Yanks win for Stanton, worry about Chapman
Miami welcomes ex-marlin; closer injured
MIAMI — The Yankees won Giancarlo Stanton’s homecoming game, but may have lost their closer.
Aroldis Chapman left the game with pain in his troublesome left knee, and New York scrambled to close out a 2-1 win over the Marlins in 12 innings Tuesday night.
Stanton, playing in Miami for the first time since he was traded after eight seasons with the Marlins, received a warm reception from the crowd and missed his 300th career homer by a few feet.
After Yankees backup catcher Kyle Higashioka raced home on a sacrifice fly in the 12th, Chapman came on to try for his 32nd save. He walked Isaac Galloway leading off, threw a wild 96 mph fastball to the next batter and signaled to the dugout.
After consulting with a trainer, Chapman departed. He said he felt pain in the same spot as in the past, but worse than before. He averaged 96 mph on his fastball, his lowest for any outing since 2013, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
“Previously I’ve been able to pitch with it, to manage it,” the Cuban said through a translator. “The discomfort is constant.”
Tommy Kahnle came on to earn his first save since 2016. Higashioka threw out Galloway trying to steal second to end the game.
Chapman will likely undergo an MRI to diagnosis his ailment, manager Aaron Boone said.
“Virtually every other time he has been able to work through it,” Boone said. “For him to call attention to it, that has me concerned.”
The Marlins had runners at the corners with none out in the ninth, and loaded the bases with none out in the 11th, but both times failed to score. Chad Green and A.J. Cole (3-0) pitched out of the jams.
The Yankees (79-46) won their fourth game in a row to climb 33 games above .500 for the first time since 2011.