Yankees lose when Gary Sanchez fails to hustle on game-deciding out
- The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-6, on Monday after an ugly final play by catcher Gary Sanchez.
- With two men on base in the ninth inning, Sanchez hit a grounder up the middle, but jogged up the first base line, allowing the Rays make a double play and end the game.
- Had Sanchez run harder, he might have beaten the out and allowed Aaron Judge to score the game-tying run.
The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-6, on Monday in ugly fashion.
Trailing 6-7 in the ninth with one out and two men on, Sanchez ripped a grounder up the middle, right to Rays second baseman Daniel Robertson, who was playing a shift.
Robertson flipped the ball to shortstop Willy Adames, who beat the Yankees' Aaron Hicks to second base, then threw the ball to first to beat Sanchez for the game-deciding out.
However, because of the double play, Sanchez had a chance to beat the ball to first, which would have scored Aaron Judge's game-tying run from third base. Instead, replay showed Sanchez half-heartedly jogged to first, allowing the Rays to get the double play and end the game, negating Judge's run.
The play drew criticism toward Sanchez, especially because earlier in the game, he jogged to a past ball that allowed a runner from third to score.
After the game, Sanchez said he should've run harder on the final out.
"I should've run harder. I could've done a better job, for sure," Sanchez said through an interpreter.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he didn't believe there was any reason for Sanchez not to run hard (Sanchez returned from injury last Friday).
It could be a costly win for the Yankees, as the gap between them and the Boston Red Sox for the AL East lead grew on Monday. The Red Sox now have a six-game lead on the Yankees and have played their best ball of late, winning 15 of ther last 16 games. The Yankees, meanwhile, have hit something oa slump, going just 5-5 in their last 10 games.