New York Yankees shortstop Gio Urshela remained in the game during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays after making a sensational running catch to end the top of the sixth inning. Urshela chased down an Austin Meadows pop-up just on the outskirts of the Rays dugout in a game with playoff implications for the Bronx Bombers.
His momentum carried him into the dugout after he secured the ball, however, and the Rays quickly motioned for a Yankees trainer. Urshela emerged from the dugout on his own power minutes later, but he did appear to be limping. Here’s a look at the play in all its moving picture glory:
Urshela entered Sunday hitting .269/.303/.422 (97 OPS+) with 14 home runs and a stolen base. Baseball Reference’s calculations had him being worth 0.9 Wins Above Replacement in his first 439 trips to the plate. Although he’s a third baseman by trade, he’s primarily played shortstop dating back to mid-September as a means of creating space for DJ LeMahieu at third base and Gleyber Torres at second base.
It should be noted that the Yankees already had to place LeMahieu on the injured list on Sunday because of a sports hernia injury. The Yankees are also without Miguel Andújar, who has been on the injured list with a strained wrist since June. If it’s later discovered that Urshela has to miss time, the left side of the Yankees’ infield will be exiting the regular season at considerably less than full strength.
The Yankees are assured of playing one more game this season, either a Game 163 tiebreaker scenario on Monday, or the American League Wild Card Game on Tuesday. When and with whom hinges on Sunday’s results. A Yankees win against the Rays will allow them to skip the tiebreaker scenarios, while a loss would force them back onto the field for an additional elimination game.
