death Valley in left-center, and LoCastro scored. Boone played a Joe Torre-esque hunch, and sent Gleyber Torres up to pinch-hit for Higashioka. Big gamble: If he makes the last out of the inning, we go to extra innings with Jose Trevino as our only available catcher. The gamble paid off: Torres singled to right, and IKF scored.

Yankees 5, Guardinas 4. WP: Castro (1-0, although Cortes deserved it much more). No save. LP: Clase (0-2).

That was the great end. But there was a lousy finish. And it began before the last play. Indians left fielder Steven Kwan crashed into the outfield wall chasing IKF's drive, and required medical attention. Although he was able to stay in the game, some fans in the Bleachers taunted him for getting hurt.

After the game, IKF said, "That can't happen. I love the atmosphere. I love the fans. I love everything about them. But we want to win with class. That's something this organization is about. We'll fix it next time, I hope. But it is what it is. To that point, the atmosphere was amazing and everything was great."

After Torres' game-winning hit, some fans threw things onto the field, including empty beer cans. This is why glass bottles are no longer sold in ballparks. Center fielder Miles Straw tried to climb the fence to get to the fans, the way hockey players sometimes try to retaliate, but was unable to do so. Straw said, after the game:

I think the fans should be happy with their performance on the field. Kwan is the nicest guy on the planet. That’s my teammate, that’s my brother. My emotions got to me a little bit. As a Yankees fan, I feel like you should be excited for your team, you should be cheering, but you should never prey on someone. 

He went real hard into the wall. There is no business for saying the things those guys said to him. It got to me a little bit. I said what I said and if I were to do it again, I'd probably say the same thing. That's my guy.

You can say whatever you want to me, but when somebody goes headfirst into a wall, take a breath and let him get his feet under him. His chin was messed up. His forehead was messed up. Give him a breather. Guys are saying stuff to Tito and to Kwan. Let him recover. Chirp all you want, but when someone is hurt, it's not something to joke about."

The reaction was unacceptable, and Boone himself said as much: "Obviously, there is no place for throwing stuff onto the field in that situation. We don’t want to put anyone in danger. I love the intensity, but you can't be throwing stuff out on the field."

Now, I'm glad I wasn't at the game. Actually, after the final play, I might well have been walking out with several other fans, and never seen what happened until I got home and turned on the TV.

Enough of this kind of behavior. We are not the Fenway animals. We should be better than this.

Anyway, the series concludes this afternoon. Gerrit Cole starts against Aaron Civale.

Elsewhere in baseball yesterday, Miguel Cabrera collected his 3,000th hit. I'll have a post about the 3,000 Hit Club up later in the day. And Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is going to have surgery that will leave him out for the season. As much as I want to see the Mets lose, I'd like to see it happen on merit, not because of injury, and Conforto is generally regarded as a good guy. I hope he has a full recovery and plays well next season -- but that he does it elsewhere.