NEW YORK – Pinch hitter Lane Thomas hit a leadoff double to start a six-run 12th inning and the Cleveland Guardians beat the New York Yankees 9-5 on Tuesday night in the longest major league game this season.
Both teams started the evening in first place and the exciting start to their three-game series at Yankee Stadium gave the impression of a possible playoff preview.
“What an incredible game by both teams,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt. “Someone had to outlast the other, and luckily that was us.”
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge hit two home runs in a row in the first inning, but Cleveland came right back and after four innings the score was 3-3. Despite numerous chances on both sides, neither offensive team was able to score again until the 12th inning.
Thomas had a .113 batting average (6-for-53) in 16 games with the Guardians when he struck out to first for Bo Naylor in the 12th inning and hit a 2-2 sinker by left-hander Tim Mayza (0-2) into right field to bring home automatic runner Daniel Schneemann from second base.
“That was obviously huge for him, that was a huge achievement for us,” Vogt said. “That was just something we needed, and for him to do it, that’s going to be great for him, I’m sure. And that got this huge inning rolling.”
Jose Ramirez, who was intentionally walked in the 10th inning, followed with an RBI single by Michael Tonkin. After a walk to Tyler Freeman, David Fry hit a bases-loaded triple to make it 8-3.
Guardians rookie Jhonkensey Noel hit an RBI infield single when Tonkin was too slow to cover first base.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase pitched two innings for the first time this season, knocking out Alex Verdugo with two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning. Tim Herrin (5-0) benefited from Schneemann’s diving catch in right field against Austin Wells and allowed two runs in the 11th inning.
“We wanted to stop the game at our location at the time,” Vogt said of the request to Clase.
Scott Barlow allowed Judge’s two-run double before ending a game that lasted 4 hours, 5 minutes.
Cleveland managed 14 walks for the first time since Sept. 9, 1979. The Guardians allowed 20 runs and made 7 of 24 runs with runners in scoring position after having six at-bats with runners in scoring position and getting swept in three games last weekend in Milwaukee.
New York used all eight of its relievers after rookie starter Luis Gil left in the fourth inning with back problems. The Yankees allowed 14 walks for the first time since Sept. 15, 1993, in Milwaukee, which was a team-record 15.
Soto and Judge hit back-to-back home runs off Matthew Boyd in the first inning. Anthony Volpe hit a double to tie the game in the fourth, but the Yankees went 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position and left 12 overall, losing for the third time in four games.
“With their bullpen, they obviously have some really good pitchers,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of the Guardians. “But we’ve had a few games where we’ve struggled a bit offensively.”
Gil allowed three runs and three hits in three innings, allowed six walks and threw first-pitch strikes to just six of 19 batters on a night when his offense struggled.
“The offense has been really good for a while,” Boone said. “But the last few games we’ve struggled in those areas. … It’s just a little bit of a lull and we need to get the offense going.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
