Yankees survive Marlins in 12, but lose Aroldis Chapman to injury | Rapid reaction

The Yankees prevailed 2-1 in 12 innings Tuesday night in Miami to gain ground on the first-place Red Sox, but they lost closer Aroldis Chapman to an injury.

MIAMI — Some how, some way, the Yankees kept surviving what looked to become a certain walk-off loss Tuesday night to Derek Jeter’s going-nowhere, no-name Miami Marlins.

With the game tied in the ninth, the Yanks were in big trouble before Chad Green pitched out of first-and-third, no-out and bases-loaded, one-out messes.

Stanton opens up on debut year with Yankees, time with Marlins                     

The Yankees almost lost again in the 11th when A.J. Cole pitched his way into and then out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam.

Later, the Yankees survived again after closer Aroldis Chapman left in the 12th due to more issues with his troubled left knee.

Eventually, the Yankees’ offense did enough to scratch out a go-ahead run, and that was enough to pull out a wild 2-1, 12-inning win that made things in the AL East interesting again.

With the Boston Red Sox suddenly (and finally) slumping, the Yankees gained ground for the third day in a row. After trailing Boston by 10 1/2 games on Sunday morning, the Yankees closed to eight with this win over the Marlins and the Red Sox falling at home to the Cleveland Indians.

The Yankees prevailed by breaking a 1-1 tie in the 12th on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Andujar, whose bases-loaded, one-out flyball to left scored catcher Kyle Higashioka.

From there, there was more drama for the Yankees, who lost Chapman after he issued a leadoff walk to Isaac Galloway and then a first-pitch ball to Rafael Ortega in the bottom of the 12th.

Chapman signaled to the Yankees’ dugout that something was wrong after his 97-mph first-pitch fastball to Ortega was way high and way outside.

Since mid-May, Chapman has been dealing with knee tendinitis.

“It was his knee again,” manager Aaron Boone said. “It did not feel right. Same spot as he’s felt before, so I just got him out of there. We’ll get all the testing and stuff done (Wednesday) just to see exactly (what’s going on).”

Tommy Kahnle, the Yankees’ eighth pitcher, entered to close out the Marlins, and the Yankees had a fourth win in a row in the bank.

The game ended with Higashioka throwing out Galloway on a steal attempt.

Entering after the 11th in a double switch, Higashioka ignited the Yankees’ winning rally with a leadoff single to left off Marlins righty Javy Guerra, then Brett Gardner walked to put two on with nobody out.

After Giancarlo Stanton struck out for the first out, Aaron Hicks was hit by a pitch in the right hand to load the bases for rookie Andujar.

The Yankees’ hitters, now down three regulars with Didi Gregorius joining Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez on the disabled list, were held to one run in the first 11 innings, an RBI single in the fourth by Neil Walker that opened the scoring.

A crowd of 26,275 – the third largest of the season at Marlins Park – showed up to see the Yankees and the return of Stanton, who was 2-for-6 in his first game in Miami since being traded last winter.

Stanton was greeted to a big ovation before his first at-bat, then after he smoked a 117.8-mph single to left in the first inning and a 113.8 mph double off the left-field wall in the fifth.

Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka had a strong outing, allowing just one run on four hits over six innings with four strikeouts and one walk.

The only damage against Tanaka came in the fifth when rookie left fielder Austin Dean tied the game 1-1 by hitting a hanging splitter over the left center wall for his first homer in his 19th career at-bat.

NOTABLE

— Reliever David Robertson was unavailable to pitch due to shoulder soreness that the Yankees think is no big deal. He hopes to be available to pitch in Wednesday’s game.

— Shortstop Didi Gregorius was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left heel contusion. The Yankees are hoping Gregorius will return fairly quickly. They’ll know more after Wednesday’s doctor visit in New York.

— As expected, Gleyber Torres slid over from second base to start at short, and according to manager Aaron Boone, this scenario frequently will occur during Gregorius’ absence.

— Catcher Gary Sanchez, who has been on the DL since July 24 with a right groin strain, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment in Tampa on Thursday in the rookie level Gulf Coast League. 

— After DHing 12 games in a row due to a tight hamstring, Stanton improved enough that he was able to play right field for Tuesday’s game. There is no DH for interleague games in NL ballparks.

LOOKING AHEAD

Wednesday: Yankees at Miami Marlins, 7:10 p.m., YES. RHP Lance Lynn (8-8, 4.68) vs. RHP Trevor Richards (3-7, 4.28).

Friday: Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, 7:05 p.m., YES. LHP CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.32) vs. TBA.

Saturday, Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, Game 1, 1:05 p.m., YES. RHP Luis Severino (16-6, 3.28) vs. TBA.

Saturday, Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, Game 2, 7:05 p.m., WPIX.

Sunday, Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, 8:05 p.m., ESPN.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.