Aaron Hicks on Friday night embodied what has gone wrong for the New York Yankees since August.
Hicks not only made a physical error in left field, but he made a mental one too to compound the issue.
The Yankees were trailing the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Wander Franco was batting with two outs and runners on first and second. He flared a ball deep to the left field corner. Hicks was chasing after the ball and unable to catch it, even though it went into his glove.
Making matters worse, after not making the catch, Hicks let the ball sit there as the Rays circled the bases. Hicks didn’t realize the ball was fair.
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Both runners scored on the play, giving Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. Randy Arozarena was next up and doubled in Franco to make it 4-0.
The Yankees finally got out of the inning two batters after Arozarena. When they went back out for the fifth inning, Estevan Florial was in left field rather than Hicks.
The Yankees have gone 14-21 since August, allowing the Rays to climb back into the division race. They can’t afford to make errors like that — mentally or physically.
