Yankees nipped by Dodgers after controversial play goes against them
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LOS ANGELES — The only stain on a scintillating Yankees-Dodgers game on Saturday afternoon was the asinine uniforms worn by the two best teams in baseball.
Other than the Players’ Weekend rags, the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory in front of 53,803 at Dodger Stadium produced an assembly line of pulsating moments.
At the top of the list was a high-wire ninth inning that didn’t go the Yankees’ way because plate umpire Gabe Morales signaled time while the ball was still live. Gleyber Torres was on his way home while Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy faked an injury after being wiped out by Brett Gardner’s slide into second.
The Yankees challenged the call that Gardner was out at second, and it was overturned. The Dodgers challenged Gardner’s slide, saying it was illegal, but that was shot down.
So, with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Mike Tauchman faced Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with the Yankees trailing by a run.
Players were on the top step of the dugouts. They were joined on their feet by the massive crowd that let out a roar when Tauchman whiffed.
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As soon as that noise abated, Gary Sanchez stepped into the batter’s box and a louder blast rattled around the grand ballpark that did everything, but shake the foundation when Jansen struck out Sanchez to end it.
Morales throwing up his hands and stopping Torres from scoring what would have been the tying run took over center stage as Muncy put on an Oscar-worthy acting performance that had Gardner convinced the Dodgers second baseman was injured.
“I was hurting, but there was a little bit of acting there, too. I stayed down a little longer,’’ Muncy said.
So instead of the score being tied, Jansen punched out Tauchman and Sanchez to end it.
Aaron Boone said the Yankees “will inquire’’ into Morales’ decision, but don’t expect the inquiry to grow legs. What might stay alive are Torres’ comments about the umpires.
“They need to do a little [better] job,’’ Torres said. “I don’t know what was wrong with the umpires today. We can’t control that.’’
In his second start since coming off the injured list, CC Sabathia gave up a leadoff single to opposing pitcher Tony Gonsolin and a home run to Justin Turner in the third inning. Considering the Yankees rocked NL Cy Young candidate Hyun-Jin Ryu for seven runs in 4 ¹/₃ innings and crushed five homers in Friday night’s 10-2 win, it didn’t figure that a two-run home run in the third frame would beat the Yankees.
Thanks, however, to Morales’ blunder and Gonsolin holding the Yankees to a run and five hits in five innings in his fifth big league game and fourth start, Turner’s 23rd homer did just that.
Aaron Judge cut that deficit to 2-1 in the fourth when he led off with a towering homer to center, but the Yankees didn’t bat with a runner in scoring position until the seventh, when Tauchman walked and Sanchez grounded out to third.
Muncy’s comment about putting an act on should add fuel to the fire that will be roiling around Dodger Stadium for the finale of the three-game series Sunday night. Muncy did, however, absolve Gardner of a dirty slide.
“For me in terms of playing the game I thought it was perfectly clean,’’ Muncy said of the slide. “In terms of the rule they’ve created I think the only thing that was questionable was his hand. I think the only think that was questionable was him reaching out and grabbing me. Other than that I thought it was a good play by him.’’
Which led to a costly call by Morales.
