WHOOPS! Yankees first baseman Brandon Laird chases down a throw he misplayed in the second inning of the Yankees’ 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Orioles yesterday in The Bronx. (Reuters)
The Yankees’ lineup was makeshift and their starter was maddening. But in the end, it was sloppy fielding that ended their winning streak.
The Yankees committed four errors and other, more costly gaffes, and they threw away a 5-4, 11-inning decision to the Orioles yesterday at the Stadium.
“We gave them a lot of their runs, and that’s why we lost. We didn’t catch a popup, didn’t turn a double play, had some other errors,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Our defense has been pretty good, but for whatever reason [yesterday] it wasn’t. I don’t know if it was the conditions, I don’t know if it was fatigue. I don’t know what it was, but it’s really what cost us the game.”
Playing just 11 hours after Tuesday night’s rain-delayed game ended at 2:15 a.m., the Yankees fielded a Scranton-like lineup with Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher and Russell Martin the only regular starters. And what they got was Triple-A defense, with shortstop Eduardo Nunez misplaying a Matt Angle grounder for his second error (18th of the year) to set up the winning run.
After Nick Markakis was walked intentionally, reliever Hector Noesi hung an 85 mph slider down the middle, and Mark Reynolds laced it for a double to left to plate Angle with the go-ahead run.
Orioles reliever Jim Johnson retired pinch-hitter Eric Chavez in the 11th to snap the Yankees’ six-game winning streak. But thanks to the Red Sox’s 11-10 loss in Toronto, the Yankees maintained their 2 1⁄2-game lead in the AL East.
“I don’t want to make excuses. Bad game on defense. I just have to keep working. [It was wet] a little bit, but I don’t want to make excuses. I have to do a better job,” Nunez said. “I feel bad for my teammates. [A.J. Burnett] threw very well. But we have another one [today], and I have to be ready.”
Though Girardi said Nunez “had a tough day,” he wasn’t alone. First baseman Brandon Laird and defensive replacement Brett Gardner also made errors.
“Oh, disgusting, as sloppy as it gets. But you expect that with those kind of conditions,” said Rodriguez, who had a two-run double in the first inning. “[The infield] was terrible, as bad as I’ve ever seen. … You expect in a game like this there are going to be numerous mistakes, and they made less than we did.”
The follies started in the third, when third baseman Rodriguez instead of fielding a Robert Andino popup, called for Nunez to take it. But the wind blew it in, and Nunez rushed in but couldn’t make the play as he slid on the wet mound.
“Definitely a play that needed to be made. If I had it to do all over again I would’ve taken charge and made that play,” Rodriguez said. “The wind brought it in a little bit. but that ball, there’s no excuse, that ball has to be caught.”
Burnett got the desired 3-6-1 double-play ball but failed to cover first, and Nolan Reimold hit a two-out homer for a 4-2 O’s lead. In the first four innings, Burnett, who didn’t build on his solid outing last Thursday at Fenway, allowed three steals, two walks, two wild pitches and failed to cover first base twice.
Jesus Montero took him off the hook with a two-RBI single off the wall in right. But from that point on the Yankees went 0-for-13 with men on, until Curtis Granderson’s 11th-inning single put pinch-runner Chris Dickerson at third. But Chavez, hitting for Nunez, saw shortstop Robert Andino dive and knock down his grounder, shoveling to second to get Granderson and end the game.
With the game locked at 4-4 late, Girardi brought in Robinson Cano, Granderson and Mark Teixeira, but it wasn’t enough as Noesi (2-1) took the loss.
brian.lewis@nypost.com
