Wells, Grisham return but Yankees lose again, drop into first-place tie with Blue Jays

TORONTO (AP) — Yankees catcher Austin Wells returned to action Wednesday following a three-game absence, coming on as a pinch runner in the eight inning of New York's 11-9 loss at Toronto.

The Yankees are 13-18 since May 28, losing six of the past 10 series.

“We've got to play better,” slugger Aaron Judge said. “That's what it comes down to. If we play better, we'll put ourselves in a better position."

Outfielder Trent Grisham also returned, coming in to pinch hit for DJ LeMahieu earlier in the eighth and playing center field. Grisham left Monday’s game after a cleat caught the turf.

Wells had been sidelined since Saturday as Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the catcher was recovering from an invasive test for a circulatory issue in his left index finger. He ran for Giancarlo Stanton after the DH walked.

Ben Rice started at catcher against Toronto on Wednesday night after making his second and third starts behind the plate this season against the Athletics last weekend. Rice couldn't come up with a wild pitch from Devin Williams in the bottom of the eighth that allowed George Springer to score the tiebreaking run.

“That on me there,” Rice said. “I've got to find a way to keep it in front.”

Williams said Rice wasn't to blame.

“I've got to make a better pitch there,” Williams said. “It wasn't the easiest one to block for Ben.”

Right-hander Luis Gil missed a scheduled throwing session Tuesday because his wife was giving birth, Boone said before the game. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year instead will throw on Thursday.

Gil has not pitched for the Yankees this season because of a high-grade lat strain in his pitching shoulder.

The Yankees recalled right-hander Clayton Beeter from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and righty Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment.

Beeter was 0-0 with a 1.02 ERA in 16 games at Triple-A, where he struck out 29 batters in 17 2/3 innings. Beeter had two saves in three chances.

“He’s been on our board now for a couple of years kind of pushing the envelope to be part of the mix,” Boone said. “He’s really talented. Hopefully he can come up here and carve out a spot for himself in the bullpen.”

Hartlieb made his only Yankees appearance in Tuesday's 12-5 loss, allowing three runs in one inning.

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New York Yankees players talk on the mound during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius (AP) — Jayden Schaper made it back-to-back titles Sunday by winning the Mauritius Open in a playoff over Ryan Gerard, the American who flew across two oceans for the final event of the year and returns home with an invitation to the Masters.

Schaper birdied three of his last four holes for an 8-under 64, and then chipped in for eagle to win on the second playoff hole. He won last week in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa by making eagle in a playoff.

Gerard had reason to feel like a big winner, too.

He was No. 57 in the world — the Masters awards invitations to the top 50 in the final world ranking of the year — and chose to fly from Florida to Mauritius, a small island about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) off the eastern coast of Africa.

Needing to finish in the top four to have any chance to get into the Masters, he had a 63-66 weekend and got into a playoff with Shaper, which secured his spot at Augusta National in April.

Schaper, meanwhile, closed his year in sterling fashion. The 24-year-old South African tied for second in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and then won the Alfred Dunhill and Mauritius in playoffs, ending both of them with an eagle.

That moves him from No. 153 to No. 63 in the world in three weeks and gives him a big head start in the Race to Dubai rankings on the European tour.

Augusta National also will invite the top 50 in the world a week before the Masters.

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FILE - Ryan Gerard hits from the ninth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship golf tournament, Aug. 14, 2025, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, file)