Luis Gil allowed just one run over five innings, but he only managed to get 15 outs while giving up five hits and two walks over the course of many at-bats.
The Yankees' retooled bullpen got the job done.
Luke Weaver and Jake Cousins recorded the most outs in a tense, 11-inning, 4-3 victory over the Royals on Wednesday night in the Bronx.
“Our bullpen did a great job,” manager Aaron Boone said after holding the Tigers to just two runs, one earned, in six innings.
The only earned run came from Clay Holmes, who had previously pitched nine innings, but was unable to hold onto a one-run lead in the seventh inning as the Royals preferred small ball.
Kyle Isbell singled, advanced to second base on a single by Tommy Pham, advanced to third base on a flyout by Bobby Witt Jr., and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Pérez.
That would be the biggest condition for the group to give in.
Holmes (who took the mound following a shutout inning by Tim Hill) was followed by Tommy Kahnle, who pitched a perfect eighth inning.
Cousins found himself in a bit of a predicament in the ninth inning when he walked Pham with two outs, putting Witt at bat, but he got out of the jam by tagging Pham out.
Cousins gave up a sweet go-ahead run in the 10th when pinch runner Dairon Blanco stole third base and scored on a wild pitch, then handed the ball over to Weaver, who did not allow a run in the final 1 2/3 innings.
Weaver was fired up as he left the mound after catching a ghost runner with two strikeouts in the 11th inning.
“He's gotten more and more used to being in those big moments this year,” Boone said of Weaver, who earned his fifth win of the season.
Gill got out of a jam with the bases loaded and one out in the first inning and allowed just one run in five innings.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his 16 games as a Yankees rookie pitcher with one or no runs allowed is tied with Russ Ford (16 games in 1910) for the most in franchise history.
The Yankees opted to use several left-handed hitters in their lineup, excluding Jason Dominguez, to deal with an unusual but talented starting pitcher in All-Star Cole Ragans, whose left-handed pitcher changeup is particularly troublesome for right-handed hitters.
The Martian, who finished with one hit in seven at-bats in his first two games since being promoted, sat on the bench for the third game as Alex Verdugo again played in left field.
Dominguez is a switch hitter, but is much stronger as a left-handed hitter.
In 54 minor league plate appearances as a right-handed batter this season, he had an OPS of just .491.
Boone sent lefty hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr., who hit the game-winning infield single in the 11th inning, to bat fourth and moved Verdugo to bat sixth.
“We wanted to use a left-handed hitter today,” Boone said. “We want to keep Dugie up and we wanted to keep a left-handed hitter in the lineup today and have him make a presence.”
Boone said Dominguez will play “a lot” after being called up on Monday.
But he also said he would give time to Verdugo, who was a below-average hitter from May through August but performed well in September.
Verdugo was one hit in four at-bats and was out at second base while trying to turn a single into a double, but he is batting .313 in nine games this month, including a home run on Monday, shortly after Dominguez was signed to the majors.
Nestor Cortes will start the series against the Red Sox starting on Thursday, with Clark Schmidt following on Friday, with the two essentially splitting one game each in the starting rotation.
Boone said the Yankees will soon be going to a five-man rotation, which means taking a starting pitcher out or out of the rotation.
“If we get to the playoffs, we might make another change, maybe two,” Boone said, adding that he hasn't spoken to any pitchers about bullpen workouts.
“I don't necessarily know how they're going to play there. [in the bullpen]”Ultimately it's just about trying to make the best decision for the club and we'll discuss it,” he added.
Boone said it's “great” to have two Rookie of the Year candidates in Gil Wells and Austin Wells.
Boone said Wells' season has been “phenomenal.”
“He's been great and has been a key piece of our lineup as a mainstay over the last couple months and has really come into his own as a hitter,” Boone said of Wells, who hit a game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. “Throughout that time, I thought he's played in a key position and handled himself very well defensively.”
On September 11th, all Yankees uniformed personnel were wearing city emergency responder hats.
After years of agonizing over which hat to choose, Boone opted to pay tribute to the New York Police Department.
“Obviously it's a tragic day in our history, a sad day, obviously a very significant day for our city,” Boone said, “so it's meaningful to be able to come home and commemorate this day, and hopefully we can do just that and do our part to honor and remember those who lost their lives on this day.”
The Yankees, Montefiore Einstein and Fans for the Cure will host free pre-game prostate cancer screenings for ticketed fans on Thursday.
PSA blood tests will be administered in a private booth on the 200-level concourse, between the New Era Team Store and Section 223, from when stadium gates open at 5:30 p.m. until the early stages of the game.
