Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez haunted by one pitch despite two-homer day

Jasson Domínguez hit the first leadoff homer of his career Friday and then added another go-ahead homer in the fifth as his hot streak at the plate continued. 

But as has become customary with the Yankees recently, it wasn’t enough to result in a victory as the Yankees lost their fifth straight game, 6-5, to the Mets at Citi Field on Friday. 

And afterward, it wasn’t so much the pair of opposite-field home runs Domínguez hit from the left side that were on his mind. Instead, it was the 3-1 splitter from Reed Garrett that Domínguez grounded harmlessly to second base to end the game that was on his mind. 

“I was thinking about that last pitch,’’ Domínguez said. “I should have waited for another strike, but I swung.” 

It was a rare mistake at the plate in recent days for Domínguez, who also walked and stole a base Friday — his third consecutive multi-hit game and fourth in his last five games. 

“I love his at-bats,” Aaron Boone said. “He’s getting massive results now and hitting the ball incredibly hard, especially the last two days.” 

“I feel pretty good,” Domínguez said. “I’m seeing the ball well. I feel good overall.” 

But in addition to the groundout to end the game, as Garrett retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, leaving Aaron Judge in the on-deck circle, Domínguez also had a misplay in left that proved to be costly. 

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Brandon Nimmo opened the bottom of the first with a 104-mph liner to left, where Domínguez initially broke in on the ball only for it to sail over his head. 

Nimmo ended up with a double on the play, moved to third on Francisco Lindor’s groundout and scored when Juan Soto homered off Marcus Stroman to tie the game. 

Domínguez said he couldn’t recover from the bad first step. 

“He just misjudged a rocket at him,” Boone said. “It wasn’t a sun thing. Every now and then, [a ball] will carry over a player’s head. He just didn’t read it the best.” 

Dealing with Domínguez’s shortcomings on defense is easier to do when he’s producing at the plate. 

With the lefty-swinging Trent Grisham and Ben Rice not in the lineup against Mets spot starter Justin Hagenman, the Yankees went with Domínguez in the leadoff spot. 

“He’s just getting more comfortable,” Boone said of Domínguez’s progress on offense. “This is who I feel he is as a hitter. We’ve seen this over the years and had this expectation for him.” 

His power to the opposite field is also encouraging and is something he’s done more of this season than in the past, as he solidifies his role as the everyday left fielder. 

“All year, especially left-handed, he’s been really good,” Boone said. “And right-handed, he’ll trend up as he gets more experience. We’re happy with his growth and development. … We’re really seeing his speed showing up on both sides of the ball now. He’s worked hard and had a really good attitude. We’re seeing the fruits of a good, young player continuing to get a little bit better.”