PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees’ biggest prize from the trade deadline nearly won them a game on Tuesday.
Then the area the Yankees needed to address the most spoiled that plan.
But the Yankees still pulled out a win in 12 innings as a Gleyber Torres sacrifice fly was enough to deliver a 7-6 win over the Phillies at a sold-out Citizens Bank Park.
After the teams had exchanged single runs in the 11th inning, Michael Tonkin blanked the Phillies in the bottom of the 12th in his second inning of work to secure the Yankees’ fourth straight win.
On a deadline day when they made supplementary moves to acquire swing-and-miss relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos — with Leiter going right into the fire with a scoreless 10th inning — the Yankees (64-45) remained a half-game back of the Orioles for first place in the AL East.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had put the Yankees ahead with his second home run of the night in the seventh inning before Clay Holmes blew the one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth.
But Leiter, acquired from the Cubs on Tuesday afternoon, pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th inning, leaving the bases loaded to give the Yankees a chance to win it.
Alex Verdugo put the Yankees ahead 6-5 in the top of the 11th with a sacrifice fly before Austin Wells struck out to leave runners on the corners.
That came back to haunt the Yankees in the bottom of the inning.
Tonkin threw a wild pitch that allowed the automatic runner to take third before scoring on Austin Hays’ bloop single that tied the game.
Then, with Hays on third and two outs, the Yankees intentionally walked Bryce Harper to bring up Alec Bohm, who shot a sinking liner to center field that Trent Grisham made a diving grab on to save the day.
Chisholm led off the top of the 12th with a bloop single to put runners on the corners before Torres hit a sacrifice fly to put the Yankees up 7-6.
But Chisholm was thrown out on the play trying to tag up to second base — perhaps to try to ensure the Phillies would cut off the throw home and avoid a play at the plate.
Still Tonkin got a flyout and two strikeouts to end the game in emphatic fashion.
Holmes was the victim of well-placed soft contact in the bottom of the ninth, but it counted all the same.
JT Realmuto led off with an infield single on a dribbler to third before Nick Castellanos beat out a double play on a ground ball to third.
Bryson Stott followed with a single through the right side before Austin Hays hit a ground ball to second base.
It would have been a tight turn for a chance at a double play, but Gleyber Torres dropped the transfer at second base, putting runners on the corners with two outs.
Then, with Kyle Schwarber at the plate, Holmes spiked his first pitch (a sweeper) in the dirt, allowing pinch-runner Johan Rojas to score from third to tie it 5-5.
After the Yankees opted to intentionally walk Schwarber, Harper nearly walked it off with a ground ball to first that ate up defensive replacement DJ LeMahieu.
But Gleyber Torres was backing up the play and snagged the ricochet before throwing to Holmes at first for the final out.
Chisholm looked like he was going to play hero by crushing a pair of home runs for the second straight night and driving in all five of the Yankees’ home runs.
After pulling them within 4-2 with a solo shot off Aaron Nola in the sixth inning, Chisholm drilled a three-run blast in the seventh off lefty reliever Matt Strahm.
Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver both threw scoreless innings to hand the 5-4 lead to Holmes in the ninth.
The nail-biter came on a day when Gerrit Cole was scratched with general body fatigue — he hopes to slot back into the rotation this weekend — and Will Warren was called up to make his MLB debut.
Warren was solid, if not spectacular, giving up four runs across 5 ⅓ innings while striking out six. Most of the damage came on Austin Hays’ three-run home run in the second inning that put the Phillies up 4-1.