As Dellin Betances struck out the side to end the top of the eighth inning, a thought raced across the mind of Joe Girardi.
Bring Bryan Mitchell into the game for the ninth, tie it up in the bottom half and then have Mitchell move to first base — a position he hadn’t played since high school — so he could remain available to pitch later in the game. And when Didi Gregorius tied the game with a two-run single in the ninth, the unconventional plan hatched in the brain of the manager became a reality.
“It was the only way to use [Aroldis Chapman] to give us a chance in the bottom of the [10th] inning to win the game and then go back to Mitchell,” Girardi said after the Yankees fell to the Orioles, 7-4, in 11 innings. “Just trying to win the game.”
The plan got off to a rocky start.
Almost immediately, Mitchell was tested at first base on a pop fly off the bat of Welington Castillo. Mitchell stepped back, then charged the top-spinning baseball into foul ground, but could not haul it in and was charged with an error. One batter later, Mitchell had redemption on a pop-up from Jonathan Schoop, snaring it easily, much to the delight of those left inside Yankee Stadium.
“I guess I went back too far and the ball had too much spin and I never got there,” Mitchell said of his adventurous one-inning stint in the field. “I thought I was going to catch it. Luckily the next one was closer to me.”
When the Yankees failed to capitalize in the bottom half of the 10th after they had the bases loaded and one out before a Starlin Castro forceout at the plate and an Aaron Judge strikeout, the second half of Girardi’s plan moved into play.
Mitchell, who became the first Yankees pitch to play a position other than pitcher since Ron Guidry in the 1983 “Pine Tar Game,” returned to the mound more than an hour after his previous pitch and retired J.J. Hardy to begin the frame. Then, he ran into trouble.
Following a Joey Rickard single and lineout by Adam Jones, Mitchell (1-1) intentionally walked Manny Machado to set up a force with Mark Trumbo at the plate. Mitchell fell behind Trumbo 2-0 before an errant fastball caught too much of the plate. Trumbo singled, allowing Machado to score. Castillo followed with a single of his own, giving the Orioles a three-run lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I fell behind him, and I need to make a better pitch,” Mitchell said. “It was a fastball over the plate.”
In all, Mitchell tossed two innings, allowed three runs, recorded an error and a putout, and was stuck with the loss that snapped the Yankees’ four-game win streak.
Though it wasn’t the ending Mitchell envisioned, the roller-coaster ride of emotions is something he doesn’t plan on forgetting anytime soon.
“It was definitely fun,” Mitchell said. “It’s something that’s definitely new to me. Going from pitching, to the field and back to pitching. You never know what to expect. It’s part of the game, so you have to be ready for whatever.”
Including the occasional first-base assignments when not on the mound.