NEW YORK – It should have been a banner night for Anthony Volpe, who helped fuel his team’s victory with a go-ahead hit, an aggressive steal of third that generated another run and a long homer that dented an advertising board behind the home bullpen.
Yet Volpe’s fielding woes continued to be a focal point, prompting Aaron Boone’s harshest criticism yet of what the manager described as an ongoing “defensive slump.” Volpe committed two errors, including a bounced throw that extended the ninth inning, in New York’s 7-5 win over the Rays on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
“I’ve never really experienced something like this,” said Volpe, whose 15 errors are tied with Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz for the Majors’ most. “But I’ve got really good guys around me. I know what I’m capable of. It’s obviously frustrating, but it’s not discouraging. I know the standard I have for myself. I’m going to keep pushing until I prove it to myself every day.”
The victory was valuable for the Bombers, who moved four games behind the Blue Jays in the American League East race. Toronto was swept in their doubleheader against the Orioles.
During the Yankees’ recent series in Toronto, Boone voiced concern about infielders playing not to make mistakes instead of aggressively completing plays. Volpe is showing signs of that, particularly in the ninth inning, when he double-pumped after fielding a routine Yandy Díaz grounder.
Volpe’s throw was in the dirt – normally a scoop for first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, but not this time. It forced Devin Williams to work with the potential tying run at the plate, but the closer struck out Jonathan Aranda to seal his 17th save.
“We’ve got to get over it. We’ve got to get through it,” Boone said. “One thing is for certain, he’s really good out there. He’s clearly had some struggles and was a little indecisive with that last throw. We can’t be indecisive there. He’ll get through it, but obviously there’s been some tough moments here.”
The Yankees were down early, a door opened by Volpe’s first-inning miscue. Shading up the middle, Volpe fielded an Aranda grounder and flipped wildly to Jazz Chisholm Jr. covering second on what should have been a double play. Instead, no outs were recorded, setting up Jonny DeLuca’s two-run triple.
“I just led Jazz too much,” Volpe said. “With how we play in double-play depth and still trying to keep our range, you’re going to have plays where you’ve got to be precise on the feeds, and I wasn’t.”
Volpe has offered no excuses, saying, “Even if I didn’t make an error the whole year, I’d still be working and trying to push my limits, push myself.”
This came on a night when Volpe contributed one of his best offensive showings of the season, beginning with a run-scoring single in the fourth inning off Rays starter Joe Boyle.
That chased home Jasson Domínguez with the go-ahead run after Cody Bellinger belted a game-tying three-run homer an inning earlier, offsetting Aranda’s solo shot.
The 24-year-old Volpe’s legs then helped generate another run. Advancing on an error, Volpe triggered a double steal and trotted home when catcher Nick Fortes’ throw sailed into left field. Volpe added his 15th homer in the eighth off Kevin Kelly.
Yet the errors soured that. Said Boone: “He’s going to grow from this, learn from it and come out on the other side. We’ve got to help him get there.”
While the Yankees are exploring ways to upgrade their roster before Thursday’s Trade Deadline, Volpe remains entrenched at shortstop. That adds urgency to correct whatever is ailing the 2023 AL Gold Glove Award winner.
“He’s a good player. He’s a confident player,” starter Max Fried said. “He got to the big leagues at an early age and has been really, really good defensively in his career so far. Everyone goes through different spurts where things aren’t going well, but everyone in this clubhouse has confidence that he’s that same guy.”
Goldschmidt chipped in an RBI single to support Fried, who grinded through 6 2/3 innings. The lefty scattered four hits and allowed four runs (two earned), throwing a season-high 111 pitches (69 strikes).
Boone gave Fried a shot to complete the seventh, but he was lifted after surrendering Taylor Walls’ RBI double to right-center. Jonathan Loáisiga pitched around a pair of singles to record four outs, and Williams recovered after Josh Lowe tripled and scored on a groundout in the ninth.
“We’re all brothers in here. We’ve all got each others’ backs,” Bellinger said. “That’s the fun part about 162 [games]. Wins and losses come in a bunch of different ways. You’ve got to keep on rolling.”