The Yankees saw enough innings like this out of Mark Leiter Jr. during his season and a half in The Bronx.
On Tuesday night, they were finally able to enjoy it.
After their offense was shut down for most of the evening, the Yankees finally thawed off against Leiter in the bottom of the eighth inning and flipped the game on Amed Rosario’s second big swing of the night.
Starting at third base for the struggling Ryan McMahon, Rosario delivered a three-run shot off Leiter, his second home run of the game, to cap the rally and lift the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the Athletics at a frigid Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees (8-2) had mustered just four hits entering the bottom of the eighth and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position before stringing together three straight hits to start the frame. Cody Bellinger drilled a single up the middle, Ben Rice blooped a broken-bat single to right field and Giancarlo Stanton sliced a single with spin past the shortstop to pull the Yankees within 3-2.
One out later, Rosario clobbered a 414-foot blast, immediately dropping his bat and pounding his chest as the ball sailed into the night.
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David Bednar then closed out the win in the top of the ninth, throwing the last of four scoreless innings by the bullpen in relief of Cam Schlittler, who gave up his first runs of the season — three runs over five solid innings while striking out seven.
Schlittler came into the night having thrown 11 ²/₃ scoreless innings to start the year, allowing just three hits and no walks in his first two starts, against the Giants and Mariners.
But the Athletics (3-7) surpassed that hit total in the third inning alone to jump out to a 3-1 lead.
The rally began with Max Muncy’s infield single on a dribbler down the third base line with Rosario playing back. Ex-Met Jeff McNeil then roped a single to right field before Denzel Clarke moved the runners to second and third on a sacrifice bunt with two strikes.
Nick Kurtz, the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, came up next and smoked a double to the gap to drive in both runs for the 2-1 lead.
One out later, Tyler Soderstrom added on with a double of his own down the right field line to make it 3-1.
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Rosario had given the Yankees an early lead in the second inning, crushing the first pitch he saw for a 399-foot home run to left field off Aaron Civale for the 1-0 lead.
