Anthony Volpe's disaster defense immediately kills the Yankees' momentum against the Royals

They say your swing is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher, but I don't know. I feel like the momentum is only as good as the New York Yankees' defensive prowess on the baseline against the low-hitting bottom-scoring Kansas City Royals.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Yankees walked eight batters and scored two runs, nearly wasting a bases-loaded no-out chance, but survived thanks to the general incompetence of the Royals pitchers. Two walks in run-scoring opportunities were better than nothing.

What happened in the top half of the next inning was much worse than nothing.

With one on and one out against slick left-hander Tim Hill, Tommy Pham delivered another veteran marathon hit, the kind of plate appearance the Yankees have only dreamed of since 2017. The battle raged on, but Hill actually seemed to escape trouble when Pham fired one into the hole and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe gobbled it up.

Of course, a momentum-shifting double play cannot occur if there is no throw to second base. Volpe threw by the seat of his pants to short right field to eliminate any chance the Yankees had of keeping the game. With runners now on second and third, pinch-hitter Garrett Hampson hit a single through the middle to score both runs.

Stay away. Disaster was invited through the door.

Yankees' Anthony Volpe's nightmare mistake helps Royals take lead back in ALDS Game 1

These are the plays other teams made against the Yankees in the Bronx in October.

Now it's the Yankees who are easily intimidated and can't execute. We saw it time and time again during the regular season. We convinced ourselves during the extended break after the regular season that this would not lead to this year's playoffs. We were quickly informed at the end of the first period when the Yankees destroyed their own rally, and we were starkly reminded by Volpe, who was in control of a special play and couldn't finish it.

Like the pitch careening onto the outfield turf, this play seems to be quickly slipping away from the Yankees. So much thought went into the Yankees' defensive moves, only their best defender ended up being the one who let them down. Fitting.