BOSTON – There were major renovations to Fenway Park ahead of the 1934 season, introducing a scoreboard inside the left-field wall that featured a state-of-the-art innovation: large colored lamps to signify the count on a batter -- green for balls and red for strikes -- plus indicators for outs.
This history lesson brings us to Jasson Domínguez, who wandered off second base during the seventh inning on Saturday night. Had Domínguez peeked over his shoulder at the 37-foot-tall Green Monster, he’d have seen only one red lamp lit when Trent Grisham swung through a pitch. Domínguez lost track of the count, and the Yankees dropped a 4-3 decision to the Red Sox.
“For some reason, I thought he had two strikes,” Domínguez said. “I have nothing to say; no excuses. I made a mistake.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Domínguez felt “terrible” about the mental error, adding, “It’s probably something that won’t ever happen to him again.”
Domínguez’s glum expression matched the Yanks’ weekend mood as they fell to 1-4 against Boston this season while dropping their second series against the rivals.
“They’ve pitched us tough, and we haven’t scored,” Boone said.
The Yankees were in no position to give outs away, considering rookie right-hander Hunter Dobbins backed up his bluster with six scoreless innings. Just days after telling the Boston Herald he’d rather “retire” than wear pinstripes, Dobbins held New York to two hits in an efficient 82-pitch effort.
Boston got on the board quickly, with Rob Refsnyder scoring an unearned first-inning run against Carlos Rodón when shortstop Anthony Volpe committed a throwing error. Volpe attempted a Jeter-ian jump-throw in the hole on a Carlos Narváez grounder; first baseman Paul Goldschmidt blamed himself for not knocking it down.
“I feel like that one was on me,” Goldschmidt said. “He should have the freedom to throw that ball across the diamond like he did.”
Saddled with the loss, Rodón was serviceable if not splendid, charged with four runs (three earned) over five-plus innings. He figured Boston’s game plan was to swing early in the count, evidenced by Refsnyder belting Rodón’s first-pitch heater for a double.
“They’re a pretty solid team. They definitely can swing it,” Rodón said. “They had a good approach. It seemed like they had a team approach today. They were a little more aggressive than last time [Sunday at Yankee Stadium].”
Rodón said next time, he’d try to be more fine with his location rather than trying to overpower.
“I actually thought he was pretty sharp this time around,” Boone said.
The Yankees’ bats still seemed groggy from their early morning arrival on Friday, but signs of life appeared once Dobbins exited. Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. worked walks to open the seventh inning against Luis Guerrero, and after an out, Domínguez grounded a slider into center field for an RBI single.
Austin Wells followed by greeting Justin Wilson with a run-scoring hit that shot past a diving attempt by shortstop Trevor Story, trimming New York’s deficit to 4-2.
After a strikeout, Grisham swung through Wilson’s 2-1 fastball. It took a second, maybe two, for Narváez to notice Domínguez’s body language – he thought the inning was over.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said there was “eye contact” between Narváez and Story. Narváez fired to second base, Domínguez broke for third, and Marcelo Mayer slapped a tag on.
“Like I said, I just made a mistake,” Domínguez said.
Boone said he spoke with Domínguez after the gaffe, instructing him to be situationally aware.
“It’s reminding yourself with speaking out loud, talking to each other, making sure you’re always paying attention to that,” Boone said.
Yet the Yanks still brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth. Goldschmidt opened the inning by banging a double off the Monster, then came home after a pair of groundouts. Domínguez had an opportunity for redemption, racing hard on a double down the left-field line.
And there he was again, on second base. Domínguez vowed to keep better tabs on the count – if not on the wall, then on any number of LED ribbon boards that Fenway adopted in the subsequent decades.
The count read 3-1 – three green lamps, one red – when Wells lifted a fly ball to the warning track in center field, deep enough to allow the Yanks to wonder, “What if?”
“Everyone knows the rivalry that we have with Boston,” Domínguez said. “We just want to win. Losing at home, losing here -- it’s tough.”