The New York Yankees are in a state free fall, with the latest low coming Monday night against the Texas Rangers when they gave up a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and then surrendered a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th. That was their fourth straight loss and drops them into a tie for the final wild-card spot in the AL.

While a lot of talk after the game rightfully focused on the collapse of their bullpen in the final two innings, an error earlier in the game by starting pitcher Max Fried perfectly summed up why this team is currently in the mess that it finds itself in.

With one out and the bases loaded in the second inning, Fried found himself with a 2–2 count against Corey Seager. Instead of attacking the hitter and trying to get out of the jam, Fried tried to pick off the runner at second base. His throw, however, ended up going into center field, which allowed Jonah Heim to walk in from third base to give the Rangers a 4–3 lead.

Here's how that played out:

The Yankees have hurt themselves with lots of errors during their recent struggles and that one by Fried might be the most mind-boggling of them all. Why concern yourself at all with the runner on second in that situation?

The Yankees will look to stop their skid Tuesday night when they face the Rangers again. This team is giving off all the bad vibes, and nothing showed that more than that costly mistake by Fried.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Yankees Pitcher’s Baffling Error Perfectly Summed Up New York's Sad State.

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