BOSTON — Ben Heller had pitched just one-third of an inning for the Yankees this season before he was called upon in the 15th inning Saturday night.
“I told [Chad] Green I’d been stretching on and off for about four hours at one point,” Heller said after tossing two scoreless innings in the Yankees’ 4-1, 16-inning win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. “You do what you’ve got to do.”
Heller was perhaps the most surprising of a seven-man relief corps which pitched nine shutout frames in the win, as the Yankees avoided a second straight heartbreaking defeat to their rivals.