Yankees Weigh in on Controversial Call That Led to Walk-Off Loss in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — In the moment, it looked like Aroldis Chapman's full-count slider might've clipped the top of the strike zone.
Plus, with Jose Trevino—one of the game's best at framing pitches—pulling his glove down behind the plate, the Yankees thought they had gotten out of the inning unscathed, stranding the bases loaded in the 11th.
Instead, home plate umpire Tom Hallion stood motionless, signaling ball four to Orioles infielder Ramon Urías and a walk-off victory for Baltimore.
Looking at film after the game, manager Aaron Boone and several members of the Yankees agreed that Chapman's decisive delivery sailed above the zone. That clarity in retrospect didn't prevent Trevino from arguing the call and Boone from getting ejected as the Orioles celebrated a 2-1 win.
"Just didn't want Jose to get in trouble there," Boone explained after the loss, mentioning his pent-up frustration from a tough night for his club offensively. "Thought the last pitch was probably up. Thought there was a pitch maybe with Clarke [Schmidt] earlier in the inning that we had him, another close one but no, it was more just making sure Jose didn't get in any trouble out there."
Boone was referring to a 1-2 pitch from Schmidt two batters prior that certainly seemed like strike three. A similar no-call from Hallion extended the at-bat to third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez, leading to a walk and a bases-loaded situation.
Schmidt didn't want to blame the umpire, admitting that he put himself in a position to load the bases, forcing Boone's hand to summon Chapman with the top of Baltimore's order—and leadoff man Cedric Mullins—due up.
"I shouldn't have been in that position," he said. "I should have been able to work out of it. I don't want to say that it came down to a call, but that's the way it goes sometimes."
Regardless of what happened earlier in the frame, Trevino was heated after he realized Hallion had called the last pitch of the game a ball.
"I was just asking him where it was at the end. I thought I caught it good. I thought Chappy made a good pitch," Trevino said. "I mean, we're all competing out there. So I did go back and watch it, it was a little up. But in the heat of the moment ... wish we would've got the call."
Schmidt was credited with the loss, but this is the second game in a row where Chapman has been unable to close the door. On Thursday night in the Bronx, the left-hander walked all three batters he faced against the Blue Jays, needing Michael King to come in from the 'pen, bail him out and secure the win.
Trevino assured that Chapman looked much better on Friday night while Boone revealed he had no hesitation bringing his closer into the game in a high-leverage spot.
"You're not even thinking about last night at all," Chapman said after the game through the team's interpreter. "This is a brand new game here, a brand new opportunity, you're trying to execute and unfortunately, things didn't work out the way we wanted it."
Losing on a walk-off always stings, but this feels even worse for New York after they failed to capitalize on plenty of run-scoring opportunities throughout the game. The Yankees were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position on offense, managing just one run against Baltimore's lowly pitching staff.
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