Evan: Yankees crippling loss may have cost them American League East

The Yankees were en route to an inspiring series sweep of the Orioles on Sunday, which would move them back into first place in the American League East and go into the break feeling a lot better after six weeks of struggles.

Instead, a disastrous ninth inning led to a walk-off win for the O’s, and in Evan’s eyes, potentially dealt a crushing blow to the Bombers’ chances of winning a division style.

“The Yankees won a series from the Orioles - a team that had not lost a series against a divisional rival in over a year - they did that,” Evan said. “But I am convinced that the entire weekend was ruined by what happened in the bottom of the ninth. It almost deletes the accomplishment of winning two of three against the Orioles.

“That sequence in the ninth inning not only cost you a feel-good weekend…it may have cost you the American League East. I’m not trying to be hyperbolic about it.”

The Yanks are now one game back of Baltimore instead of one game ahead, and had a chance to take three straight to even up the season series. That chance was squandered thanks to two backbreaking miscues in the field.

“If the Yankees win that game, not only are they in first place in the AL East, but all of a sudden, they have a leg up on taking the season series against the Orioles, which makes the road map top winning this division a lot quicker,” Evan said. “All of a sudden, you have a two-game swing, you’re probably not winning the tiebreaker unless you sweep them the last time you play them.

“Not once, but twice, two of your best defensive players had the easiest play in the world to make, and they both effed up! Both of them!”

Tiki isn’t going into the break with that bleak mindset, instead looking at how the series as a whole played out, and not just that ninth inning.

“Think about where they had come from,” Tiki said. “Think about how bad the Yankees had been over the least month or so. And for most of this series, up until the last inning, they had dominated the team that’s supposed to be better than them in their division.

“I don’t want to dwell on Anthony Volpe making an error in the ninth inning or Alex Verdugo misplaying a ball in left field…after a month and a half of negativity, I don’t want to hear about it.”