Division Series – Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees – Game 1 / Elsa/GettyImages

They say momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher, but I don’t know. Feel like momentum is only as good as the New York Yankees’ defensive alignment being baseline competent against the light-hitting bottom of the Kansas City Royals’ order.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Yankees grinded through eight batters and scored a pair of runs, nearly giving away a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity, but surviving thanks to the Royals pitchers’ overall incompetence. Two walks in run-scoring opportunities were better than nothing.

What happened in the top half of the next inning was much worse than nothing.

With one on and one out against crafty lefty Tim Hill, Tommy Pham worked another veteran marathon at-bat, the kind of plate appearance the Yankees have only dreamed of since 2017. The battle raged on, but Hill actually seemed to escape trouble when Pham rifled one into the hole and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe swallowed it up.

Of course, a momentum-shifting double play can’t occur if a throw to second base isn’t made. Volpe, from the seat of his pants, tossed any semblance of the Yankees’ chances to keep hold of the game into short right field. With runners now at second and third, pinch hitter Garrett Hampson slapped a single through the middle to score both runs.

Lead gone. Disaster invited through the door.

Yankees’ Anthony Volpe nightmare error helps Royals take lead back in ALDS Game 1

These are the kinds of plays that other teams used to make against the Yankees in the Bronx come October.

Now, it’s the Yankees who are easily intimidated and can’t execute. We saw it time and time again during the regular season. We convinced ourselves during the extended post-regular season break that it wouldn’t translate to this year’s playoffs. We were swiftly educated in the bottom of the first when the Yankees squelched their own rally, and we were forcefully reminded by Volpe, who had a special play in his grasp and couldn’t conclude it.

Like the throw careening onto the outfield grass, this game seems to be rolling away from the Yankees quickly. So many thoughts went into the Yankees’ defensive machinations, only for their best defender to be the one to let them down in the end. Fitting.