Bob Klapisch

NorthJersey

HOUSTON – The Yankees are in deep trouble in the ALCS and before you say no big deal, they’ve been doomed before, it’s worth noting the Astros are the best team they’ve played all year. Every mistake matters, even the little bounces – like the one Gary Sanchez couldn’t handle on the final play in a crushing 2-1 loss in Game 2.

Over and over, Sanchez said, “I should’ve caught the ball” that Didi Gregorius fired off in a desperate attempt to cut down Jose Altuve at the plate. He should’ve been out by 20 feet but because of Sanchez’s bobble, the Astros’ little terminator slid across with the winning run. It was a devastating sequence that cost the Yankees the game and perhaps the ALCS. We’ll see.

But the failure to properly execute the play will haunt the Yankees and Sanchez in particular, as he made three critical mistakes in a matters of seconds.

First, he failed to take off his mask in preparation for Gregorius’ throw. It would’ve given Sanchez a clearer look at the ball and enhanced peripheral vision. Sanchez conceivably could’ve better calculated how much time he had to put the tag on Altuve. After the game, however, when asked about the mask, Sanchez admitted, “I didn't think of that.”

Second, with room and time in his favor, Sanchez could have and should have taken a step toward the ball and caught it on the fly. There would’ve been no need to play it on the short hop, a difficult maneuver even for a gifted defender. But Sanchez’s dexterity has been an issue all season; this wasn’t the first time his hands have betrayed him, only the most consequential.

So why didn't Sanchez use two hands? That was Mistake No. 3. Doing everything possible to secure the ball, even if he remained anchored at the plate, would’ve increased the odds of handling the bounce. Altuve would’ve had no chance to otherwise dislodge the ball - Sanchez would’ve been an immovable object. Out at the plate, and the Yankees might’ve survived the scare.

Even after the game, Sanchez still seemed dazed by the damning play, saying, “I will have to see a replay” to understand the Yankees’ unraveling. It went like this. With one out and Altuve on first after smoking Aroldis Chapman’s 100-mph to left, Carlos Correa launched a missile into the gap in right-center. Aaron Judge cut the ball off before it reached the wall and hit Gregorius with the cutoff. Judge made the right decision. “He threw it to the guy on the field with the strongest arm,” said Joe Girardi.

In any other setting, Altuve might’ve held at third, but not on this day. The game was too close, runs were scarce and this was the Astros’ best chance to finish off the Bombers. Gregorius said, “I had a feeling (Altuve) was going” as he wheeled and fired to Sanchez.

Girardi’s assessment was dead-on. No one could’ve made a better throw than Gregorius, which is why Correa affected a pop-up slide at second that may or may not have gotten in the Yankees’ shortstop’s way. Girardi argued that Correa made contact and should’ve been called for interference. The umpires overruled Girardi and walked off the field. The Astros, meanwhile, were going berserk all around the Yankees.

Gregorius agreed that Correa had bumped him but refused to alibi for the short throw. “I’m not going to make an issue of it,” he said. Besides, both he and Judge had done everything right. The ball was in Sanchez’s glove with plenty of time to spare. Only, it popped out, as if there was a spring in the webbing.

Some of Sanchez’ problems stems from his technique, which reflects on poor coaching. The Yankees will need to make Sanchez’s defense a priority next spring; there has to be more to his game than home run power and a rifle arm. But in the meantime, the Bombers are looking for an unlikely comeback against a monster Astros roster. Still, to be fair, Brett Gardner was right when he said, “This game shouldn’t have come down one play.”

The Bombers, who led the American League in HRs and were second in runs, have run into a buzz saw in the ALCS. Between Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander in Games 1-2, the Bombers are batting .159 with 27 strikeouts. They looked particularly lost on Saturday against Verlander, whose 13 punch-outs made him only the fifth pitcher to fan that many Yankees in the postseason, joining Carl Erskine, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Cliff Lee.

Gregorius wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “(Verlander) didn't make many mistakes against us.” Talk about power pitching: Of his 124 pitches, 111 were fastballs or sliders. Verlander worked up and down and on both sides of the plate. The Yankees, unable to pick one quadrant to zone in on, swung and missed 25 times.

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The result leaves the Bombers in terrible shape. Of the 28 teams that have taken a 2-0 lead Series lead since the LCS went to a best-of-seven format, all but three have gone on to the World Series. Judge, for one, says, “This is a club that doesn’t quit,” but so far the Astros haven’t let them up for air.

They’ve made the Yankees pay for every gamble, like Gardner trying to stretch a double into a triple in the third, cut down perfectly by a Josh Reddick to Correa to Alex Bregman relay. Houston has struck out only nine times in two games, and not once against Luis Severino in four innings on Saturday.

It’s an ominous predicament for the Bombers. Not hopeless, perhaps, but at the very least sobering. Ask Sanchez. He’s still wondering what happened.