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Try it freeATLANTA — Jorbit Vivas says he likes to “play the game hard and correctly.”
But the Yankees’ rookie third baseman took his foot off the pedal at the worst time Friday night, committing a costly baserunning blunder that loomed over a 7-3 loss to the Braves at Truist Park.
The Yankees trailed 3-0 in the third inning with two on and one out when Cody Bellinger flew out to right field. Vivas tried tagging up from second to advance 90 feet and thought he had third base, only to get tagged out to end the inning on a brutal double play that left Aaron Judge on deck.
Vivas slowed down before he got to third as Ronald Acuña Jr. made a terrific throw and third baseman Nacho Alvarez made a heads-up play to act as if the throw was not coming until the very last second.
“He’s standing there, and it looked like he wasn’t receiving the ball at all,” Vivas said through an interpreter. “But that’s not on him; it’s on me there to make it to that base. Acuña has a really strong arm and he can make a throw from anywhere. That’s on me.”
Third-base coach Luis Rojas ran up the line trying to get Vivas to slide on the play.
“I picked him up, but I picked him up kind of late,” Vivas said. “The third baseman was standing there a little bit in the way. But it’s my fault.”
Manager Aaron Boone, a former third baseman who often tried the play that Alvarez deftly made, said Vivas read Alvarez’s body language and got tricked. Boone said he told his infielder, “You can never let that happen again.”
“Jorbit is a guy that plays his tail off,” Boone said. “He’s a hard-nosed player and he got caught up there. Obviously a situation that can’t happen.”
Relievers Mark Leiter Jr. (left fibular head stress reaction) and Fernando Cruz are making progress in their respective recoveries. Leiter could get on a mound for a light bullpen session as soon as the Yankees’ next series against the Blue Jays in Toronto that begins Monday.
He will then undergo another MRI to see how much healing has happened, which could pave the way for a full side session by next weekend.
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Cruz, meanwhile, could begin a throwing program as early as this weekend after suffering a high-grade oblique strain at the end of June. He recently underwent a follow-up MRI that showed enough healing to start throwing, though he will be built up slowly until he is fully healed.
Luis Gil (lat strain) made his second rehab start Friday with Double-A Somerset, building up to 57 pitches across 3 ¹/₃ innings in which he struck out seven, walked two and gave up two runs. If he recovers well, he is expected to make his next rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“Then we’ll decide at that point, do we want one more to get him over 70 or do we take him at that time?” Boone said.
The Yankees plan to call up Allan Winans on Saturday, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported, taking the place of Rico Garcia, who was designated for assignment after throwing 2 ²/₃ innings Friday.
Ryan Yarbrough (oblique strain) is throwing but has not yet advanced to a bullpen session.