Gleyber Torres made a baffling decision on the basepaths in the Yankees’ 5-3 loss to the Orioles at the Stadium on Tuesday night.
With the Yankees down two with two outs in the seventh, Juan Soto drove in one run with a hit to right field to cut the Orioles’ lead to 4-3, advancing Torres to third.
But when Soto then scampered to second as the throw came home, Torres then bounded halfway toward the plate before getting tagged out in a misguided rundown.
If Torres and Soto were both safe after the play ended, Aaron Judge would have come up with at least the go-ahead run on base.
The Yankees slugger said it was a mistake that can’t be made in a spot like that.
“When it comes down to it, stuff like that can’t happen,” Judge said after the Yankees failed in their first attempt to clinch the AL East crown. “Can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot with mistakes like that on the basepaths.”
Torres and Yankees manager Aaron Boone tried to explain the unexplainable after the loss.
Torres, when pressed on the decision after the game, said he was just trying to prevent Juan Soto from getting tagged out on the bases.
“In that situation, just protect him. I was a little in between to go to home plate, I feel like I went a little late, and after that they made me out,” Torres said of his seventh-inning gaffe.
Boone also said Torres was trying to keep Soto from getting tagged out at second, but should have done a better job either faking home or truly running toward the plate to make it a tougher play on Baltimore.
“He does make some mistakes on the bases. He’s cleaned it up a lot from I think last year and the year before, where he was getting himself in trouble a lot,” Boone said. “I think in his case, toned down some of the aggressiveness. But I also think tonight is a case of protecting a runner, too. But again, it’s gotta be bluff or sell-out, though.”
The Yankees get another chance to clinch on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
