Volpe tied for the most errors in the Major Leagues with his 17th miscue; Yankees' manager does not blame him

The New York Yankees were crushed 1-12 at home by the Boston Red Sox today, extending their losing streak against Boston to eight games. During the top of the ninth inning, the Red Sox produced a big inning with 11 batters and 7 runs, and Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe made his 17th error of the season, tying for the most in the Major Leagues. After the game, manager Aaron Boone said this was not the reason for the loss.

In the top of the ninth inning, after the Red Sox had already scored 4 runs on 5 hits, David Hamilton hit a ground ball toward center. Volpe dove to stop it and, while kneeling, threw to first base but his throw was too high, resulting in an error. Although the batter would have safely reached base anyway, this mistake allowed a runner on second to score.

This was Volpe’s first error in August. When asked about Volpe’s defensive performance after the game, Boone said, “Volpe made one error, which is his first in several weeks. He’s been playing well recently. The main issue today was our offense being shut down, not creating enough scoring chances, and failing to contain the opponent.”

In yesterday’s game, Volpe was also involved in a defensive play considered a mistake. A ball that could have been thrown out at first was instead thrown to second base to try for a force out, turning what could have been one out with a runner on second into no outs with runners on first and second. However, Boone did not see this as a problem: “You see the runner off the base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. (second baseman) is already at second, so there’s a chance to catch the lead runner. Of course, it wasn’t a perfect play, but it was a decision made with focus during the game. Do we really need to dissect this kind of play?”

After suffering three straight losses, the Yankees risk dropping to third place in the American League Wild Card standings today. They hold only a three-game lead over the Kansas City Royals in fourth place. With 33 games remaining in the regular season, Boone said, “We’re not out of time yet, but if we don’t play better, it will all fall apart in the end, and we won’t be able to accomplish what we want.”