After a scare on field, Bae's throwing error costs Pirates against Yankees

A somber Ji Hwan Bae stood at his locker late Friday night, not in the highest of spirits.

“Just a lot of emotions getting through," Bae said. "It’s part of the game, so it’s up to me how I handle it after this.” 

Bae was front and center for the two plays the defined Friday's 7-5 Pirates loss to the Yankees at PNC Park. The first came in the bottom of the sixth, when he lined a comebacker off Yankees reliever Anthony Misiewicz's head, which bounced into right field for a single to tie the game at three.

Misiewicz was immediately tended to by the Yankees' medical staff, where he writhed in pain before eventually collecting himself and exiting via the cart.

"I got a little bit of shock," Bae said. "I was just feeling really sorry about him. It was an accident. Nothing we can do. Just praying, watching him.” 

News mid-game from the Yankees was encouraging, as they announced he was alert and oriented. He was set to be checked by doctors at Allegheny General Hospital. Even with the good news, getting back into the game after a moment like that is challenging.

"It's extremely challenging," Derek Shelton said. "In that inning we end up taking the lead, but in the back of your mind you're thinking about a player. You're thinking about a human being."

That goes extra for the players on the field.

“The image was on my mind [during the game]," Bae said. "... I tried to forget about it. I really tried to forget.” 

"You never want to see anything like that," Colin Holderman said. "I hope he’s alright. You forget about the game for a while. You just hope the guy’s alright."

The Pirates would take the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run Ke'Bryan Hayes single, and appeared to have the game locked up ahead 5-3 in the ninth. But David Bednar was unavailable after pitching the last two games, so Shelton turned to the usual setup man, Holderman. Holderman was wild out of the gate, allowing a couple of his and walking in a run to cut the lead in half with just one out.

With his back against the wall, he did get Anthony Volpe to bounce a ball to shortstop Liover Peguero, who quickly fed Bae at second for the second out, but Bae skipped the throw to first base. The ball got by Alfonso Rivas, and what was nearly a game-ending double play became a two-run error that gave the Yankees the lead for good.

“I think I was in a little rush, trying to turn it and throw as soon as possible," Bae said. "That was the key, I think. I felt like I’ve got to slow down at that point.”

It was the deciding play, but Holderman didn't deflect any blame onto the rookie second baseman.

"All I wanna do is win, so walking away with a loss hurts," Holderman said. "Shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with. Some balls they took up the middle, some walks. I put myself in that situation."

"It's a tough loss," Shelton said. "There's some other things in that inning. We can't walk two guys. And Florial did a good job. Going into second, he was standing. Made it challenging, and then you got Volpe running, who is one of the better runners in the game. Ji just rushed it a little bit."

With the loss, the Pirates' find themselves 10 games under again, 69-79, and approaching fifth straight losing season. While they are just a win away from their first 70+ win season since 2018, a loss like that on Roberto Clemente Day stings. The Pirates were able to overcome some Johan Oviedo wildness and his five walks over five frames and nearly spoiled Gerrit Cole's return to PNC Park, where he was only able to go five frames as well.

Instead, it was a reminder that there is still work to be done.

"It's something that our guys have to learn and continue to grow," Shelton said. "That is a tough one because we battled back. We did a lot of good things. We just have to finish games like that."

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THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: DH/OF Andrew McCutchen (Achilles)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Connor Joe, 1B
6. Endy Rodríguez, C
7. Miguel Andújar, DH
8. Joshua Palacios, RF
9. Liover Peguero, SS

And for Aaron Boone's Yankees:

1. DJ LeMahieu, 1B
2. Aaron Judge, RF
3. Gleyber Torres, 2B
4. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
5. Estevan Florial, CF
6. Anthony Volpe, SS
7. Oswald Peraza, 3B
8. Oswaldo Cabrera, LF
9. Ben Rortvedt, C

THE SCHEDULE

Luis Ortiz (4-4, 4.66) will get the ball Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. I'll have you covered.

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