"It's not a case of somebody dogging it down the line, it's a case of him pulling up, incorrectly, a mistake that obviously can't happen," manager Aaron Boone said.

Too often, especially of late during an 12-19 skid, the Yankees have been hurt by fundamental mistakes on the bases, with Friday night serving as the latest example.

ATLANTA — Yankees rookie infielder Jorbit Vivas never was in danger of being benched Friday night after his embarrassing baserunning mistake in the third inning of a 7-3 loss to the Braves. Pulling Vivas from the game, in fact, never crossed manager Aaron Boone’s mind.