Every day, this sport gives you a chance to see something you’ve never seen before. On Saturday afternoon, we saw a runner get doubled off first base on a pop up to second base courtesy of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the New York Yankees. Chisholm was not attempting to steal. Miami Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards simply caught him napping.
Here’s the play. Inexcusable doesn’t begin to describe it:
“[Chisholm] saw Edwards looking at him, thinking he might swap out the baserunner by letting it fall,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained after the game. “He was trying to pressure him a little bit, that if he did, who knows how it bounces on this [from playing in Miami] to put him in position to advance. Clearly too far out there. Can’t get caught there.”
Boone did not pull Chisholm from the game, though it certainly would have been justified. The broadcast caught Boone taking Chisholm down the tunnel and into the clubhouse for a chat, and also having a heated talk with first base coach Travis Chapman. Chisholm said he was trying to force Edwards into a mistake and would not play it differently in the future.
As last year’s World Series showed, the Yankees are a sloppy and fundamentally unsound team. They made seven errors in a crucial three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays a week ago, and last weekend, catcher Austin Wells ran into the final out of the ninth inning because he forgot how many outs there were. Unacceptable, all of it.
On Friday night, the Yankees suffered a stunning loss when the three relievers they acquired at the deadline (David Bednar, Jake Bird, Camilo Doval) combined to allow nine runs in 2 ⅓ innings. New utility man José Caballero also committed a crucial error when he allowed a ball to scoot under his glove in right field.
Chisholm and the Yankees dropped their second straight game Saturday (MIA 2, NY 0). The loss combined with the Boston Red Sox’s win (BOS 7, HOU 3) dropped New York into third place in the AL East and the second wild card spot. They are 60-51.
The Marlins, meanwhile, have been the hottest team in baseball, winning 24 of 33 games since June 21. That is the best record in baseball during that time. Miami is 54-55 overall.