The Yankees are now in seventh hell.
The Bronx felt like it on Wednesday afternoon, too, as an announced crowd of 37,117 sorry souls sat in suffocating 95-degree heat to watch the same lifeless offense for eight innings, then get some hope in the ninth before leaving still miserable by the end of the day.
After the Yankees came back to tie the game in the ninth, they wasted chances to win it in the ninth and 10th innings before Camilo Doval unraveled in the 11th, resulting in an even more frustrating seventh straight loss, 6-2 to the Tigers.
Doval entered for the 11th and got two quick outs on a pair of ground balls. The Yankees then intentionally walked Riley Greene to bring up the right-handed hitting Hao-Yu Lee. Greene stole second as Doval got ahead 0-2 on Lee, then proceeded to walk him and Spencer Torkelson (on a full-count, 99 mph sinker in the dirt) to put the Tigers ahead 3-2.
Zach McKinstry came up and roped a two-run single through the right side, with another run scoring on the play as catcher Ali Sánchez’s throw to second base went into center field, capping off a four-run rally.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Yankees (48-38) then went in order in the bottom of the 11th against Keider Montero, drawing boos from whatever fans were still left after subjecting themselves to torture.
The Yankees had suffered some similar extra-inning heartbreak earlier in their skid on Sunday night in Boston, when they came back from a 2-0 deficit in the ninth inning and went ahead 4-2 in the 10th before falling 5-4 to the Red Sox in their fourth straight loss.
The Yankees mustered seven hits, including Amed Rosario’s home run in the bottom of the ninth that saved them from being shut out.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a single off the glove of Torkelson, then stole second and third base on Drew Anderson’s first two pitches to Anthony Volpe before scoring on a wild pitch before the at-bat was over to tie it up.
Volpe then singled on a comebacker off Anderson, though he was erased on a caught stealing before Jones popped out to send the game to extras.
Fernando Cruz, after pitching the ninth inning, tossed a scoreless top of the 10th to give the Yankees a chance to win right then and there.
José Caballero led off the bottom of the 10th with a sacrifice bunt – the Yankees’ second of the day, matching the tally they had through the first 85 games of the season entering Wednesday – to move automatic runner Spencer Jones to third base.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
