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‘Extras walk-off’: Tigers capitalize on last-out run, edge out Yankees in LL Classic defensive duel

By HENRY HUBER 5 min read

With one more out to go in Sunday's MLB Little League Classic, it seemed like it was all she wrote, as the New York Yankees held a 1-0 lead and an ESPN win probability of 88-percent.

But just as the seats of Bowman Field were beginning to clear, as fans looked to beat the postgame traffic that lied ahead, Detroit did the unthinkable.

With second baseman Colt Keith on second, third baseman Jace Jung delivered a grounder to left that skated between New York's line of defense, getting Keith home and effectively extending the game.

From there, the Yankees put up a tenth inning run to reclaim the lead, but Detroit once again had an answer. After tying the game on the first at-bat of the bottom of the tenth, leadoff batter Parker Meadows logged his third hit of the day to bat Zach McKinstry home, earning the Tigers the walk-off win by a score of 3-2.

"It was an incredible day in all facets," said Detroit manager A.J. Hinch regarding the win and experience of playing in the Classic. "When they score the run, we got to try to find a way to scratch and claw. And that's exactly what we did. We’re incredibly proud of our group for hanging in there, staying in fight and pulling out a win in front of a lot of kids."

It may not have been the most exciting rendition of the Classic prior to those late-game heroics, but the Little Leaguers and fans still got to bear witness to a battle. Each team put on excellent displays of defense, combining for five scoreless innings to start before a run in the sixth ended that trend.

Two uncharacteristic walks from Detroit starting pitcher Tarik Skubal put the Yankees in a great spot there and even with the team bouncing back with a double play, a wild pitch allowed Gleyber Torres to put the first run up on the board.

"He had a bizarre (sixth) inning with the three walks. Against the top of this order, that may not necessarily be uncommon," said Hinch on Skubal's slipup. "I thought he did a good job of hanging in there when they were battling him early. And then unfortunately, he just gave up one run."

Even with the run, Skubal still got through six innings surrendering just three hits and four walks, posting five strikeouts. He and the bullpen kept Detroit in striking distance, which ultimately paid off.

"They did a good job of making it hard for him, spoiled a lot of pitches and pushing his pitch count up," said Hinch on Skubal. "Then, he locked in."

Detroit's earliest scoring opportunity came in the fifth inning. After third baseman Jace Jung was walked in the third, Yankee starting pitcher Marcus Stroman would respond by catching back-to-back batters swinging.

But a liner deep into centerfield almost prevented Stroman from pitching a shutout through seven innings. On his second hit of the day, Detroit centerfielder Parker Meadows posted the first double of the game and both he and Jung advanced onward, with a great shot to put a run on the board.

Instead, Aaron Judge effectively got the ball to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who got it to Jose Trevino at home just before Jung slid safe. And with the score still knotted at 0-0 entering the sixth, the Yankees responded immediately.

Through 26 outs, starting pitcher Marcus Stroman and the New York bullpen held the Tigers in check, putting forth a five-hit shutout effort prior to the game-tying run. Stroman finished with five strikeouts to four hits and two walks through six innings pitched, with Luke Weaver, Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes upping the team's strikeout total to ten.

While Holmes and Mark Leiter Jr blowing the save garnered a lot of attention in the loss, Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn't harp on that, focusing more on them not taking advantage of their opportunities on offense.

"We didn't do a lot against them obviously, but I thought we made it challenging for them anyway," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone on the loss. Overall, this weekend, they held us down and it comes down to that. We just had a little bit of a down weekend offensively, which is going to happen."

It's difficult to lose like that on any given day, including one accompanying the Little League World Series, but it didn't take away from New York's enjoyment surrounding the event.

"The memories of the experience and to get to be here, you try to keep that in perspective when you get the opportunity to do this in the course of a long season," said Boone. "Certainly, some frustration when you don't finish it off. But that's part of it. You've got to be able to turn the page in this business and get ready for the big homestand."

With the win, Detroit took the series over the Yankees, improving to 61-64 on the season. And with the loss, New York falls to 73-52, dropping its second series in two weeks and going back to being tied with the Orioles for first in the AL East, with Baltimore holding the tiebreaker.

Starting at /week.