J.A. Happ was trying to do his best Mark Buehrle impersonation.
It didn't work out that way.
With two outs in the fourth inning of the Yankees' 5-3 win over the Red Sox, Happ fielded a Rafael Devers grounder. With his back to first base, Happ attempted to throw the ball between his legs to first baseman Luke Voit. The ball sailed over Voit's head and Devers was safe at first. Devers was given a hit on the play. The Yankees pitcher quickly got out of the inning when Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez lined out to left field.
"Probably about .1 second before I actually did it," Happ said about when he decided to hike the ball between his legs. "It was hard to tell how far up the line I was and how much room I had. It always feels like a difficult play for a lefty to turn. I knew I was pretty close, I felt like that was kind of my best option. Unfortunately, Luke can’t jump 15 feet in the air, but yeah, would have been a nice play. It would have been nice to get an out."
It was reminiscent of Buehrle's incredible play against the Indians on April 5, 2010. On that day, Buehrle field the ball with his glove and flipped the ball to White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the out while falling in foul territory.
And New York baseball fans will remember Bartolo Colon pulling off a similar play on Sept. 5, 2015, against the Marlins. Colon fielded the ball while running toward the first-base line, and he flipped it behind his back to first for the out.