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They say momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher, but I don’t know. Feel like momentum is only as good as the\u00a0New York Yankees’ defensive alignment being baseline competent\u00a0against the light-hitting bottom of the Kansas City Royals’ order.<\/p>\n
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Yankees grinded through eight batters and scored a pair of runs, nearly giving away a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity, but surviving thanks to the Royals pitchers’ overall incompetence. Two walks in run-scoring opportunities were better than nothing.<\/p>\n
What happened in the top half of the next inning was\u00a0much<\/em>\u00a0worse than nothing.<\/p>\n With one on and one out against\u00a0crafty lefty Tim Hill,\u00a0Tommy Pham worked another\u00a0veteran marathon at-bat, the kind of plate appearance the Yankees have only dreamed of since 2017. The battle raged on, but Hill actually seemed to escape trouble when Pham rifled one into the hole and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe swallowed it up.<\/p>\n Of course, a momentum-shifting double play can’t occur if a throw to second base isn’t made. Volpe, from the seat of his pants, tossed any semblance of the Yankees’ chances to keep hold of the game into short right field. With runners now at second and third, pinch hitter Garrett Hampson slapped a single through the middle to score both runs.<\/p>\n Lead gone. Disaster invited through the door.<\/p>\n