The MLB Little League Classic turned into an instant classic — but not for the Yankees.
The Tigers’ two-run rally in the 10th inning completed a come-from-behind 3-2 victory in Williamsport, Pa., capping a roller-coaster game that began with a big-name pitchers’ duel and featured another blown save by Yankees closer Clay Holmes.
Zach McKinstry‘s RBI single against Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr. tied the game in the bottom of the 10th. McKinstry then stole second base and scored on Parker Meadows‘ walk-off single, dealing the Yankees a tough loss at Historic Bowman Field.
The Yankees were one out away from a 1-0 victory, but Holmes surrendered a game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to rookie Jace Jung, who was playing in his third MLB game. It was the MLB-leading 10th blown save in 36 chances for Holmes, who also gave up a one-out double to Colt Keith in the inning.
Asked if he was committed to keeping Holmes as his closer, manager Aaron Boone replied, “Yeah. We’ll see as we go.”
“Look, we have a lot of really good options, but Clay, he’s had some tough breaks back there that’s led to [blown saves],” Boone said. “I can think of a couple of them where we didn’t make a play and it goes on him, but it’s not really [on him].
“The reality is, he’s throwing the ball really well. That said, we’ve got a lot of guys that I feel like are throwing the ball really well … but right now, Clay’s the guy.”
Holmes did not allow an earned run over his first 20 appearances this season but has pitched to a 4.80 ERA since May 20.
Boone said Keith’s double came on “probably the one flat sinker” that Holmes left over the plate, while Holmes pointed to Jung’s hit as well.
“You want to finish the game off,” Holmes said.
“Just two sinkers that could have been a little more off the plate or down. … I felt pretty good, just two pitches there got me.”
DJ LeMahieu nearly willed the Yankees to victory with an RBI single in the top of the 10th, but they failed to tack on more runs.
In the bottom of the 10th, McKinstry scored after left fielder Jasson Domínguez, whom the Yankees called up before the game, double clutched on his throw home.
The loss squandered an excellent outing by Yankees starter Marcus Stroman, who hurled six scoreless innings. He out-pitched Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who gave up one run over six innings.
Widely considered the frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award, Skubal held the Yankees scoreless through five innings but issued walks to Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto to begin the sixth.
The left-handed Skubal then got Aaron Judge — the AL’s MVP favorite — to ground into a double play, putting Torres on third base with two outs.
Torres got a great read when a Skubal fastball squirted about 15 feet away from catcher Jake Rogers. He used a feet-first slide to score from third, barely beating the tag.
It’s been an uneven season for Torres, an impending free agent, whose level of hustle has come into question multiple times.
Boone sat Torres for two games in June, saying he wanted to give the then-struggling second baseman a chance to reset. At the time, Boone cited a groin issue for Torres but also said his failure to run out a ground ball in a loss to the Mets the night before caught his attention.
Boone then removed Torres during an Aug. 2 loss to the Blue Jays after the infielder jogged and watched what ended up being a 363-foot single off of the left field wall.
On Sunday, Torres’ hustle run nearly proved to be the game-winner.
Stroman, meanwhile, has now turned in back-to-back strong starts since the Yankees pushed back his turn in the rotation from Aug. 8 to Aug. 11 so he could work on his mechanics.
After some extra bullpen work, Stroman returned last Sunday to hold the Rangers to one run over five-plus innings. He had recorded a 6.32 ERA over his previous 10 starts.
“Thought he was better this time even than last time,” Boone said. “Real efficient. Was attacking the zone but also with command.”
Sunday marked the Yankees’ first time playing in the Little League Classic, an annual regular-season game that takes place in Williamsport, the host city of the Little League World Series, and coincides with the youth baseball tournament.
This was the seventh edition of the event, which debuted in 2017 and has taken place every year since, other than 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first two games of the Yankees and Tigers’ three-game series were held in Detroit, where they both won once. The Yankees (73-52) lost the series after totaling only five runs against the Tigers (61-64).
With Sunday’s loss, the Yankees fell back into a tie with the Orioles atop the AL East and dropped a half-game behind the Phillies for MLB’s best record.
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