Yankees bailed out by iffy replay after lackadaisical Jazz Chisholm defense vs. Pirates

The New York Yankees desperately needed a victory on Wednesday night to help fend off their hard-charging challengers, and in order to nab one against the Pittsburgh Pirates, they'd need to do so without the aid of David Bednar, Brent Headrick, and Fernando Cruz, all of whom had pitched earlier in the day. Thankfully, the Yankees' pitching staff, led by Max Fried, showed up. Unfortunately, so did the Yankees' offense and defense.

At the end of the day, though, the pitching won out, fueled by a pair of timely two-out hits from Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe, who has somehow not only struggled in every season of his Yankees career, but has done so in the exact same manner annually. Fried's brilliant five innings of shutout ball against a top-tier National League offense fed directly into Angel Chivilli, who twirled a shutout sixth. An Anthony Volpe double clutch in the seventh put a baserunner on for Paul Blackburn, who saw that runner reach third on an Ali Sánchez throw that bounced into center field, but he whiffed two men, then wiped out the eighth in response.

All that stood between the Yankees and a well-earned win was ... Will Warren on a throw day. Of course. The craziest save we've seen since the days of Jonathan Holder loomed. Warren allowed Nick Gonzales to reach, then erased two batters and got ahead of Esmerlyn Valdez, the hottest hitter in baseball, 0-2. Walking him seemed more palatable than trying to throw a third strike anywhere near the zone, and that's what Warren did. Aaron Boone wisely called on Tim Hill, but did so with zero margin for error. If he got Ryan O'Hearn, the game would end. If he didn't, Marcell Ozuna - in the middle of a down year, but an absolute bear of a righty who'd be sitting on Hill's slow stuff - had a fantastic chance to do genuine damage.

Hill worked quickly, inducing a 1-1 grounder to Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s right. Chisholm, trying to enjoy how easy Hill made it, made things difficult. He backed up. He rounded it off. The ball got stuck in his glove. He threw awkwardly to first, and Paul Goldschmidt's scoop was ruled just in time.

But it probably wasn't.

Did Tim Hill, Jazz Chisholm Jr. actually close Wednesday night's Yankees win vs. Pirates? Seemed like...they didn't.

Replay showed that O'Hearn's toe likely tapped the base while the ball was still seeking the back of Goldschmidt's glove. Would the call on the field "stand"? Or would the umpires have the courage to (likely accurately!) overturn it with the theme from "New York, New York" already blaring?

Call stands. Yankees win. Somehow. Did they actually? Or should this game still be happening, with Ozuna breathing steam out his nostrils? Probably the latter. But now we can ride Fried's abject brilliance into an off day instead of questioning what fabric of the universe led us here, with Hill and Warren flubbing a one-strike-away closeout after a long, long day.

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