The Yankees' unthinkable 9th-inning collapse against the Orioles had MLB fans in disbelief

The past four weeks have been unbelievably rough for the Yankees. They’ve seen their AL East lead disappear and had among the worst stretches in the entire league. But this weekend’s series against the Orioles looked to be an opportunity to take some momentum and a division lead into the All-Star break.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

With the Yankees up two runs and closer Clay Holmes in to pitch the ninth, Holmes found himself in a bases-loaded jam with two outs. But he should have done enough to pitch out of the trouble and win the game. Holmes drew a routine grounder off from Ryan Mountcastle, but Anthony Volpe couldn’t corral it. A run scored, and everyone was safe.

That brought up pinch hitter Cedric Mullins, and once again, the defense let Holmes down. Back-to-back plays don’t get much more brutal than this:

The New York Yankees just lost in the most unfathomable way pic.twitter.com/qy3Zbzs21V

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 14, 2024

Mullins hit a fly ball to left field, but Alex Verdugo got a poor read on the ball and stumbled as he tried to recover. He lost his balance a second time and could only watch from the ground as the Orioles walked off with the unreal win.

wheeeee! pic.twitter.com/mZd0g6Vb82

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 14, 2024

Instead of the Yankees going into the All-Star break atop the AL East standings, that collapse gave Baltimore a one-game lead. What a way to head into the break. MLB fans also couldn’t believe the collapse.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

A great way to end the first half…

pic.twitter.com/vCAySpFReU https://t.co/7XG1EwOfqG

— Layton Jackson (@laytonjackson) July 14, 2024

*sheepishly after watching the Cubs all year*

Never seen anything like it. https://t.co/rChuK0vU8V

— Brad (@ballskwok) July 14, 2024

Looks like the Orioles just broke the Yankees… https://t.co/tiWeq17A8c

— Greg Rattin (@GregRattin) July 14, 2024

Masterclass in bad defense from Volpe and Verdugo on back-to-back plays https://t.co/sRI8Agq4wZ

— Andrew Battifarano (@AndrewAtBatt) July 14, 2024

After all that… the Os go into the All Star break up by 1 in the division. Just wild what this team puts us through https://t.co/xUNAJYEsff

— Eupod Street: An Orioles Podcast (@EupodSt) July 14, 2024

Verdugo misplayed the ball terribly your first step is always back as a outfielder https://t.co/HU7PwjfAUq

— Godzilla (@KillaKal25) July 14, 2024

I’ve watched this 5 times and I still can’t believe it happened https://t.co/65FllJDFun

— Jake Radford (@JakeRadford95) July 14, 2024

Unconsciously awful defense to end a game https://t.co/MwV5rgtxs9

— Vinny Sav (@VZVinnySav) July 14, 2024

Alex Verdugo with the little league caliber defense. https://t.co/qvQBzLV2lZ

— BWH (@BWH85) July 14, 2024