gave the a glimmer of hope with a late home run on Sunday, but that didn’t stop the Red Sox from sweeping their division rival with a 6-5 win at Yankee Stadium.
It looked like the Yankees had changed the game’s momentum when Volpe responded to three-run, seventh-inning homer with a three-run shot of his own in the bottom of the frame. But Turner came up clutch again in the ninth with an RBI double off Clay Holmes. That ultimately handed the Yankees their eighth straight loss after they failed to drive in a few ninth-inning baserunners.
“Obviously, Turner beat us today with some really good at-bats off some really tough right-on-right guys,” manager Aaron Boone said afterward. Michael King served up Turner’s homer in the seventh.
The Yankees scored their first two runs on solo homers from Kyle Higashioka and Gleyber Torres. Both came against Nick Pivetta, who threw five innings and struck out eight after following opener Josh Winckowski.
Volpe’s homer came off John Schreiber.
Meanwhile, Clarke Schmidt bounced back nicely after the right-hander against the Braves in his last start on Aug. 14. On Sunday, Schmidt totaled 5.2 innings, four hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and 97 pitches.
Boston scored its first run off Schmidt on a solo shot into the second deck. The first-inning home run came after Schmidt did not receive a strike-three call earlier in the at-bat.
“You got to give credit to Devers,” Schmidt said of the third baseman, who also doubled while going 3-for-4. “He’s a special player and is obviously seeing the ball really well right now.”
The scored another run in the sixth inning when a potential double play ball went wrong at every turn for the Yankees. fielded the ball cleanly but delivered a low flip to Volpe at second base. Volpe then sailed a hurried throw toward the Yankees’ dugout. DJ LeMahieu chased it down and threw home, but not in time to stop a run from scoring.
Michael King served up Turner’s homer in the seventh.
The Yankees appeared to take a 6-5 lead in the eighth when Boston left fielder Rob Refsnyder slipped while fielding a Volpe single. The misstep allowed to race home, but he was eventually called out at the plate after a lengthy review of the bang-bang play.
It was also determined that Connor Wong did not block the plate.
“I didn’t feel like I had a lane,” Kiner-Falefa said, but he noted the ball beat him home. Still, he said, “I didn’t feel like they had enough to overturn it.”
After the game, reporters were given a statement, attributed to an MLB Replay Supervisor, that said, “After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined that the catcher tagged the runner prior to the runner touching home plate.
“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined that no violation of the Home Plate Collision Rule occurred. The catcher’s initial setup was legal and he moved in reaction to the trajectory and hop of the throw.”
Boone said that he had yet to take a full look at video of the play when he spoke to reporters. He had hoped umpires would rule Wong had blocked the plate after Kiner-Falefa was called out.
“Some of the calls they’ve made on blocks, you’re like, ‘Man, it gets a little gray there,’” the skipper said. “They said he was set up properly, which we agree with, in fair territory, and they said he moved late enough to catch where the ball took him. So that was the explanation.”
Added Volpe, who initially thought he had driven in the go-ahead run: “I mean, they say it’s like a game of inches, but it’s way less now with all the technology, all the replays, everything like that.”
The Bombers are now 60-64. They are also 1-8 against the this season.
“They’ve kicked our ass,” Boone said. “We’ve played a handful of competitive games that have come down to the end where they’ve [beat] us. We just haven’t been good enough.”
With another losing set behind them, the Yankees will try to win their second series since July began when the Nationals come to town on Tuesday. Boone’s squad woke up eight games back of the final wild card spot on Sunday, but the manager is trying to take things one day at a time despite the “big hole” the Yankees are in.
“We got to be unbelievable the rest of the way,” Boone acknowledged. “So it’s not even about that. It’s about coming to try and win a game Tuesday. Then all of a sudden you start stacking and then an amazing thing happens, but we’re so far removed from that right now. We got to get a win first.”
Added Volpe: “I feel like this stretch and these losses are deflating, but I feel like it’s because we know we’re capable of a lot more.
“Everyone believes that we can do it.”
While Washington is also in last place, the young team has . The Nats, who had a night game on Sunday, entered the day with an 11-6 record in August.
Washington has yet to announce its starting pitchers for the series. As for the Yankees, Carlos Rodón is expected to return from on Tuesday. Luis Severino will get on Wednesday, while Thursday’s starter hasn’t been determined yet.
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