Anthony Volpe's first error of season hurts Yankees, who drop series vs. Blue Jays
Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt looks at a finger on his pitching hand after giving up two home runs to the Blue Jays during the sixth inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Anthony Volpe has had all kinds of firsts that he will never forget: first game, first hit, first home run, first curtain call . . .
The rookie shortstop had another first on Sunday that he might want to forget, though. Volpe’s first big-league error on a routine grounder in a scoreless game gave the Blue Jays an extra out, and Toronto went on to score three unearned runs en route to a 5-1 victory over the Yankees before 39,293 at Yankee Stadium.
“Gotta make the play,” Volpe said. “That’s on me. We should be off the field there easily.”
Volpe booted a grounder hit by George Springer with one out in the sixth. Bo Bichette then grounded into a forceout that could have completed a 1-2-3 inning; instead, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then lined a two-run homer to left off Clarke Schmidt to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.
Guerrero, who is not a fan favorite in the Bronx, shushed the booing crowd with a finger to his lips while rounding third base. It was Guerrero’s 12th home run at Yankee Stadium, his highest total in any road ballpark.
Two pitches later, Daulton Varsho homered into the second deck in right to make it 3-0 and end Schmidt’s afternoon.
Aaron Boone said he considered bringing in Michael King to face Guerrero. But he said of Schmidt, “He was dealing,” and it’s hard to argue with the manager on that one.
Schmidt, who came in with an 8.79 ERA, didn’t allow a baserunner until Matt Chapman doubled into the rightfield corner with one out in the fifth.
Because Volpe’s error was followed by the second out, all three runs allowed by Schmidt go into the record books as unearned. That was probably little solace to Schmidt, who saw his best outing of the season tarnished by his final inning.
“Obviously, it’s tough, but you’ve got to be able to move on,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job of being able to pick up Volpe on that. Ten out of 10 times, he’s making that play.”
Schmidt (0-2, 6.30 ERA) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out a career-high eight in 5 2/3 innings. He was great until he wasn’t.
“It leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” he said. “But overall I’m happy with the progression that I’ve made. Continue to take this one on to the next one and start getting on a little roll here.”
The Yankees dropped the rubber match against their AL East rival and became the final team in baseball to lose a series. They had been 5-0-1.
They were stymied by Toronto righthander Kevin Gausman (2-2, 2.84 ERA), who didn’t allow a baserunner until Isiah Kiner-Falefa lined a single to right with two outs in the third.
It still was scoreless in the fifth when DJ LeMahieu led off with a double. But Gausman struck out Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Kyle Higashioka.
Danny Jansen had an RBI double off King in the seventh and a run-scoring forceout against Ian Hamilton in the ninth to make it 5-0.
Anthony Rizzo hit a two-out homer off Adam Cimber in the ninth. Gleyber Torres and LeMahieu followed with singles before Cabrera fouled out to third to end a 5-5 homestand.
Gausman went seven innings and allowed three hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts.
“He has a really good arm and he’s got plus stuff,” said Volpe, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts a day after he homered and received his first Yankee Stadium curtain call. “The splitter’s definitely a plus. Maybe plus plus.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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