Anthony Volpe flashes defensive potential with ‘heads-up play’ to seal Yankees win

As a lot because the Yankees have raved about Anthony Volpe’s bodily capability since they drafted him within the first spherical out of highschool in 2019, they’ve been simply as impressed together with his baseball IQ.

That mixture of athleticism and intelligence was on show on the ultimate play of a 5-4 win over the Royals on Friday night in The Bronx.

With the tying run on second base and two out within the prime of the ninth, Volpe ranged to his proper to make a pleasant cease of a Bobby Witt Jr. grounder.

What appeared like an infield hit for the speedy Witt, which might have put runners on the corners in opposition to Clay Holmes, as an alternative became a game-ending play.

Volpe scrambled and threw to 3rd, the place DJ LeMahieu was working towards the bottom.

LeMahieu caught Volpe’s throw and tagged a sliding Drew Waters simply earlier than he received to the bag.

Third base umpire Jordan Baker initially known as Waters secure, however the usually stoic LeMahieu made it clear he thought he tagged him.

Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone requested a crew chief evaluation of the play — because it was after the beginning of the eighth inning — and the decision was shortly overturned.

“That was a heads-up play,’’ Boone mentioned. “With Witt working, you’re not throwing him out at first, [so to have] the wherewithal [to throw to third] and DJ additionally getting in place to make that play, it was a big-time play.”

The results of the play even shocked Volpe., who knew he had little likelihood of getting Witt at first.

Volpe famous that Witt had crushed out a “tailored double play” in his earlier at-bat.

Even on the throw to 3rd, Volpe mentioned, “I knew I needed to be fast, so I simply reacted.”

And whereas LeMahieu clearly believed he made the tag in time, Volpe wasn’t so positive.

“I assumed he was secure,’’ Volpe mentioned. “[The umpire] had a fairly good view [and] I didn’t know if we may problem since we had simply challenged earlier than. I used to be shocked and completely satisfied once they put it on the board.”

Volpe mentioned it’s the type of play that’s practiced, though “not likely sliding and throwing, however DJ was proper there. It was simply a type of performs.”

It bailed out the Yankees and Holmes, who was hit exhausting within the ninth.

It was simply considered one of a number of stable performs made by the Yankees up the center, with Oswald Peraza filling in for Gleyber Torres at second base.

Peraza robbed Witt of a run-scoring single within the fourth and practically ended the sport a play earlier than Volpe did when he grabbed a liner from Maikel Garcia and simply missed beating Waters again to second for a double play.

“It turned out to be the distinction there in the long run,” Boone mentioned of the protection.

And it prevented a doubtlessly tense end for the last-place Yankees who staggered house from the West Coast having misplaced 4 straight and 6 of seven.

“We simply must play higher baseball,’’ Volpe mentioned.