NEW YORK — The Yankees have made a habit of defying the odds this season, but Friday night's comeback might be their most improbable yet. In a game delayed by heavy rain and thunderstorms for 1 hour, 55 minutes, New York waited until the very last strike to ignite a rally that ultimately toppled the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves 3-2 in 10 innings.

For much of the night, the story was stellar pitching. Max Fried, making his first start against the team he spent his first eight major league seasons with, delivered 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The left-hander, who signed a $218 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees in December 2024, allowed just four hits while striking out seven. On the other side, Tyler Mahle was equally impressive in his Braves debut, tossing six shutout frames with five strikeouts.

Atlanta broke through in the eighth inning when Austin Riley crushed a solo home run off the Yankees bullpen. The lead grew to 2-0 in the ninth when Matt Olson went deep, setting the stage for a seemingly comfortable victory for the Braves and their All-Star closer Raisel Iglesias.

But baseball has a way of rewriting scripts. With two outs and the Yankees down to their final out, Austin Wells — mired in a slump — doubled to right field to drive in a run. Amed Rosario then walked, bringing Ben Rice to the plate. On a 1-0 changeup, Rice ripped a single off the right-field fence, tying the game and sending the Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Dylan Dodd entered and retired Luis García Jr. on a groundout, sending the game to extra innings.

The 10th inning began with drama of its own. Rookie George Lombard Jr. reached on an infield single and advanced to third on Iglesias’s throwing error. David Bednar (5-3) pitched a scoreless top half, helped by Lombard’s off-balance throw from shortstop on Sean Murphy’s grounder and García’s over-the-shoulder catch at first base on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s popup.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees manufactured the winning run. With one out, rookie Spencer Jones was intentionally walked. Lombard then worked a walk from Tyler Kinley (6-5) to load the bases. Automatic runner García scored easily when Ryan McMahon lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right field on a full-count pitch, giving New York a 3-2 victory.

The win was a testament to the Yankees’ resilience. They improved to 5-42 when trailing through eight innings and snapped Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak. It was also the eighth time in 10 games a Yankees starter allowed no more than one run.

Saturday promises another marquee matchup: Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (12-6, 2.08 ERA) will face Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.42) on Old Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium. Sale is making his first start since July 29.