Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s base-run blunder costs Yankees one out

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MLB

By Andrew Crane

June 23, 2023 | 10:36 p.m.

From Isiah Kiner-Falefas’ perspective, everything about his stolen base attempt in the fifth inning on Friday night went badly.

He made a bad jump against Rangers starter Dane Dunning.

He thought he was on the run.

He thought his foot had slipped off the base.

He even thought he heard someone say: Out.

And since he wanted to help the official video replay of the Yankees not contest, he ran to the dugout.

The referee, however, declared him safe and sound.

So instead of potentially having a runner in second with no out with the score tied, a weird streak extinguished a scoring chance.

Manager Aaron Boone thought Kiner-Falefa would have been ruled out had the Rangers been challenged, but Kiner-Falefa blamed his base run and a fourth-inning error in center field for the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Rangers Friday.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa #12 of the New York Yankees is caught stealing second base.Robert Sabo for NY Post

It’s another stupid game that can’t happen again, Kiner-Falefa said. It’s just a silly game that cost us a rally.

Kiner-Falefa started the fifth inning against his old team with a single, fielding a ball that third baseman Josh Jung couldn’t recover.

On the steal attempt, Marcus Semien, after trying to tag Kiner-Falefa as he slipped, even looked frustrated on the initial call to safety.

Then Kiner-Falefa, who struggled to communicate in noisy environments like Yankee Stadium, turned what would have been his ninth stolen base of the season into his fourth time by getting caught.

He heard, it was probably the player who called him, Boone said. You have to make sure of that, don’t you?

Prior to his base run blunder, Kiner-Falefa made an infield error in the fourth inning, when the Rangers had a runner on first and two out against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt.

Leody Taveras threw a ball into shallow center field but Kiner-Falefa hesitated and got caught in the middle, he said, trying to play it safe while locating shortstop Anthony volpe.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa makes a field error on a fly ball hit by Leody Taveras #3 of Texas Rangers.Robert Sabo for NY Post

The ball fell for a single then passed under the glove of Kiner-Falefas.

This allowed Ezequiel Duran to score from first base, tying the score at 1.

Once a full-time infielder with the Rangers and Yankees, Kiner-Falefa has become a constant part of the Yankees’ outfield rotation this season after losing the shortstop battle to Volpe.

He’s only made one mistake in his new position this season, and his time in the lineup has increased after injuries to Harrison Bader and Aaron Judge.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa reacts to baserunning mishap.Robert Sabo for NY Post

The first mistake, on the field, would not have counted in a resounding victory.

But that second mistake, on the base paths, prevented the Yankees from taking an early lead as their offense struggled again. Kiner-Falefa declared the games on me today after he singled and scored in the eighth inning to allow the Yankees to force the extras.

At the same time, if this run doesn’t score, we win the game in the ninth inning, Kiner-Falefa said. We don’t even go to the 10th.

This is something that can’t happen and hopefully won’t happen again.

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