It took 4 hours 32 minutes to complete Game 1 of a single-admission doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and by the end of it, the Yankees looked exhausted and deflated. They had expended six relievers, two pinch-runners and a pinch-hitter. The Toronto Blue Jays had answered every strategic move.
A pivotal series of four games in three days against the Toronto Blue Jays — the team above them in the division standings — was quickly spiraling away, and the Yankees seemed to sense it. After a 9-5 loss in 11 innings, they had 30 minutes to regroup and salvage some hope for a series split.