Tigers recover from 9th-inning collapse to sweep away Yankees

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Jul 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Survive and advance.

That sums up the day for the Tigers on Wednesday, as they somehow got out of Yankee Stadium with a 6-2 win in 11 innings and a series sweep over the free-falling Yankees.

The Tigers scored four times in the 11th after reliever Camilo Doval walked three batters, including Spencer Torkelson with the bases loaded. Zack McKinstry then drove a single to right field that ended up clearing the bases.

Catcher Ali Sanchez's throw to second, trying to get McKinstry, went into center field.

Crazy game. On a densely hot day (95 degrees at first pitch), the Tigers were two outs away of securing a sweep in regulation.

They were up 2-0 when Amed Rosario lined a one-out home run into the seats in left off right-handed reliever Drew Anderson. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a single on a ball that deflected off Torkelson, the first baseman.

Anderson didn't pay attention to Chisholm, and he stole second base and third base without a throw. Then, to put a bow on the gift, he scored on a wild pitch.

At that point, runners had stolen 13 straight bases off Anderson. Catcher Jake Rogers ended that streak, throwing out Anthony Volpe for the second out in the ninth.

But credit Keider Montero for earning a stay of execution. He's serving another possibly temporary stint in the bullpen, and he got the Tigers through the 10th, striking out Oswaldo Cabrera and Sanchez to strand the free runner at third base.

He then shut the door in the 11th to secure the win.

The late drama obscured another brilliant performance by a Tigers starting pitcher.

Yes, they were facing a depleted Yankees squad this week. There was no Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton or Trent Grisham. But there probably isn’t another team in baseball who could care less than the Tigers.

Following Casey Mize (seven, one-hit shutout innings) and Tarik Skubal (one earned run, six innings), right-hander Troy Melton blanked the Yankees on two hits over 6 1/3 innings.

In the three games, Tigers starting pitchers allowed one run with 26 strikeouts and one walk in 20 innings

Melton might not have been as sharp as he’s been for most of this season. There were more long counts and bigger misses than has been his norm. But he was as stingy as ever. He allowed just one runner into scoring position. That was Chisholm, Jr., who doubled with two outs in the fourth.

For the sixth time in his seven starts since being called up from Triple-A Toledo, Melton limited the opponent to two runs or less.

The Tigers gave him a 2-0 cushion early.

Rookie Kevin McGonigle detonated a first-pitch curveball from Yankees’ righty Will Warren in the third inning. The ball left his bat at 102.5 mph with a 35-degree launch angle and flew 422 feet into the bleachers in right-center field.

It was his seventh homer.

Warren, who was strong through five innings, seemed to wilt a bit in the sixth. The velocity dipped noticeably on his fastball and the Tigers strung together three good at-bats. Dillon Dingler singled, his second hit of the game, and went to third on a single by Kerry Carpenter.

Riley Greene brought him home with a sacrifice fly.