Jazz's late steal becomes big talking point in Royals-Yanks opener

NEW YORK -- Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s disputed stolen base in the bottom of the seventh inning wound up huge for the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.

For the Royals, it stung.

Later in the inning, the speedy third baseman came roaring around from second to score the go-ahead run on a two-out single by Alex Verdugo in a 6-5 victory for the Yankees.

It was a disjointed theft, as catcher Salvador Perez had a perfect low and outside pitch to throw on, but his throw to second was a misfire that sailed high.

Kansas City second baseman Michael Massey reached up for the throw and quickly reversed course, making a tremendous tag of Chisholm’s left foot.

It looked like that left foot veered off course and might have missed the outside of the bag until after Massey’s tag.

The call by second-base umpire Lance Barrett “stood” rather than being “confirmed,” which means it was inconclusive for the replay command center in New York.

Chisholm, in a playful way, sounded incredulous after the game that there was even a question that he was safe. He conversed with Massey as the play was reviewed.

“No, I knew I was in there,” Chisholm said. “That's what we were talking about at second base, actually. He was like, ‘I think I put down a good tag.’ I said, ‘You did put down a good tag. That doesn't mean I'm out.’ It was a lot of fun going back and forth, but I knew I had it, and I knew they couldn't overturn it. So I was just ready to go, get Dugie up there and score a run.”

Massey gave the video an extensive look before he met with reporters after the game.

“In the moment, I felt pretty convinced with the tag that I got,” said Massey. “I felt like I pointed right away. And then when I looked up at the board, there was the angle that I just went and watched where you could see the daylight between his heel and the corner of the bag. It’s frustrating, because the video I saw looked pretty convincing to me.”

To Massey’s credit, he didn’t pin his team’s tough loss on the call not being overturned.

“That being said, that’s not the reason we lost the game. We had plenty of opportunities to score runs and make plays,” said Massey. “We didn’t. Frustrating, but we’ll be back at it on Monday [for Game 2].”

For Royals manager Matt Quatraro, the decision to challenge was a no-brainer. Particularly because, in the postseason, teams get two challenges rather than the one provided during the regular season.

“I got a really good look at it out there [on the scoreboard] and afterwards, and I think we did have a really good argument that that should have been overturned,” said Quatraro.

Perez, the Royals’ veteran leader, could have avoided any controversy by making a better throw.

“I know I made a bad throw,” Perez said. “I’m not going to put an excuse to it. That should be a throw down. Slider in the dirt, he swung at it, and I didn’t get a good grip on the ball. I just tried to throw it. But it looked out. I don’t know. It looked like it was out when they showed it on the screen. I know I made a bad throw, I don’t have any excuse for that. But he looked like he was out. And everything changed after that.”

The Yankees held their collective breath for those anxious moments while the play was being reviewed.

“A little bit,” said Yankees catcher Austin Wells. “I feel like I hold my breath a lot when Jazz is running around the bases. He's so great out there. He can make anything happen. That was a big stolen base for us.”

Another way controversy would have been avoided is if Royals righty Michael Lorenzen had gotten Verdugo out. New York’s left fielder has had a down year.

“I thought he was out,” Lorenzen said. “Umpire called him safe. I just thought, if it’s close they’re probably not going to overturn it. My mind’s already made up. I have him on second base, and I gotta get the next guy.”