Yankees reliever Clay Holmes seems to have found groove again

Clay Holmes ruled in the first half of last season for the Yankees, so much so that the closer made it to his first All-Star Game. But his second half wasn’t as smooth a ride.

Now, though, the 30-year-old righty with the power sinker thinks he’s returning to the form he showed before the speed bumps.

Last season, Holmes didn’t allow a run in 35 of his first 38 appearances, posting a 0.46 ERA over that stretch. He had a 1.31 first-half ERA. Then came a 4.84 second-half ERA. He finished at 7-4 with a 2.54 ERA and 20 saves. 

The Yankees opened a four-game series against Minnesota on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium and lost, 11-2, so Holmes didn’t get to pitch. He owns a 3.18 ERA over six games, with four saves in four tries. And he’s on a run of five straight scoreless outings.

“I’m feeling good, physically, delivery-wise,” Holmes told Newsday. “My sinker, I think, is back to where it needs to be.

“To have that success, I think it’s just a matter of staying on top of those things and continue to pound the strike zone. I know when I’m throwing first-pitch strikes and getting ahead in counts that I can be dominant. And so that’s kind of where I’m focused now.”

Injury updates

Harrison Bader suffered a left oblique strain during spring training. The centerfielder finally had his first full day of baseball activities again on Thursday.

“I feel really close,” Bader said.

The hope is that he will begin a rehab assignment next week.

“It’s not just going to be a few days down there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s got to play some games.”

Gleyber Torres (hip flexor tightness) returned to the lineup. Boone said DJ LeMahieu (quad tightness) was “doing better” and was an option off the bench. But he wasn’t used.

IKF the pitcher

Isiah Kiner-Falefa made the first career appearance as a pitcher with the Yankees down, 11-1, in the ninth and the infielder-outfielder wasn’t bad. He faced four batters and allowed just a single to Jose Miranda.

“I loved it,” Anthony Rizzo said. “I think when the game is that big out of hand, it saved our bullpen. I think our bullpen did a really good job, Colten [Brewer] and Ian [Hamilton] and [Jimmy] Cordero coming in. It saves us big time for tomorrow. 

“I was really hoping Kiner would play into the crowd a little bit more and give a little crowd pleaser coming off the field, but it’s not his style.”

Extra bases

Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 and had his career-high 45-game on-base streak snapped. He batted .366 with 17 homers, 29 RBIs and 44 walks during the streak. … Anthony Volpe went 1-for-3, delivering a single in the sixth. The rookie shortstop raised his average to .158 after his first 13 games.