Yankees' Anthony Volpe on costly error: 'Routine ground ball, game's got to be over'

BALTIMORE — Anthony Volpe won the American League Gold Glove at shortstop as a rookie in 2023 and, for the most part, has raised his game on that side of the ball in his sophomore season.

Which made his error on what he called “a routine ground ball” with two outs in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Orioles surprising to observers.

And anger-inducing to the 23-year-old.

“I didn’t move my feet,” he said. “Good infielders move their feet, get a good hop.”

With the bases loaded and two outs, a rickety Clay Holmes got Ryan Mountcastle to ground to Volpe, who didn’t have to move much to get to it. But he booted it for his 10th error (second-most on the team to Gleyber Torres’ 11).

A run scored to make it 5-4, and when leftfielder Alex Verdugo misplayed Cedric Mullins’ fly ball, turning it into a two-run double, the Yankees had been walked off, 6-5.

“To me, that’s a routine ground ball. The game’s got to be over,” Volpe said. “I gotta take it on the chin, replay it. Feel like I know the adjustment I have to make and try to come back better for it. That’s a play I know I have to make.”

Volpe has routinely made the spectacular play this season — diving in all directions, making running catches on the outfield grass, even making the occasional jump-throw from the hole a la childhood hero Derek Jeter. It has been the routine ones that occasionally have bitten him.

“There’s no one you’d rather have the ball hit to, frankly. We’d all acknowledge that,” Aaron Boone said. “It happened. Gotta move on. Tough way to obviously lose a game going into the break, but the reality is we’re starting to turn a corner here and compete in a really good way. We just weren’t able to finish one off today.”

Both Verdugo and Volpe have been better than solid defensively this season, with the pair, in a bit of poor timing, having hiccups on consecutive plays.

“Two of our best defensive guys,” said Holmes, who himself lamented the leadoff single he allowed to Kyle Stowers and the one-out walk issued to pinch hitter Ryan O’Hearn. “Volpe’s won the Gold Glove. His range, the plays he makes out there are incredible. Same with Dugie, man. He gives so much effort out there. I think any one of these pitchers will take him in leftfield over just about anybody  . Two guys, they never take plays off. They compete out there. Two tough plays, but we all know that’s not them.”

Trevino out a while

Jose Trevino, who already had started to lose playing time to Austin Wells because of the emergence of the rookie catcher’s bat coupled with the veteran’s inability to control the running game, was diagnosed Sunday with a Grade 2 left quadriceps strain, Boone said after the game. Trevino, who suffered the injury Friday night while sliding into the plate, underwent testing in New York on Sunday. Boone did not offer a timeline for Trevino’s return, but Grade 2 strains typically run in the range of one to two months.