Tropicana Field is the ugliest stadium in Major League Baseball, and it’s also one of the most challenging stadiums to play in. And D.J. LeMahieu and the New York Yankees’ infield almost had a nightmare moment in the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium in the bottom of the 10th on Wednesday night.
The Yankees had a 3-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, and the Rays had runners on second and third. Tampa Bay’s Francisco Mejia popped up an Aroldis Chapman pitch, and it should’ve been a very routine play on the right side of the infield. But with the catwalk and ceiling to deal with at the Trop, it became anything but a routine play.
LeMahieu — playing first base — appeared to have the pop-up under control, but clearly lost sight of the ball and made a dive at the last second to make an incredible catch, right before the ball hit the dirt. This would’ve turned into a game-tying play — and with the go-ahead run on base — if he didn’t make the catch.
Never a doubt. pic.twitter.com/q2lhWYxG8g
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 29, 2021
LeMahieu…. MAKES THE CATCH!
WOW! What a way to end the game! WOW!
Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeee Yankees win! pic.twitter.com/Zf7KBNr3Gl
— John Sterling Calls (@JSterlingCalls) July 29, 2021
DJ LeMahieu nearly got Trop’d. This ballpark, man.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 29, 2021
DJ LeMahieu on his game-ending catch: "Someone said, 'Never a doubt!' And I was like, 'Yeah, there definitely was some doubt there.'" https://t.co/WcQVHruIHp
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 29, 2021
And on the offensive side, LeMahieu extended his incredible on-base streak to 37 games.
DJ LeMahieu has gotten on base in 37 straight games pic.twitter.com/0QYAyl1nkY
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 28, 2021
Quite a night at the ballpark for LeMahieu, and a big win for the Yankees over the Rays. It capped off a heck of a day for the Yankees that included acquiring star outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers.
