MINNEAPOLIS — On a night when offense dominated and balls carried deep into the outfield, it was not a slugger but a reliever who saved the Yankees from collapse in a tense 10-9 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Mark Leiter Jr. stepped into chaos Tuesday with New York’s once-comfortable lead slipping away. By the time he walked off the mound, the veteran had delivered the most important outs of the night, stopping what could have been a stunning defeat.
The Yankees (84-67) built a commanding 10-1 lead after four innings. Yet the Twins stormed back, turning what looked like a rout into a near nightmare for New York.
Yankees’ 10-run cushion crumbles
The Yankees opened the game determined to erase the memory of Monday’s 7-0 shutout loss. They pounded Twins pitching for 10 runs across the first four innings. Trent Grisham highlighted the early surge with his 31st home run of the season, while Anthony Volpe returned from a shoulder issue with two hits, including an RBI single.
Ben Rice collected three hits, Giancarlo Stanton drove in two runs, and every Yankees starter had at least one hit by the fourth inning.
The Yankees’ offensive outburst gave rookie starter Cam Schlittler a wide cushion. But he walked a season-high five batters and faltered in the fifth inning. James Outman crushed a 443-foot home run to trim the lead to 10-3, and two more walks plus a wild pitch forced Boone to remove him before he could finish the inning.
Then, Ryan Yarbrough faced five batters and allowed four hits, including a two-run homer by Ryan Fitzgerald. By the time Boone pulled him, the Yankees’ lead had been cut to 10-7 and momentum had shifted.
Leiter steps up in crucial moment
With the game unraveling, the Yankees manager turned to Mark Leiter Jr. The reliever inherited runners on base and a Minnesota lineup smelling opportunity. Austin Martin greeted him with a bunt single to load the bases, bringing Trevor Larnach to the plate as the potential tying run.
Larnach connected solidly, sending a deep drive toward the right-field wall. The crowd rose as the ball carried, threatening to tie the game. Instead, it fell short for a sacrifice fly. The Twins closed to 10-8, but Leiter had prevented disaster.
“I knew he hit it on the barrel, but I thought I got him out in front a little bit, underneath it,” Leiter said. “I felt pretty comfortable off the bat that was an out.”
Leiter returned for the seventh inning and quickly retired the side in order. His composure not only stopped the rally but also steadied a shaken Yankees dugout.
“That’s one of the stories of the game for me, a huge four outs there from Mark to settle things,” Yankees manager Boone said. “Him getting four outs was massive, and that allowed Devin and Bednar to take it from there.”
Bullpen completes the rescue
Devin Williams took the eighth inning and shut the Twins down with two strikeouts in a dominant frame. The Yankees bullpen had been shaky in recent weeks, carrying a 5.56 ERA since August 1, but Williams provided exactly what the club needed.
David Bednar entered for the ninth looking to secure his 25th save of the year. Larnach, who had nearly tied the game earlier, drilled a solo homer to cut the Yankees’ lead to 10-9. The Target Field crowd erupted, sensing another twist.
Bednar quickly regained his rhythm. He retired Kody Clemens on a ground ball to first and struck out Royce Lewis to end the game, sealing the Yankees’ narrow victory.
“I feel we have one of the best bullpens in the league,” Leiter said after the win. “We’ve added a lot of new pieces. It kind of ebbs and flows in finding spots and guys. I feel very confident that we’ve got a very good group out there to get big outs in any situation.”
Wild card implications remain crucial
The win allowed the Yankees to stay five games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East with 11 games left. More significantly, it preserved their 1.5-game cushion over the Astros for the top American League wild-card position.
“Definitely made it dicey there,” Boone admitted. “A little exhale after that one.”
While the offense carried the early story — Grisham, Rice, Stanton and Volpe all contributing to the 16-hit attack — the night belonged to Leiter. His ability to quiet Minnesota’s rally turned the tide and kept New York in control of its postseason path.
Volpe, who returned to the Yankees lineup after a cortisone injection in his left shoulder, summed up the roller coaster evening.
“At times it was stressful,” he said. “They fought but we did what we had to do.”
In a season where every win shapes the playoff picture, the Yankees found an unlikely hero not at the plate, but on the mound. Mark Leiter Jr.’s poise in the face of chaos may have saved them from one of the most damaging losses of the year.
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