The New York Yankees suffered a historically disastrous defeat Tuesday night at home, losing 12-2 to the Detroit Tigers in a game defined by a catastrophic seventh inning. The Yankees bullpen meltdown in the Bronx turned a 2-2 tie into a blowout, marking arguably the worst relief performance in the history of the storied franchise.
Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. combined to face eight batters without managing to record a single out, ultimately allowing nine runs in the inning. Cruz began to unravel after giving up a ground-rule double and issuing three walks, then surrendered an RBI single and forced in another run with a bases-loaded walk. Leiter Jr. took over and only escalated the damage, hitting a batter, walking another, throwing a wild pitch, and giving up a two-run triple.
Stathead’s Katie Sharp took to X (formerly known as Twitter), noting the rare nature of such a poor performance.
“Yankees are the 2nd MLB team in the last 75 years to have 2 relievers allow 4+ ER and get 0 outs in a game.
The Angels also did it on August 31, 1999 vs. Indians.”
While Cruz and Leiter Jr. faltered, rookie starter Will Warren turned in six strong innings with five strikeouts and just two earned runs. His effort was ultimately wasted, as Leiter Jr.’s collapse—immediately following Cruz’s meltdown—erased any momentum the club had generated.
Offensively, Aaron Judge hit his 359th career home run, passing Yogi Berra for fifth in Yankees franchise history. Cody Bellinger also homered, but the bats went cold after the fifth inning. Anthony Volpe struggled again, drawing boos after failing to execute a bunt and committing defensive miscues.
The loss drops New York to 80-64 and raises new questions about the bullpen heading into October. With the 2025 MLB trade deadline passed and few internal reinforcements available, the Yankees postseason concerns now center on late-inning reliability. Unless stability is found soon, the team’s grip on a playoff spot could slip away.
