Yankees left 3 obvious runs on the table in disastrous ALCS Game 3 loss to Guardians

While the New York Yankees may technically have lost Game 3 of the ALCS to the Cleveland Guardians on a two-run homer in extra innings (you'll have to check the tape to confirm), the game never should've reached that point -- and not because Luke Weaver should've dotted a better high fastball to Lane Thomas on a 1-2 count before losing him.

The game should've been over long before the tying and winning blasts because the Yankees should've had eight runs, minimum, in a game where they scored five.

This isn't even stretching, grabbing and clawing for deep-buried fallacies of the predetermined outcome. We're not inventing scenarios where the bats showed up against Matt Boyd ("If Giancarlo Stanton had simply hit four homers, they'd have won!"). Simple execution would've earned the Yankees three more easy runs, only one of which they'd ultimately need.

Unfortunately, all three missed opportunities were tied directly to semi-controversial Aaron Boone decisions (and none of them involve Anthony Rizzo's defensive malfeasance at first base late in the game either).

Yankees blew three clear run-scoring opportunities to help toss ALCS Game 3 vs. Guardians into toilet

The first pivot point is obvious; Jose Trevino smashed an RBI single to grab the Yankees an early lead, but much like Jazz Chisholm in Game 2, was caught wandering off the base during some down time, and was easily picked off. Trevino isn't particularly fast. He shouldn't have been going anywhere. Somehow, for the second time in two games, the Yankees produced an out on a dead ball. That should happen once every five years.

Naturally, the next batter was Gleyber Torres, who lifted a medium-depth liner to left that would've been a helpful run-scoring sacrifice fly if Trevino hadn't wandered. One run.

In the seventh inning, Chisholm himself reached base on a five-pitch walk. This was out of character for the Yankees; they hadn't enjoyed a baserunner since Trevino's pickoff. Nevertheless, with supersub Jon Berti at the plate, and the Yankees in desperate need of a run to get the train moving, a bunt was the only logical next step. A bunt had never made more sense. Berti didn't bunt. Instead, he grounded into a double play.

The very next batter, Anthony Volpe, socked a double deep into the left field corner. Chisholm would've had time to score, turn back around to grab the keys he forgot at third base, yawn, then score again. That's two runs.

And, of course, in the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees put runners on second and third with no one out after a play at third base so bizarre it evoked memories of both the A-Rod Glove Slap (I can't have been the only one assuming the umpire was going to invent an interference call on the fly) and Todd Frazier scoring on Brett Gardner's single in 2017 ALDS Game 5 when the ball squirted away.

Which version would we receive on Thursday? Something in between. With two runners now in scoring position, the Yankees had the ability to score multiple insurance runs exclusively on outs. Austin Wells, who entered late for Trevino, strode to the dish. A ground ball to the right side would do. A single would do wonders. Instead, he chopped through multiple fastballs atop the zone. He's been living on a different planet since Game 1 of the ALDS (hell, since early September). Gleyber Torres produced an immaculate sac fly on a two-strike count, but as it turns out, the Yankees needed three runs, not two. They could've had five.

Now, with Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, and ... Jon Berti, maybe pitching Game 4, what was a sliver away from being a 3-0 series lead now feels like a best-of-three. The Yankees could still win with their backs against the wall, but there was no reason for their backs to be there in the first place, as long as they'd managed to execute a few sequences with a "Little League World Series" degree of difficulty.