Gio Urshela gave up his body for an out to help the Yankees chase down a wild-card spot.
The shortstop sprinted 126 feet from his spot in the shift to make an incredible catch just in front of the Rays dugout, then went flying into the dugout with nothing to stop him and no regard for his body.
Urshela stayed down in the dugout, with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez falling over the railing to make sure Urshela had hung onto the ball for the final out of the top of the sixth in a scoreless game — which the Yankees eventually won 1-0.
“He looked like a missile flying right in there. It scared me to death,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I jumped out and ran straight over there, not knowing what I was going to see. On the dead run like that, you go headfirst into that bench or something — really scary stuff.”
The Yankees’ Gio Urshela gets banged up after making a running catch into the Rays dugout. Getty Images, Corey SipkinGary Sanchez was the first Yankee on the scene, waving for help from the Yankees dugout. Boone, trainers and even team physician Chris Ahmad came over to tend to Urshela, who eventually walked out of the dugout under his own power.
Urshela was limping and clearly in pain — he said he hit his quad, some of his calf and his elbow, though somehow his head avoided the benches — but walked back to the Yankees dugout to a huge ovation and chants of “Gio” from the crowd.
Umpire Angel Hernandez leans into the dugout to check on Gio Urshela’s catch. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post“I feel really good, just a little sore,” said Urshela, who admitted he initially thought he was seriously hurt. “When I opened my eyes, I saw my glove and the ball was inside. I just tried to show it to Angel.”
Urshela stayed in the game until the top of the ninth inning, when he stiffened up from the impact of the blow and was replaced by Andrew Velazquez.
All things considered, Urshela and the Yankees believe he got lucky it wasn’t much worse.
Gio Urshela is attended to in the Yankees dugout. for the NY POST“That’s a competitor right there,” Aaron Judge said. “That’s a guy that leaves it all on the field. Sacrificing his body for the team in this game, that just speaks volumes to the type of player Gio Urshela is.”
Urshela said he was confident he will be able to play Tuesday’s wild-card game against the Red Sox.
“He always gives the 100 percent he’s got,” third baseman Rougned Odor said. “Catching that ball, it was unbelievable. Not many people do that play. What he did tonight was unbelievable. … When I see him go back to defense, I was like, wow. … He made us play harder after he came back. I was like, ‘Wow, we gotta go now.’ ”
