It wasn't the Yankees' toughest loss, but it was yet another gut punch
Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees participates in warmups prior to a game against the Chicago White Sox at the Field of Dreams on August 12, 2021 in Dyersville, Iowa. Credit: Getty Images/Stacy Revere
CHICAGO — The Yankees at the very least took solace in this:
On their oddly impressive and lengthy list of gut-wrenching, soul-crushing losses in 2021, what happened Thursday night in the first Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa — scoring four runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead before losing to the White Sox, 9-8, on Tim Anderson’s walk-off two-run homer off Zack Britton — isn’t near the top.
"This one doesn’t rank up with some of the ones we’ve had, frankly," Aaron Boone said. "I mean, we had a one-run lead that we battled back to grab. A good team got us."
Trailing 7-4 in the top of the ninth and down to their last out, the Yankees rallied against White Sox closer Liam Hendricks, getting two-run homers from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton that produced a stunning 8-7 lead.
But Britton — who has been inconsistent all season, whether in the closer role, as he is now with Aroldis Chapman on the injured list, or as a setup man — couldn’t finish it off. He retired Danny Mendick on a grounder and got ahead 0-and-2 on Seby Zavala, but he walked Zavala and served up Anderson’s homer on his first pitch to the notorious first-ball hitter.
Boone and Stanton said the Yankees have had far worse losses this season, but Brett Gardner correctly pointed out that the calendar is not the club’s friend.
"Kind of the ultimate high and then the ultimate low," Gardner said of the dugout mood swing from the time of Stanton’s blast to Anderson’s. "We've had quite a few moments like that over the course of the season, just tough losses. It's obviously a long season and those things happen, but with where we are in the standings, we're starting to run out of time, so we just have to play better on both sides of the ball."
The Yankees are 2 1/2 games behind Boston (one in the loss column) for the American League’s second wild-card spot.
On Thursday, two recent problems reared their heads again — one that could get solved early next week and one that might not be as easily solved.
There is lefthander Andrew Heaney, an acquisition at the trade deadline who allowed three home runs in running his total to eight homers and 15 runs allowed in 15 innings as a Yankee. That issue, and his overall ineffectiveness, could be taken care of when/if Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery are cleared to return to the rotation early next week from the COVID-19 injured list.
Boone said Thursday that the pair could be back then. He didn’t say it, but Heaney could end up the odd man out as far as the rotation is concerned.
As for Britton, he ran his ERA to 6.32 in 18 appearances after allowing the two runs Thursday. He has walked 12 in 15 2/3 innings. As long as Chapman is out, Britton likely will remain in the closer’s role, but even if he doesn’t, continuing to struggle in any role is problematic.
When the series resumes Saturday night at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field, what happened Thursday mostly will be in the rearview mirror, though the experience — good and bad — won’t be soon forgotten.
"That ruined it a little bit, honestly," Boone said of the impact the loss had on the overall night. "We’re here with business to do and these games are huge, so it’s tough to walk in here after a tough loss, after it looked like you stole it back. But that said . . . That was as special and breathtaking a setting for a baseball game that I can ever remember being a part of."
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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