Yankees' Clay Holmes blows save in ninth, Mark Leiter Jr. does the same in 10th as Tigers win Little League Classic
Zach McKinstry #39 of the Detroit Tigers scores in front of Austin Wells #28 of the Yankees during the tenth inning at Bowman Field on August 18, 2024 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Credit: Getty Images
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — In a stunning 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Tigers in Sunday night’s Little League Classic, the Yankees showed the kids it ain’t over till it’s over — especially if Clay Holmes is your closer.
Marcus Stroman had thrown six brilliant innings and the Yankees were one out away from a 1-0 victory when Holmes allowed a tying single by rookie Jace Jung that drove in Colt Keith (three hits), who had doubled with one out in the ninth.
The Yankees retook the lead in the 10th on DJ LeMahieu’s leadoff RBI single, and if they had held it, Holmes would have picked up the win. But Mark Leiter Jr. also blew a save opportunity as the Tigers tied it at 2 on Zach McKinstry’s leadoff RBI single.
After McKinstry stole second, a walk-off single to leftfield by Parker Meadows (three hits) gave the Tigers the series victory. Jasson Dominguez, who was called up before the game as the “27th man,” hesitated before throwing home.
Too late.
Holmes, who has 26 saves, blew a save opportunity for the 10th time, the most in MLB.
After it was over, in a tent set up for interviews for this special MLB event played before 2,532 fans at Bowman Field, Yankees manager Aaron Boone appeared to give Holmes a vote of confidence as his closer.
And then he appeared to yank it back a little.
“Yeah, yeah,” Boone said when asked if Holmes will remain his closer for the rest of the season. “Look, we’ll see as we go. Look, we have a lot of really good options. But Clay has had some tough breaks back there that’s led to that [10 blown saves].
“I can think of a couple of them where we didn’t make a play and it goes on him, but it’s not really [on him]. The reality is he’s throwing the ball really well. That said, we’ve got a lot of guys that I feel like are throwing the ball really well in some certain situations. But right now, Clay’s the guy.”
If Boone decides to make a change, two of the guys who are throwing the ball really well are Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle, who each threw a perfect inning to hand the ball to Holmes.
Said Holmes, who struck out three in the ninth: “I guess just one of those things where [I] felt pretty good. Just two pitches there.”
The Yankees did have a fun time mingling with the Little Leaguers all day, especially Aaron Judge, who said, “They make you feel like the Beatles out there.”
Injured third baseman/centerfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. had fun, too, as he paraded around the stands during the game and sat with different Little League World Series teams.
Still, Judge said, “Losing’s never fun.”
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead against American League Cy Young Award candidate Tarik Skubal when an alert Gleyber Torres scored on a two-out wild pitch to cap a sixth-inning rally started by a pair of walks.
The Tigers had a chance to bring home the first run in the fifth when Meadows hit a two-out double to left-center with a runner on first. But Judge collected the ball just as it reached the warning track and fired it to Anthony Volpe, whose one-hop throw to Jose Trevino nabbed the sliding Jung.
Stroman allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five in lowering his ERA to 3.82.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
