Yankees' Jasson Domínguez's defense is under fire as the Orioles continue to roll

NEW YORK – The champagne may be going flat. The beer might stink.

The New York Yankees missed another chance at a raucous club celebration with their error-filled 9-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. A win would have given the Yankees the division crown.

Instead, they have to wait at least another night while their magic number hovers at one.

The game wasn't as close as the result suggested. The Yankees mounted a meaningless four-run rally in the ninth inning with an RBI single from Juan Soto and a three-run home run from Aaron Judge.

A night after Gleyber Torres' base-running gaffe caused a loss and the Yankees' first missed chance to clinch the American League East, the main culprit was rookie Jasson Domínguez, who misjudged a catchable fly ball in left field with the bases loaded played and no outs in the first inning. The mistake allowed two runs to be scored.

Domínguez said he lost track of the ball.

“I have no excuse,” he said. “This ball has to be caught 100 percent of the time.”

Jason Dominguez continues to struggle in the outfield. 2-0 Orioles pic.twitter.com/h1gW45k8NM

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 25, 2024

A co-star credit went to Marcus Stroman, who gave up six runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. To be fair, Stroman was put in an unenviable position as an emergency starter with a sudden abrasion from Nestor Cortes (elbow flexor strain).

Third baseman Jazz Chisholm also fumbled a double play and Anthony Volpe fell to first base on an error, while manager Aaron Boone was surely quietly wondering what was happening to the club, which was five of six on its trip to the West Coast Siegen won.

“I just didn’t play really well early on and couldn’t quite come back,” said Boone, who also called the Yankees’ play “sloppy.”

Of course, all the consternation over the Yankees' recent sloppiness will disappear if they win on Thursday and clinch their 21st Division title.

It's going to be hard. While the Yankees will start with reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole (7-5, 3.67 ERA), Baltimore plans to counter with top player Corbin Burnes (15-8, 2.95 ERA). With Tuesday's win, the Orioles secured a spot in the playoffs, something the Yankees did last week.

“It’s the game, man,” Boone said. “Nothing has been easy for us this year. That shouldn't be the case now. But we somehow persevered and somehow fought our way through the whole thing.”

Judge said things weren't made any more difficult for the Yankees, who were just a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Guardians and had the best record in the AL, just one win away from a division win.

“They’re all tough,” Judge said. “We are playing against a great team that has fought with us all year. It will never be easy.”

Domínguez's mistake set the sloppy tone of the evening.

Stroman had loaded the bases with three hits in his first eight pitches of the game. Then Colton Cowser — who was battling Yankees catcher Austin Wells in the AL Rookie of the Year race — lifted a high fly ball to the corner in left field.

Domínguez overran it by a step and tried to reach behind its head to catch it. The ball fell, bounced off the wall and bounced toward the infield. When Domínguez found it, he hit cutoff man Volpe, who tried to throw the ball home, but it was late. Two runs were scored, although Wells was able to knock Anthony Santander out of the game by sliding to third base.

According to MLB's Statcast, the catch probability of the fly ball was 95 percent.

“This is a challenging opportunity,” Boone said. “But one that we also have to do.”

“He knows he should have made that play, but he’s going to learn from it and get better,” Judge said.

It was Domínguez's third misplay in about a week when he ran over a fly ball in center field in Seattle and then dropped another in left field.

When the Yankees decided not to draft Domínguez when rosters were expanded on September 1, The athlete spoke with an opposing team's evaluator, who indicated that Domínguez struggled defensively in Triple A.

Domínguez's poor glove work of late could further solidify Alex Verdugo as the team's starting left fielder in the playoffs. Verdugo was much steadier in left field, and the Yankees should be more concerned about being attacked by bats Judge, Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Wells in the middle of the lineup when it matters most.

How will Boone decide who starts in left field in crunch time?

“Just try to take it all in,” the manager said. “What gives you the best chance of winning on a given night? Of course, try to get a good look at Jason here on the track because we know he's capable out there. I feel like he's been showing some good shots lately. But we will continue to pay attention to everything.”

Marcus Stroman, who gave up six runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Orioles, was an emergency starter for Nestor Cortes. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

Stroman, who hadn't pitched in eight days, made no apologies for his poor performance. Late on Tuesday evening he found out that he would be in the starting lineup on Wednesday. He didn't walk anyone, but he only struck out one batter. Clayton Beeter followed suit and gave up two earned runs. Cody Poteet pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up one run.

The Yankees had moved Stroman to the bullpen on September 13, and he had made just one relief appearance before Wednesday's start.

“It's frustrating,” he said of his performance, “but at the end of the day I didn't manage to do my job and keep my team on the path to victory.” … I have to make better throws and all night long have better command.”

The Yankees have four games left in the regular season. If they win one, they can relax knowing they won the division. But on Wednesday the champagne remained corked.

(Top photo of Aaron Judge hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning: Brad Penner / Imagn Images)