Major League Baseball

David Ortiz after Yankees' collapse Sunday: 'I love watching them lose'

Published Jul. 15, 2024 7:30 p.m. ET

The New York Yankees' final game before the All-Star break was a disaster.

And David Ortiz loved watching every second of his longtime rival crumble against the Baltimore Orioles to send them sulking into the break.

New York was riding high heading into the bottom of the ninth inning after rookie slugger Ben Rice continued his darling season with a three-run homer to give his team a 5-3 lead.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a routine grounder to Anthony Volpe should've been the ballgame. But Volpe couldn't cleanly field it, and Cedric Mullins stepped to the plate with the ultimate opportunity to play hero ball down two.

Mullins slapped a routine fly ball to Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo, but Verdugo severely misplayed it, charging inward before realizing the ball was preparing to sail right over his head. Verdugo tried to reverse course, but fell in a heap as he retreated backwards. Baltimore walked it off on a pop-up that had a 99 percent catch probability, claiming a 6-5 victory.

Ortiz couldn't get enough of it.

"When I watch the Yankees lose, nothing makes me more happy than that," Ortiz laughed alongside Orioles stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson at Monday's All-Star media availability. Henderson slapped his 28th home run in the game. "You guys coming from behind and whoop them."

Ortiz had himself a time as the trio relieved New York's collapse on the video monitor.

"I mean watch this, bloop!" he smiled. "I mean wow, that made me want to go out for a dinner. A nice dinner, a nice steak!"

Ortiz can't be too blatant with his Yankees dislike, as that would harm his relationship with new neighbor Juan Soto. The pair share an apartment building in New York, and Ortiz has grown incredibly fond of the meals that Soto's mother prepares for him.

"All the time!" Ortiz exclaimed in response to Soto's claim that his mom was "always cooking." But if Big Papi could have the best of both worlds, he'd take a Yankees loss as his appetizer, and mama Soto's home cooking for his main course.

The Yankees currently sit a game back of the Orioles in the American League East at 58-40.

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