CLEVELAND — The Yankees traded for Mark Leiter Jr. with October in mind.
And the right-hander had an up-and-down postseason debut, giving up the tying run, but also getting five key outs and picking up the win in an 8-6 Game 4 victory over the Guardians on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Acquired from the Cubs prior to the trade deadline in July, Leiter pitched poorly enough since the trade that he wasn’t included on the roster for the ALDS against the Royals or the ALCS versus Cleveland, but he was added Friday to replace the injured Ian Hamilton, who suffered a left calf strain in Thursday’s Game 3 loss.
And Leiter immediately got involved, coming in after Clay Holmes faltered for a second straight night.
After an impressive effort to get out of the bottom of the seventh, Leiter gave up the lead in the eighth.
The right-hander allowed a leadoff double to Bo Naylor and a grounder that sent Naylor to third.
A popup by Steven Kwan put Leiter in position to get out of the inning unscathed, but Leiter mishandled a slow grounder by David Fry and then his toss to first got by Anthony Rizzo, allowing Fry to reach — and Naylor to score the tying run.
But the Yankees took the lead in the top of the ninth.
Leiter’s night could have been worse, but he bailed out Holmes.
With runners on first and second and one out in the seventh in a one-run game, and the Yankees hanging on to a one-run lead, Leiter got one of Thursday’s heroes, pinch-hitter Jhonkensy Noel, to fly out to deep left before Andres Gimenez struck out.
General manager Brian Cashman said before the game the Yankees hoped Leiter and his split-fingered fastball would be an effective pitch against Cleveland’s lefty-heavy lineup, making Leiter the choice over other candidates like the inexperienced Cody Poteet and Clayton Beeter.
“He’s had a hell of a year, just not as good [after] he got here for us,” Cashman said of Leiter, who had a WHIP of 1.101 in 36 ⅓ innings as a Cub this season and a 1.708 WHIP in 21 ⅔ innings with the Yankees.
“But he’s certainly capable,’’ Cashman said. “He’s got a pretty good weapon against left-handed hitters. I hope it benefits us. Hopefully when called upon, he’ll give us quality outs.”
The GM added that while Nestor Cortes — out with a strained elbow — would have been willing to return for this series, he was not a consideration.
“Nestor would want to be [on the roster], but we would be skipping too many return to play protocols to safely deploy him,’’ Cashman said of the lefty. “That doesn’t mean he might not be available for the next round if [we] get there. He has a few more hurdles to climb to get him into a safe zone. It’s his career we’re talking about, so we want to make sure he’s right.”
As for Leiter, he was brought in to help steady a bullpen that needed a boost, with Holmes struggling at the time.
Leiter had trouble for most of his time in The Bronx.
In the postseason, the team’s bullpen pitched well — until Thursday’s dramatic, 10-inning Game 3 loss.
Holmes, Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle were all ineffective in the defeat.
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They could certainly use another reliable arm, with the pen taxed and the Yankees — like most teams in these playoffs — not getting a lot of length from their starters.
Friday night’s starter, Luis Gil, gave up two runs over four innings before being pulled.
Leiter, picked up for a pair of prospects, entered Friday having not pitched since the end of the regular season.
But his last four appearances in September were better than the bulk of his other outings with the Yankees.
He tossed 4 ⅔ scoreless innings in those four games — although Leiter also allowed three hits and a pair of walks.