Championship Series – New York Yankees v Cleveland Guardians – Game 4 / Maddie Meyer/GettyImages

When the New York Yankees added Mark Leiter Jr. to the ALCS roster at the very last second on Friday afternoon, they had no intention of using him in a 6-5 game in the seventh inning against Thursday’s pinch-hit hero, Jhonkensy Noel.

And yet Clay Holmes entered to defuse the tension and was a disaster, setting Leiter Jr., an injury replacement, up as the sacrificial lamb. It was more torture in a long 24-hour stretch of torture. And the worst part? He recorded four of the five outs he needed to and induced the fifth … until … disaster struck.

Leiter Jr. got Noel to fly out to the left field wall, then struck out Andres Giménez to end the seventh. But backup backstop Bo Naylor started the eighth with a double, which felt like curtains. Brayan Rocchio advanced him to third, sending singles artist Steven Kwan up. All Kwan needed to do was be a magician.

He popped up to second base. New life. Leiter Jr., who was tossing slow curves and slow splitters and slow slop, still had to retire Thursday’s walk-off beast David Fry. He … nearly did. He induced a dribbler.

Then he kicked it. Then he recovered with enough time to toss to Anthony Rizzo. Then he … scooted the knuckling throw through Rizzo’s legs. Tie ballgame.

Yankees reliever Mark Leiter Jr. walked tightrope and flipped awful throw through Anthony Rizzo’s legs to blow ALCS Game 4 save

And just like that, Giancarlo Stanton’s titanic three-run home run was completely undone, after innings and innings of tightroping.

Leiter Jr. somehow regrouped and retired an ailing Josh Naylor to end the frame tied, but no “escaping” of any kind would be done here. He’d already performed a miracle, straight off the couch. The jam had been escaped … until it no longer was. Until it was born anew. Until Leiter Jr. had gone from completely unprecedented hero to goat horn-wearer. This play will live in infamy, and it’s quite possible that no one deserves a break more than Anthony Rizzo, who keeps letting squibbers and liners escape him.

And yet … to the ninth … there was Rizzo, fresh off a gut punch, facing 100 MPH cutter artist Emmanuel Clase. He needed to shake it off. He needed to shake it off fast. He laced a single.

Then, things began to get strange. So did Anthony Volpe. Alex Verdugo hit a one-out squibber to Brayan Rocchio, which was — all of a sudden — sure to score a run. Rocchio didn’t record a single out on the play. 7-6.

Gleyber Torres, with the opportunity to provide insurance for the second time in as many days, did exactly that by lacing a single up the middle.

Was Tommy Kahnle able to protect the most unpredictable 8-6 lead of all time? Not before (clears throat) working the count full on Lane Thomas, receiving a generous strike three call, walking Jhonkensy Noel, allowing a blooper to Andres Giménez, and then retiring both Bo Naylor and Rocchio — but not before Rocchio’s grounder was bobbled by defensive replacement Jon Berti!

The Yankees, after being one strike away from a 3-0 lead and one horrid walk-off away from a 2-2 series on back-to-back days, are up 3-1 in the American League Championship Series. And that’s no error.