Yankees closer Clay Holmes (and his sinker) going sideways

BOSTON — The Yankees officially have a closer problem. The question is what they're going to do about it before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.

Clay Holmes, an All-Star who admitted to being blindsided by his own selection, is pitching like a man who should be in jeopardy of losing his job. And it’s not as if the Yankees have the luxury of letting him iron out his issues in high-leverage situations; they’re struggling to stay afloat in the AL East race.

Holmes, a free agent after this season, has been front-and-center in two of the Yankees’ most brutal losses this season, separated by a span of eight games, and he’s also suffered three blown saves in his last three chances.

There was the meltdown at Camden Yards on the final day of the first half, when Ben Rice’s go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the ninth  immediately was squandered when Holmes again was plagued  by issues with the sinker, his money pitch.

Despite creating traffic on the basepaths with two walks and a single, Holmes deserved somewhat of a pass for the Yankees' 6-5 loss. An error by Anthony Volpe on what should have been a game-ending grounder and a misplay by leftfielder Alex Verdugo, who misjudged a fly ball that wound up soaring over his head, cost Holmes two extra outs and ultimately resulted in the blown save.

Friday’s 9-7 loss to the Red Sox, however, was squarely on Holmes’ shoulders. Hustled in to protect a fading 7-6 lead in the eighth inning, with two on and one out, Holmes’ second pitch, a 97-mph sinker, was smoked into centerfield by pinch hitter Wilyer Abreu for a tying double. Up next was Masataka Yoshida, and he drilled a 2-and-0 sinker in the middle of the plate through a drawn-in infield for a two-run single.

Holmes’ implosion blew up what had been a dramatic comeback by the Yankees, one they badly needed to finish. Not only did they come away empty-handed again, but the trust in Holmes has to be eroding.

“Some of it’s sinker command,” Holmes said “There’s been some sinkers that have been finding holes, but the contact quality is probably not as weak as I’d probably like — particularly the sinker, and due to the spots that I’m getting to with it. Things feel pretty good, not far off.”

The Yankees’ desperation is immediate, however, and Holmes is supposed to be the guy who rescues their malfunctioning bullpen, not just another piece to sweat over. But even manager Aaron Boone had to acknowledge that Holmes is a bit shaky at the moment, even while crossing his fingers that it’s only a temporary glitch.

“Most of his outings where he has given something up, he’s been in the zone, it’s been some holes being found against him, which is the nature of the sinkerball sometimes,” Boone said. “But [Friday] I thought his stuff was a little flat.”

Holmes was much better Saturday night, pitching two scoreless innings and picking up the win in the Yankees' 11-8, 10-inning victory over the Red Sox.

Holmes didn't allow an earned run in 20 innings in his first 20 appearances this season and had a .203 opponents' batting average and .479 opponents' OPS in that span. Since then, in 22 appearances and 20 2/3 innings going into Saturday night, he had a 5.66 ERA, a .315 opponents' batting average and an .822 opponents' OPS.

Opponents were hitting .336 with a .449 slugging percentage against Holmes’ sinker this season, a considerable increase from the .260 and .343 of a year ago. Based on Boone’s description of Holmes’ sinker action Friday night, more sideways than north-south, that has to get figured out before the disturbing trend can change.

“Maybe it’s a pitch selection thing, maybe it’s execution,” said Holmes, who had a 4.76 ERA and a .792 opponents' OPS in his last six appearances entering Saturday. “I think it’s been a couple of those things.”

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.