SEATTLE — The Yankees didn’t so much lose as they were put out of their misery.
Terrible, awful, horrendous base-running decisions doomed them late and in extra innings, and then Jonathan Loaisiga gave up a bases-loaded single to right field to Luis Torrens to seal a 1-0 loss in 13 innings at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night.
Loaisiga started the inning giving up a single to right field to Cal Raleigh to put runners on the corners. After a J.P Crawford ground out to the mound and after Sam Haggerty was intentionally walked, host runner Eugenio Suarez then scored from third to end it. The Mariners mobbed Torres on the infield in celebration.
The Yankees quietly walked off the field and disappeared into the dugout.
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The loss meant that the Yankees would share the best record in the American League (71-40) with the Astros, who won earlier in the day. Thanks to a Blue Jays loss, the Yankees’ lead atop the AL East remained at 10 1/2 games.
It ended what for hours was a heck of a pitching duel between a pair of aces in the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole and the Mariners’ Luis Castillo.
The Yankees have lost six of their last seven games. The Yankees fell to 6-5 in extra-innings contests.
The Yankees had their best chance in the 13th — bases loaded, one out. But Gleyber Torres struck out swinging and Miguel Andujar, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A for the injured Matt Carpenter, bounced out to shortstop.
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The Yankees stayed alive in the bottom of the 12th as Lou Trivino survived a near meltdown. Wandy Peralta got the first out, and then the Yankees brought in Trivino. Ty France’s swinging bunt moved ghost runner Sam Haggerty to third base. Trivino proceeded to load the bases by walking Mitch Hanigar and Jake Lamb, and Eugenio Suarez worked a full count before he fanned swinging to end the inning.
The Yankees gift-wrapped the Mariners the 12th. Isiah Kiner-Falefa ripped a grounder at the pitcher, and ghost runner Jose Trevino was caught too far off second base. He got thrown out, and Kiner-Falefa inexplicably raced around first base and tried to get to second, only to have the ball beat him there by a mile and then run out of the base paths trying to avoid a tag. DJ LeMahieu struck out to end the inning.
J.P. Crawford started the bottom of the 11th inning by sacrifice bunting ghost runner Cal Raleigh over to third base, which forced the Yankees to intentionally walk Sam Haggerty. That brought the Yankees’ infield in for lefty Wandy Peralta, who got a hard-hit comebacker against pinch hitter Carlos Santana and turned a double play.
In the 11th, Aaron Hicks hit a liner right at second base, and ghost runner Miguel Andujar got picked off easily at second base. Then right fielder Sam Haggerty made an excellent sliding catch on Jose Trevino’s low liner for out No. 3.
In the top of the 10th, Josh Donaldson got hit by a Paul Sewald fastball in a full count to start the inning, and then Tim Locastro took over for him as the pinch runner. With Gleyber Torres at the plate, second-base ghost runnerAndrew Benintendi got caught between second and third as Sewald turned to pick him off, and he was tagged out. Locastro moved up to second base, but Torres then couldn’t check his swing and tapped one back to the pitcher. Miguel Andujar ended the frame with a swinging strikeout.
Clay Holmes hit a batter to start the ninth but a double play on the next at-bat and then a bouncer to third to end it. It was his first scoreless outing in four tries. In the eighth inning, Aroldis Chapman turned in his eighth scoreless outing in a row.
Cole went seven scoreless innings, striking out eight, walking none and scattering four hits. It was his third seven-inning, zero-run outing this season. Cole threw 109 pitches — five short of his season-high. He gave up one extra-base hit, a double that proved harmless.
Castillo, in his first home start, outpaced the Yankees’ ace, going eight innings and striking out seven while walking a pair and giving up three hits.
The Yankees tried hard to deal with the Reds to get Castillo, who was considered the prize of the trade deadline. But the Mariners won the sweepstakes, sending a group of highly-touted prospects to Cincinnati. The Yankees ended up with Frankie Montas, who was considered a strong addition but got rocked in his debut against the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Yankees were without first baseman Anthony Rizzo (back spasms) for the fifth straight game, though Boone said he was hopeful Rizzo could play in Thursday’s series finale.
Cole didn’t allow a base runner until a third-inning single, and he worked his way out of a two-hit fourth and a one-out double in the fifth. Cole struck out the last two hitters he faced.
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
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