Yankees blow early lead, fall late to Brewers as four-game win streak ends

MILWAUKEE — The Yankees’ four-game winning streak ended with a thud Friday night in a 7-6 loss to the Brewers, as they blew an early five-run lead before Garrett Mitchell’s two-out RBI single up the middle off Clay Holmes in the bottom of the ninth gave Milwaukee the victory. 

Hunter Renfroe led off the ninth with a double, Kolten Wong hit a grounder that sent him to third and Andrew McCutchen walked. 

Holmes struck out Jace Peterson before walking Victor Caratini to load the bases and bring up Mitchell. 

The loss dropped the Yankees’ lead in the AL East to 5 ½ games over the Blue Jays, who defeated Baltimore. 

Josh Donaldson tied the game with a leadoff homer in the top of the ninth off Taylor Rogers and rookie Oswald Cabrera followed with a double to right-center. 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa bunted Cabrera to third, but Miguel Andujar — in the game for an ill Marwin Gonzalez — struck out looking and Kyle Higashioka, who had replaced an injured Jose Trevino, flied out. 

Garrett Mitchell hits the walk-off single in the ninth inning. AP The Brewers celebrate after their walk-off win. Getty Images Garrett Mitchell celebrates after his walk off. AP

It was an ugly game for the Yankees. They got off to a fast start, but starter Frankie Montas came up small again. The right-hander didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, despite being staked to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. His ERA as a Yankee rose to 6.35 in eight starts with the Yankees. 

Aaron Judge led off the game with an infield single. After Giancarlo Stanton flied out, Gleyber Torres continued his hot hitting with a double to center to send Judge to third. 

Donaldson’s sacrifice fly to left — nearly misplayed by Christian Yelich — scored Judge for the game’s first run. 

Frankie Montas pitches during the first inning. AP Josh Donaldson hits a game-tying solo homer in the ninth inning. AP

After Cabrera walked, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to center to drive in Torres and Gonzalez followed with another base hit up the middle, knocking in Cabrera to make it 3-0. 

Montas pitched out of trouble in the bottom of the inning, when he loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, but got McCutchen to ground out to end the threat. 

The Yankees added to their lead in the second, loading the bases with no one out on an Aaron Hicks infield hit, a Judge check-swing single to center and a walk to Stanton. 

After Torres flied out to shallow left, Donaldson hit a slow roller to shortstop. The Brewers tried to turn a double play, but second baseman Wong bounced the throw to first and Rowdy Tellez didn’t get in front of it. That allowed Hicks and Judge to score for a 5-0 advantage as the Yankees forced right-hander Adrian Houser to throw 71 pitches in two innings. 

But Montas continued his Sonny Gray impression in the bottom of the inning, giving up a two-out, three-run homer to Willy Adames. The 427-foot shot cut the Yankees’ lead to two runs. 

Montas finally escaped the second, needing 56 pitches to get through two innings. 

The slumping Hicks doubled with two outs in the third, which led to a Judge intentional walk. Stanton, however, grounded out to end the inning. 

After a walk to Mitchell, Montas was pulled with just one out in the fourth in his fifth dud in eight starts as a Yankee. 

Lucas Luetge struggled and gave up a single to Yelich and an RBI ground rule double to Adames to cut the Yankees’ lead to 5-4. 

Willy Adames hits a three-run home run in the second inning. Getty Images Willy Adames celebrates after his RBI double in the fourth inning. Getty Images

A sacrifice fly by Tellez tied the score at 5-5 

Greg Weissert got the final out of the fourth and Domingo German entered for his second straight appearance out of the bullpen and pitched well again, tossing 1 ²/₃ shutout innings. 

Wandy Peralta and Lou Trivino combined to retire four straight batters. 

Jonathan Loaisiga entered in the bottom of the eighth and issued a leadoff walk to Peterson. Omar Narvaez bunted back to Loaisiga, who fired to second, where Kiner-Falefa made a terrific scoop to get the force. 

Lucas Luetge pitches during the Yankees’ loss to the Brewers. AP

Torres then couldn’t come up with a play to his right on Mitchell’s hard grounder for an infield hit and Yelich beat out what would have been an inning-ending double play after the Brewers challenged the call. 

Kiner-Falefa then couldn’t handle a sharp grounder by Adames and Milwaukee went ahead.