Save it! Clay Holmes was the only call for Yankees in ALDS Game 3
New York Yankees pitcher Wandy Peralta walks to the dugout after being removed during the ninth inning of Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Cleveland. Credit: AP/David Dermer
CLEVELAND
Maybe Aaron Boone has a different definition of emergency than the rest of us. What else did the Yankees’ manager need to see during the ninth inning of Saturday night’s pivotal Game 3 in order to sound the bullpen alarm for All-Star closer Clay Holmes?
The Yankees got a near-miraculous rebound from starter Luis Severino, then reached the ninth with a 5-3 lead after burning through Lou Trivino, Jonathan Loaisiga and Wandy Peralta, who was on fumes trying to push them to the finish line. If there was any situation begging for Holmes, the tailor-made scenario, this was the one. And Holmes never even warmed up.
Instead, the Guardians dented Peralta for a one-out bloop single by Myles Straw that Isiah Kiner-Falefa misplayed into an extra base and Steven Kwan followed with a single to left that started the Yankees’ doom in motion.
When Clarke Schmidt then appeared to save the Yankees in a role that he’s not really accustomed to performing, that was an ominous sign. The end came soon after.
As the sellout crowd of 36,483 at Progressive Field screamed new life into the Guardians, Schmidt allowed an RBI single by Amed Rosario and a soft infield hit by Jose Ramirez. After whiffing Josh Naylor on three pitches, Schmidt was one strike away from setting up the Yankees for a potential Sunday clincher, but Oscar Gonzalez slapped a slider off the plate for a walk-off two-run single up the middle that sealed a crushing 6-5 loss.
In their postseason history, the Yankees had been 167-0 when leading by multiple runs entering the ninth inning.
We knew going into these playoffs that the Yankees’ bullpen — traditionally an October strength — was basically a scrambled mess. General manager Brian Cashman essentially kicked Aroldis Chapman off the team two days before ALDS Game 1 and the rest of the relief corps was seriously undermanned. Ron Marinaccio, one of their most reliable arms, was off the roster with a shin issue and the Yankees announced on the eve of Tuesday’s opener that Scott Effross was going on the shelf because of pending Tommy John surgery. Chad Green, Michael King and Zack Britton already had been lost for the season.
Any talk of bullpen roles or lanes or runways was wishful thinking on the Yankees’ part. That was obvious. But to see the epic fail that unfolded Saturday night, with more head-scratching bullpen management, that defied explanation.
It’s one thing to go into the postseason without a specifically designated closer. That happens. But to have no fallback plan, or even a committee that follows any sort of logical blueprint, that’s a recipe for disaster.
And what happened Saturday night was even worse than that. It’s no secret that Holmes has been bothered by a lingering shoulder issue. The Yankees are wary of putting too much strain on him. But to hear Boone explain the sequence of events that led to the ninth-inning meltdown bordered on negligence by someone within the operation.
According to Boone and Holmes, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the closer, who aside from the Mets’ Edwin Diaz was the most dominant reliever in the sport for the first half of the season. But the fact that Holmes didn’t even warm up as the Yankees’ season was being engulfed by flames runs contrary to everything that was expressed after the game.
In the immediate aftermath, Boone said he wanted to stay away from Holmes except for an “emergency situation.” Based on what we witnessed, we have no idea what qualifies. The entire relief corps getting sick from bad turkey burgers at lunch? A swarm of midges using the bullpen as an Airbnb?
“I woke up today preparing to pitch, like every other day,” Holmes said late Saturday night. “So it’s one of those things where I was ready to do my job and sometimes those decisions aren’t mine. I felt like I was available to pitch and whenever my name is called, I’m ready to do out there and give everything I’ve got.”
Holmes had thrown a total of 26 pitches in the previous four days, spanning four outs in two games, including 16 pitches in Friday’s 10-inning loss in the Bronx. Boone clearly believed that his shoulder condition either was a serious health risk after the previous night’s workload or he wouldn’t be effective.
After initially suggesting in the postgame interview room that Holmes was physically OK, Boone returned to the clubhouse shortly after reporters were ending their interrogation of the reliever a few feet away. When the manager was informed by a few members of the media what Holmes said, Boone offered a short reply. “I felt like he was in jeopardy,” he said.
The Yankees definitely are. Something seems off with the team’s communication channels, and this is terrible timing for such a flaw to surface, only a loss away from being sent home for the winter.
“I don’t know if there should be people down in the playoffs, so that’s something you guys need ask Boonie or [pitching coach Matt] Blake to see what was going on there,” Severino said. “But I was surprised not seeing him.”
Let’s say the Yankees are able to rebound Sunday night to force a Game 5 in the Bronx. What does that look like? Who’s following Gerrit Cole in Game 4? And how many arms would be truly available for the Monday do-or-die showdown? And could this ramshackle bullpen, now in full disarray, get the Yankees any further into October anyway?
That appears doubtful. Remember when the Jameson Taillon Experiment felt like the biggest bullpen gaffe possible? That’s now a distant second. The Yankees need to put together a cohesive bullpen plan — and fast. It may be too late to save them after Saturday night’s gut punch.
“It stings right now, and it’s raw,” Boone said. “You’re frustrated because you’re so close to the end there, but we got to turn the page.”
Sounds like an emergency to us.
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.
