WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Parker Meadows set off fireworks with a 10th-inning single that brought hundreds of Little Leaguers to their feet and scored Zach McKinstry on a headfirst slide to give the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday night in the Major League Baseball Little League Classic. The Little Leaguers who went wild for Yankees slugger Aaron Judge — he finished 1 for 4 — from the moment he stepped off the plane to his last at-bat had to wait until the ninth inning for the real excitement to start.
Detroit rookie Jace Jung tied the game 1-all when he ripped an RBI single off Clay Holmes with two outs in the ninth. That scored Colt Keith, who hit a one-out double off the All-Star closer to start a rally that handed Holmes his 10th blown save this season. DJ LeMahieu’s single in the top of the 10th brought home the automatic runner for a 2-1 Yankees lead, only for McKinstry to make it 2-all when his single scored Detroit's automatic runner.
McKinstry stole second and dashed home on Meadows' base hit to left field off Mark Leiter Jr. (3-5), as Yankees prospect Jasson Domínguez hesitated for a moment before throwing late to the plate. Beau Brieske (2-3) worked one inning for the win.
Gleyber Torres scored on a wild pitch by Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in the sixth to give New York a 1-0 lead. The crowd of mostly Little Leaguers and their coaches and families — oh, and injured Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. — were among the 2,532 fans.