MLB

Romine’s late flubs hurt Yankees

Quintin Berry did his best Dave Roberts impression in the ninth inning Thursday night and Austin Romine only made things worse.

Pinch-running after Mike Napoli singled with two outs and no one on off Mariano Rivera, Berry took off for second and the catcher’s throwing error allowed Berry to get to third. He scored on Stephen Drew’s single to tie a game the Yankees were desperate to win and ended up dropping, 9-8, in 10 innings.

Romine said he rushed the throw, which came up woefully short and Derek Jeter was unable to handle it.

“Absolutely,” Romine said. “It was a very key throw and I didn’t make a good one. … It’s definitely my fault.”

There were plenty of other culprits, but there’s no denying that play loomed large.

Before the game, Jeter admitted to being curious to see how this Yankees team reacted to the stretch run, not completely buying the notion that historical success would play a role.

“This is a different group,” Jeter said. “Experience can help in individual different situations, but it doesn’t necessarily help the group as a whole.”

So what did he think of this group?

“We’ll find out,” Jeter said. “We’ll see. We’re playing well, but you’ve got to sustain that. That’s what our job is now and for the next three weeks.”

Games such as Thursday night’s show how difficult it will be for the Yankees to make the postseason, and they will continue to rely on some unproven players such as Romine.

“I held on to the ball too long,” said Romine, who came into the game after Vernon Wells pinch hit for Chris Stewart in the six-run seventh, but added that wasn’t a factor. “There’s really no excuse for it.”

Romine’s 10th inning didn’t go much better.

Jacoby Ellsbury stole second after his one-out single off Joba Chamberlain and when Shane Victorino slapped a single to right, Ichiro Suzuki attempted to get the speedy Ellsbury at home and keep it a tie game.

But the throw came up short and Romine couldn’t handle it.

“I knew who was coming around third,” Romine said of Ellsbury. “I knew he was quick. I knew I had to try to block the plate.”

He was unable to stop Ellsbury from getting to the plate or come up with the ball.

“It kind of short-hopped me a little bit,” Romine said. “I did the best I could to pick it, but I didn’t get good glove on it.”

The ending wiped away what had been a stunning comeback, making the loss sting even more.

“Our team battled and I kind of feel like I let the team down,” Romine said. “I could have been a little bit better back there.”