NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge hit his 359th career home run, breaking a tie with Yogi Berra for fifth place on the all-time franchise list, and Will Warren navigated six solid innings of two-run ball.
The Yankees wished the evening had stopped right there.
Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. endured a nightmarish seventh inning, seeing the Tigers bat around for nine runs as the Yankees fell to Detroit, 12-2, on Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium. It was the biggest inning permitted by New York this season.
“It was tough,” Warren said. “I don’t know what to say. I haven’t seen anything like that before.”
The Yankees now sit three games back in the American League East race, as the Blue Jays rallied to defeat the Astros, 4-3, in 10 innings. After the Red Sox 6-0 win over the Athletics, New York is now in a virtual tie with Boston for the top AL Wild Card spot, with the Sox holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. A Bombers loss felt inevitable after Detroit sent 14 batters to home plate in the seventh, with the first nine reaching.
“It got away from us,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s not like we got hit a lot all over the yard; just some balls finding some holes, but too many free passes.”
Cruz faced five batters and retired none, walking three, and Leiter fared no better. Inheriting a bases-loaded, none-out jam, Leiter surrendered a run-scoring hit, hit a batter, issued a walk that forced in a run, then uncorked a wild pitch ahead of Kerry Carpenter’s two-run triple.
“Sometimes this is a sport that, as you see, is not as easy as it looks,” Cruz said.
Asked what he was thinking from his vantage point in right field, Judge replied: “It’s just not going our way.”
“The guys we brought out of the bullpen, I trust every single one of those guys,” Judge said. “They’ve gotten a lot of big outs for us, especially Cruz and Leiter, but it just didn’t get done there and kind of put us in a bad spot. We’ve just got to show up tomorrow, do our thing and we’ll be where we need to be.”
Things started on a much more promising note, beginning with Judge, who belted a first-inning Casey Mize splitter to the back of the right-field bullpen for his 44th home run of the season.
“I was excited to give us a lead, especially going up against the Tigers, where they’ve got a great pitcher on the mound,” Judge said.
Babe Ruth hit 659 of his 714 home runs in a Yankees uniform, followed by Mickey Mantle (536), Lou Gehrig (493), Joe DiMaggio (361) and Berra (358). They had comprised the club’s top five since Aug. 7, 1957, having resided in the same order since July 29, 1966, when Mantle passed Gehrig.
“Passing Yogi, it’s pretty special,” Judge said. “All-time great Yankee, what he meant to this organization. Even when he was done playing, being around, the stories we heard. He’s the definition of a true Yankee. So anytime you’re on a list with a guy like that, it’s pretty remarkable.”
The early innings also featured a mid-inning acknowledgement of Gleyber Torres, marking the infielder’s return to Yankee Stadium. Torres, who went 1-for-3 with a double, received a warm ovation. He spent seven seasons with the Yankees, from 2018 through last year.
“He’s a staple in their lineup. He’s a really good player,” Boone said. “We saw that here, especially the kind of finish he had last year and the final two months of the season, then all through October.”
Cody Bellinger hit a fourth-inning solo homer, but Parker Meadows clipped Warren for a game-tying, two-run shot in the fifth and the Yanks missed a prime two-on, none-out scoring opportunity in the home half.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells opened the frame with hits, but Anthony Volpe failed to get a bunt down, hearing boos from the home crowd as his struggles continue.
Boone said before Tuesday’s game that he still considers Volpe the club’s starting shortstop, but acknowledged he is considering giving more playing time to José Caballero.
“Anthony, I view as our shortstop, but Caballero is a really good player,” Boone said. “I’m aware of that, and feel a lot of confidence anytime I put him in there. … We’re at a time of year where we’re playing for a lot right now, so I look at it as all hands on deck.”
After Volpe’s pop-up, Ryan McMahon struck out and Trent Grisham lifted a 3-0 pitch for a fly ball to center field. Of Grisham’s choice to swing 3-0 with Judge behind him, Mize quipped: “I’ve seen better decisions made on the field.”
“Grish has a good at-bat, just misses the 3-0,” Boone said. “Yeah, that’s a chance to kind of grab the lead there and hopefully run with it. Just didn’t get it done.”