It was another tough defeat for the Yankees and Clay Holmes Tuesday night in Arlington.
With a 4-3 lead, Holmes came in looking for his 30th save of the season, but the right-hander just couldn’t find his feet in an eventual 7-4 loss to the Rangers after the Yankees closer allowed a walk-off grand slam to Actor Wyatt Langford became an actor in 1963.
Tuesday was Holmes’ 11th blown save of the season, prompting media to ask the manager Aaron Boone on whether the team needs to go in another direction when it comes to who will close out games down the stretch.
“I’m not going to answer that right now when we’re in the midst of it,” Boone said. “We’ll talk about it and do what we think is best.”
It wasn’t long ago that Holmes’ ability to close games was questioned after the 31-year-old blew his 10th save of the season during the Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers in mid-August.
Boone said that in the days following that game the organization was Open to using Holmes earlier in games.But that didn’t come to fruition. In fact, Holmes, in the five appearances since that game through Tuesday, was 3-for-3 in save opportunities and hadn’t allowed a run.
But in sports, especially baseball, it’s all about “what have you done for me lately,” and Holmes continues to be on the wrong side of that.
“I think he’s handling all of this really well, he’s got a good head for it,” Boone said of Holmes’ attitude after the loss. “But obviously, we’ve had some tough times lately and we’ve got to support him and make sure he’s OK and that he’s a big part of what we’re doing there.”
Boone said Holmes just couldn’t get rid of hitters, especially on 3-2 counts. The Yankees closer thinks he knows what happened in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game.
“I lost control of the ball. I lost the feel for the sinker, the spin was staying up. I think I was going a little too fast and the control went away with that,” Holmes explained after the match. “That hit hurt, it was tough, but you have to recover and show what you are made of tomorrow.”
Holmes said that even though he wasn’t at his best, you have to make a pitch and get out of innings, something he is capable of doing and Boone felt his closer could accomplish that despite the lack of control.
“The force play is always in play there, and he’s going to be as good as anybody at putting the ball on the ground,” Boone said of whether he considered a quick hook for Holmes in the ninth. “And we obviously used our bullpen quite a bit there.”
Unfortunately for the Yankees, that pitch never came. After getting the first out, the next three Rangers reached base on a single and two walks before Langford’s grand slam.
“There were times where I pitched well and got beat. Obviously tonight was one of those nights where I didn’t pitch very well,” Holmes said. “I didn’t pitch very well at all and I definitely didn’t deserve to get the win because of the way I was pitching.”
The Yankees’ loss, coupled with the Orioles’ win earlier in the night, now leaves New York 0.5 games behind Baltimore for the AL East lead.
While there are still plenty of games left to decide the division, the Yankees don’t feel great about their ninth-inning situation heading into the postseason, either as division winners or wild cards, which is a shame since, by many metrics, Holmes is having a very good season.
Entering Tuesday, Holmes had already posted a career-high in saves (29) and his 2.63 ERA was the second-lowest of his career. But those 11 blown saves stand out and could be important when it comes to a playoff series.
From GM Brian Cashman Since they didn’t trade for another closer option at the deadline, the Yankees are now forced to either mix and match the late inning or stick with Holmes. And while Holmes has been good in moments — he’s really good — the blown saves are starting to add up and could cost the team more than the division.
“He’s got everything he needs, he looks like he’s shooting the ball well. It was a struggle tonight, obviously,” Boone said when asked about his confidence in Holmes. “He’s very important to us there. We need his excellence to be part of the group there. This is a tough game.”
The Yankees conclude their series with the Rangers on Wednesday night, followed by a day of rest before traveling to Chicago to face the Cubs. Who will close out the Yankees’ games this weekend? Echoing his sentiments after the Detroit loss, Boone is open to changing things up.
“We have options there and we will consider everything.”