Yankees escape Rays despite woeful 9th-inning blunder

The New York Yankees are still right in the playoff picture this season, but they have started to become the victim of a lot of self-imposed mistakes during games that have seen them fall out of first place in the AL East. The Yankees have become error-prone, both on the stat sheet but also mentally, and that has been a big contributor to their drop-off in recent months.

That was never more evident than it was on Wednesday night, when the pinstripes took on the Tampa Bay Rays in an AL East clash. First, it was shortstop Anthony Volpe making another brutal error in the field, something that has popped up far too often in recent times.

In the ninth inning, the problem got even worse for New York. With a runner on first and just one out, Trent Grisham tried to bunt for a hit and beat the shift down the third base line, but he was thrown out at first base. Austin Wells made it over to second, but wandered off the bag when Grisham was thrown out, seemingly assuming that the inning was over. The Rays got him in a pickle for the third out and the game headed to extra innings.