Yankees fans gasp after Anthony Volpe injury scare on headlong dive vs. Rays

UPDATE: According to Volpe, an X-Ray came back clean, and swinging a bat felt normal, but he heard a "pop" on the dive. That's notoriously a bad sign. He'll more than likely receive an MRI prior to Sunday's game.

The New York Yankees' bullpen held up nicely in back of Ryan Yarbrough for the majority of Saturday afternoon's game, but things began to unravel quite quickly in the eighth inning in the wake of a terrifying-looking Anthony Volpe injury scare.

It wasn't difficult for fans to fear the worst when Volpe headlong dove on the first ball in play of the top of the eighth inning, then crumpled, holding onto and rubbing his shoulder in agony. The video of Volpe's reaction was not for the faint of heart. It certainly looked more than a little reminiscent of the headlong dive that sent Red Sox slugger Trevor Story into surgery last spring.

After an extended examination from the Yankees' training staff, Volpe bucked the odds and stayed in the game. Yankee fans, no matter the outcome of this challenging game, have to hope for the absolute best in any postgame examination.

As if the infield wasn't already beyond thin, Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s flank injury turned into a high-grade oblique strain; he hit the injured list prior to Friday's series opener, necessitating the promotion of Jorbit Vivas. Down two infielders, the Yankees would have to stretch themselves in even more uncomfortable fashion.

Yankees' Anthony Volpe lies on infield dirt after headlong dive, massages shoulder injury vs. Rays

While Volpe stayed in the game, the action that unfolded got far worse. Mark Leiter Jr. failed to hold the Yankees' lead, walking Brandon Lowe after a battle and allowing a 3-2 bloop single to Curtis Mead.

The next batter, Jose Caballero, grounded one to Volpe. In his haste to turn an unlikely double play, he fumbled the baseball and failed to record a single out. All of a sudden, the Yankees were trailing by a run. Luke Weaver was up in the bullpen in the unlikely event that Leiter Jr. had recorded the second out at any point. The Yanks' bullpen was undermanned on Saturday, and now they likely have one fewer arm they'll rely on for high leverage moving forward.

More to come in the postgame on Volpe's condition. This is a game Yankee fans will want to forget, regardless of the examination.