Jeffrey Maier was nowhere to be found, and neither was a potential Yankees run and Josh Donaldson’s hustle.
At the bottom of the fifth inning of a tie Game 1 of the ALDS in the Bronx Tuesday night, Donaldson hit what he thought was a home run off field and what actually became an out on the base paths. With the Yankees bouncing back with a 4-1 win over the Guardians to open the series, the game will be remembered more as an oddity than a critical failure.
Across from Cleveland starter Cal Quantrill, Donaldson launched a shot into right field that ricocheted off the top of the wall, narrowly missing the bare hands of several fans trying to make a catch. The ball sped back into play, and Cleveland right fielder Oscar Gonzalez caught it and threw it in at second base.
Donaldson, who wasn’t running hard and high-fived first base coach Travis Chapman as he rounded the pocket, was caught halfway between bases. He attempted to climb back to first base but was flagged.
Donaldson pointed to the right wall in hopes that a review would nullify the call. But on the replay, the call was sustained as the ball never made its way into the stands (and neither fan could make the play Maier played in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, in which the young fan blocked a deep fly from Derek Jeter , making it a home run).
Donaldson’s view would have been a lot brighter if his teammates hadn’t been quick to save him. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then drilled a ball down the line that right fielder Gonzalez misplayed and allowed Kiner-Falefa to take third place. With an out, Jose Trevino’s sacrificial fly got the ball rolling, and the Yankees would only go from there.
A lack of rush aside, veteran Donaldson came through in his first playoff game as a Yankee and the 40th of his career. The No. 6 hitter went 2-on-2 with a walk and made some impressive plays on third base.
With bases loaded and an out in the third inning, Gonzalez hit a grounder on Donaldson’s left, which he treated clean and tossed home for the force out. Gerrit Cole would come out of the inning unscathed.
An inning later, Cleveland’s Austin Hedges hit a hard grounder on the third baseline, and Donaldson slid behind the pocket to set it up, got up and made a strong throw at first to get Hedges.