Melky Mesa missed third base and almost cost the Yankees a win

Melky Mesa's first Major League appearance came in a pressure-rich situation: as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the 14th inning of a 9-9 game vs the Athletics. He found himself on second base after Derek Jeter's sacrifice bunt, and when Alex Rodriguez singled up the middle, Mesa rounded third and was heading home to score the winning run.

Except, one crucial ingredient to this scenario was missing. Mesa may have rounded third base, but he failed to make contact with it. Rather than continuing homeward, he had no choice but to retreat to the bag ... and put a Yankees victory in jeopardy.

Mesa doesn't have to feel too bad about his mistake, though. New York won the game two batters later when Brandon Moss' error allowed Ichiro Suzuki to score.

-- Dan Wohl / MLB.com